Dairy products and fresh fruit and vegetables were the most popular organic purchases. Overall, the strongest market growth was through online shopping and box schemes (11.7%) and independent retailers (5.7%) which offer the choice and convenience of extensive organic ranges in one place. More than a quarter of spending on organic products (27.9%) is in the dairy aisles with yoghurt sales increasing by 13.8% and dairy sales increasing by 6.5% -a stark contrast to the 3% contraction of the non-organic dairy market.
Sales of organic eggs and poultry were up 15.8% and 8.2%, while non-organic sales dipped by 6.2% and 3.3% respectively. There were also sharp increases for a wide range of other products against a background of sliding non-organic sales including fresh fruit (up 6.4%), tea (up 13.7%), cereals (up 4.2%) and biscuits (up 7.2%). sales of organic vegetables fell by 2%, but in a context in which non-organic sales plummeted at five times this rate. There was also significant growth in organic supply into catering, (13.6%), reflecting dynamic growth of the Soil Association’s Food for Life Catering Mark in schools, workplaces and hospitals - the market exceeded £1 million a week for the first time and is now worth £55.8 million. Health and beauty (up 20%) and textile (up 3.4%) sectors also grew in 2014.
Source: Soil Association press release of 24 February 2015
More information
- SoilAssociation.org: 2015 Organic Market Report
- SoilAssociation.org: Infographics
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