Can the drop in organic food sales be reversed?

The Drive to Reverse Flagging Organic Food Sales 

Most consumers are aware that organic produce represents a greener alternative to everyday foodstuffs. Unfortunately, the true benefits of organic produce appear to be lost on the vast majority of shoppers. Indeed, organic foods imply sustainability and safety in so far as they are neither genetically modified nor treated with pesticides. In turn, this promotes the growth of natural ecosystems that are required in order to successfully produce organic food. Clearly, the benefit of eating natural produce that has not been chemically treated ought to appeal to consumers ‘en masse’. Organic food sales, however, have fallen some £34.1m in the year up to September 2009.

The most obvious and simple explanation for such a drop is that this period coincided with the recession, in which many shoppers were forced to tighten their belts. Indeed, as it costs more money to bring organic food items to supermarket shelves, it is necessary that they must be sold for a higher figure than their chemically treated cousins. In this respect, it would appear that many consumers have elected price over value.

Nevertheless, rather than throw in the towel and concede that organic produce has no future in the mass market, a number of leading organic food companies, such as Green & Blacks and Yeo Valley, have decided to push their offerings more aggressively. Indeed, the Organic Trade Board wants to boost sales by some £1bn, which would require reaching out to customers caught between price and value. However, it is argued that the success of such a campaign would hinge as much on reduced organic food prices as it would educating consumers. On-line retailers such as The Ethical Superstore and Natural Collection are addressing this issue by offering a range of promotions, including multi-buys and seasonal offers, (the Ethical Superstore’s Organic Fortnight ends next week), which make the organic option more affordable. It remains to see whether, in the midst of a recession, such efforts pay off.

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