Costco gets creative to meet shoppers’ appetite for organics

At Costco’s shareholder meeting earlier this year, CEO Craig Jelinek touted the vast amounts of food the company sold last year, from 83 million rotisserie chickens to $6.1 billion worth of produce. As for organics, one of the fastest-growing categories in food sales and one in which Costco has become a major player?”We cannot get enough organics to stay in business day in and day out,” Jelinek told the gathered investors. So to boost its supply, Costco is trying something new: It’s working with farmers to help them buy land and equipment to grow organics. The effort is still in its infancy. So far, Costco is working with just one partner, loaning money to help San Diego-based Andrew and Williamson Fresh Produce buy equipment and 1,200 acres of land in the Mexican state of Baja California. Read More