This week, the Soil Association released their latest market report, and it’s good news for organic. In fact, in 2020, the organic market grew by 12.6%, its biggest YOY increase in 15 years. Now, over £50 million a week is spent on organic in the UK, with the market worth £2.79 billion. We’ve always believed in the benefits of organic food and farming, so it is really positive to see this growth.
2020 was a year like no other. People’s shopping habits changed dramatically, with more planned and less frequent shops. For independent retailers it was a year of mixed fortunes. While many city centre stores closed because of the pandemic, high street and community shops experienced huge increases in sales as shoppers chose to buy their food locally.
Food appreciation and cooking at home, as well as eating, helped drive the organic sales growth with:
>> Sales of organic items in supermarkets increasing by 12.5% - nearly two thirds (64.8%) of organic sales now go through this channel.
>> Online and home delivery unsurprisingly leading the way, with sales increasing by more than a third (36.2%), making this market worth almost £500 million.
>> One in four organic purchases being made online and around a quarter (24%) of Soil Association Certification home delivery clients said that they added younger shoppers during 2020.
Associations with Soil Association and organic food in general were consistently that, it has less pesticides, no genetically modified organisms and is safe and traceable. However, research shows that consumers are still not completely aware of all the benefits of organic. They may select those which are more relevant to their own needs. Through consumer activity for our brands Crazy Jack and Tarantella, we will be continuing to promote the benefits of organic throughout 2021.
The Soil Association anticipate that many new customers to the market, who have now seen and appreciated how good quality organic food also benefits the environment, will remain loyal to the sector. Overall, the organic market is on target to be worth £2.9 billion by the end of 2021.
According to the report, although it is too early to fully assess the long-term impact of the pandemic on businesses, ‘the future looks very positive for the organic market’. And, in a year where we’re all looking for that ray of light, a little positivity goes a long way.
Download the full report here: https://www.soilassociation.org/certification/market-research-and-data/the-organic-market-report-2021/