In a global food and beverage market with retail value in U.S. dollars of more than $5 trillion, non-GMO products accounted for $550 billion of that total in 2014, according to market research publisher Packaged Facts. With sales of $200 billion for non-GMO foods and beverages, the U.S. accounts for 36% of the overall global non-GMO total.

The findings were published in the all-new report, Non-GMO Foods: U.S. and Global Market Perspective, 2nd Edition.

In the U.S., there is a steady, ongoing increase in the number of products identified as non-GMO, noted David Sprinkle, research director for Packaged Facts. New non-GMO product launches in the U.S. have been estimated to be about 2,000 per year up from just a few hundred a decade ago. This is taking place in both the retail market and in foodservice. Driving the market is an expanding consumer desire to have healthier foods with fewer added ingredients or any aspects that are not “natural,” even though that term has not been officially defined by either the Food and Drug Administration or by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Organic and natural foods accounted for the lion’s share of domestic non-GMO sales at 60% of the U.S. market last year. Packaged Facts projected that this share will increase to about three-fourths of overall non-GMO retail sales by 2019. The increase of organic/natural as a part of non-GMO reflects: 1) the increasing popularity of organic food specifically and natural foods more generally with American consumers; 2) the linkage between organic and non-GMO in consumer understanding; 3) and the probability that there will be no resolution on a national level regarding mandatory GMO labeling on food and beverage products.

Looking ahead on a larger scale, Packaged Facts forecasted the total global market for non-GMO foods and beverages will almost double by 2019 due to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% between 2014-2019, outpacing the CAGR for U.S. non-GMO sales. Nevertheless, the U.S. share of the global non-GMO market will hold at about one-third.

Non-GMO Foods: U.S. and Global Market Perspective, 2nd Edition reviews the stakeholders in the controversy, both pro- and anti-GMO, and the current intensifying conflict between them in the courts, legislatures, fields, stores, and restaurants in the U.S. and around the globe. The report also reviews new non-GMO food and beverages, as well as recent breakthroughs in GM foods and the reaction to them. In addition, the report offers growth projections for non-GMO food sales in the U.S. and global markets and the results of an exclusive Packaged Facts national online consumer survey regarding their beliefs about GMO foods.