Focus On Organic: 10 July

Focus On: Organic by Julia Glotz 

Download the synopsis here

Publishing: 10 July 2021

Advertising deadline: 24 June

Submissions deadline: 17 June

The story

Sales of organic food & drink have hit an all-time high, smashing estimates that the UK market for organic produce would be worth £2.5bn by the end of 2020 by some £400k. What’s driving this growth? Which retailers are behind it and what are they doing in terms of ranging and merchandising? And, given that organic penetration and market value is significantly higher in many European markets, is organic set for more growth in coming years?

Environmentalism

The Soil Association is looking to increase understanding of the environmental benefits of organic production methods. So, what exactly are the environmental benefits of organic and how well understood are these by consumers? How great a motivation is sustainability for shoppers when they’re deciding what to put in their shopping baskets?

Retailers

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

Pricing and the economic outlook

Organic food & drink tends to be priced significantly higher than standard products. Why? What sort of a price premium does organic carry presently? Following the economic crisis of 2007/8, organic food & drink sales went into freefall as retailer reduced ranges and focused on price as the key means of differentiating themselves from the competition. Will this happen again?

Brexit

Trade in organic goods with the EU is worth nearly £750m, with UK exports of organic food & drink to the EU worth £225m of that sum. Last October, trade groups warned that Brexit was threatening that trade. So, what impact has Brexit had trade in organic goods with the EU? Have prices been driven up by the added cost of trading with the EU post-Brexit?

Subscription services

Subscription services such as Abel & Cole and Riverford Organics were well placed to clean up during lockdown as more consumers bought goods online and limited trips to physical stores. So, how have they performed and what are they doing to keep hold of any new customers they’ve 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 & drink, profiling some of the most interesting and innovative new launches in a separate panel. Brands should supply a high resolution and product details of new launches including launch date, rsp and stockists.