Demand for organic food continued to grow in the second quarter. Retailers generated sales of 4.75 billion euros with organic products between April and July, according to the Federation of Organic Food Industry (BÖLW). That was 3.8 percent more than in the same quarter last year. In the first half of the year as a whole, sales amounted to more than 9.6 billion euros.
The sales growth is not adjusted for price increases in the food retail sector, but it clearly exceeds them, according to BÖLW. “Organic food is at the top of Germans’ shopping lists even in times of crisis: that’s where it belongs,” said BÖLW head Tina Andres.
Drugstore chains such as dm and Rossmann are particularly driving demand, the association said. They have significantly expanded their organic ranges in recent years, for example with snacks, vegan products, baby food, and tea. Sales of organic products at these stores rose by almost 20 percent. Their share of the total organic food trade remains at around 12.5 percent, leaving room for growth.
In specialized organic retail, demand stagnated with sales of 0.82 billion euros. “In addition to the generally subdued consumer mood, this is likely to increasingly reflect the structural change in the market,” BÖLW said as an explanation. In other words, consumers are increasingly buying organic food in conventional supermarkets or drugstores.
The so-called full-range retailers, such as supermarket chains Rewe and Edeka, recorded sales growth of 5 percent for organic products in the second quarter, according to BÖLW. The expansion of their own organic brands has paid off, the association said.
The figures were compiled in cooperation with the Agricultural Market Information Company (AIG), based in part on data from market research institutes Yougov and Nielsen.
Source: www.spiegel.de
