Organic market insight
The Soil Association published their 2017 Organic Market report earlier this year, revealing that sales growth in the organic food and drink sector had grown for the 5th consecutive year, posting a 7.1% growth with sales reaching £2.1 billion.
Report highlights:
- Organic sales through home delivery including box schemes have grown by 10.5%
- Organic produce sold through foodservice (cafés, hotels, restaurants, pubs, takeaways) have seen a massive 19.1% increase in sales
- Organic sales through supermarkets have grown by 6.1%
- More than 8,000 stores stock organic products and 1.5% of the UK’s food and drink market is organic
- Sainsbury, Tesco and Waitrose have 75% of the organic supermarket sales
- Discounters such as Aldi, Lidl and Costco continue to add to their organic product ranges
- Ocado is the biggest online retailer of organic, holding 9% of the total UK organic grocery market
- High street restaurant chains and visitor attractions are including more organic products on their menus
- It is not only the UK market which has seen strong growth; Western Europe, USA and Asia are growing markets which Welsh organic producers can target
- In Europe, Germany is the largest organic market, with France and Italy also showing strong growth and consumer interest
Consumer trends:
- Consumers see organic as the healthy choice and are increasingly mistrustful of food production systems. The organic certification offers consumer reassurance
- People want convenience but don’t want to compromise their principles
- Consumers see “local” as superior and “independent” as better than mass market
Price data
For information on weekly produce prices, check out the Organic Horticulture Produce Price page on the Soil Association Website
Visit the Soil Association website to download a copy of the report: 2017 Organic Market Report