Organic Food Sales notch their highest level of growth

Organic foods have achieved their highest level of growth in the UK for 15 years in 2020.
After 10 consecutive years of growth, sales surged last year as demand from shoppers in lockdown drove an increase of +12.6% and total sales of £2.7 billion, according to the official body, Soil Association Certification in their Organic Market Report 2021.

Organic sales outgrew total food (+8%) over the year.  Online was a major factor, where sales grew +36%.  Some 18% of all organic food sales made by supermarkets are made online rather than in store.

The best performing categories in organic over the year were canned and packaged foods (+19.8%), meat, fish and poultry (+16.8%) and fresh produce (+15.5%).

Concerns over health, animal welfare and product sustainability have deepened since the advent of the pandemic, and these attitudes seem likely to continue to favour opportunities for organic suppliers, who are now able to reach out to more customers – via online channels in particular – than ever before.