Focus On Organic: 10 July | Feature Synopsis

organic celery vegetables

Focus On: Organic by Julia Glotz

Download the synopsis here

Posted: July 10, 2021

Advertising Deadline: June 24

Submission deadline: June 17

The history

Organic food and drink sales have hit an all-time high, crushing estimates that the UK organic market would be worth £ 2.5bn by the end of 2020 to some £ 400k. What is driving this growth? What retailers are behind this and what are they doing in terms of reach and merchandising? And given that organic penetration and market value are significantly higher in many European markets, is organic expected to grow more in the coming years?

Environmentalism

The Soil Association seeks to increase understanding of the environmental benefits of organic production methods. So what exactly are the environmental benefits of organic products, and how well do consumers understand them? What great motivation is sustainability for shoppers when deciding what to put in their shopping baskets?

Retailers

This feature will pay close attention to how UK retailers are driving the growth of organic food and drink. So which retailers are responsible for driving most of the growth, and what, specifically, have they been up to in recent years? What’s next from UK supermarkets in terms of support for organic? What can you do to promote a better understanding of the benefits of organic food?

Prices and economic prospects

Organic food and drink tend to be priced significantly higher than standard products. Why? What kind of markup does organic currently have? After the economic crisis of 2007/8, organic food and beverage sales fell freely as the retailer narrowed the ranges and focused on price as the key means of differentiating itself from the competition. Will this happen again?

Brexit

Organic trade with the EU is worth nearly £ 750 million, and UK exports of organic food and drink to the EU worth £ 225 million of that sum. Last October, trade groups warned that Brexit threatened that trade. So what impact has Brexit had on organic trade with the EU? Have prices risen the added cost of negotiating with the EU after Brexit?

Subscription services

Subscription services like Abel & Cole and Riverford Organics were well placed to clean up during the shutdown, as more consumers bought products online and limited trips to brick-and-mortar stores. So how have they performed and what are they doing to keep the new customers they have won?

Innovation and NPD

How has the organic market developed in terms of NPD over the past year? This feature will also explore the latest trends in organic food and beverages, outlining some of the most interesting and innovative new releases in a separate dashboard. Brands are required to provide high resolution and product details for new releases, including release date, rsp, and distributors.