Figures released by the Soil Association last week show that the organic sector has continued to grow.

The figures, released at the mid-way point of the Association’s annual ‘Organic September’ promotional campaign, suggest that sales of organic produce have continued to grow over the last year, against trends for contractions in non-organic sales.  

The figures from Nielsen were presented by Mike Watkins at the Soil Association’s annual market briefing; they show that the organic market grew by 3% in year to 15 August 2015, compared to a continued fall in non-organic sales of -1.2% in the same period.

The growth over the last year is double that reported in the year to August 2014.  However, the UK organic sector remains small compared to those of other European countries and the United States.

Speaking at the market briefing, Beth Hart from Sainsbury’s and Ian Nundy from Seeds of Change presented their impressions and plans for the future for the organic sector and Al Overton from Planet Organic also spoke about innovation in organic at the Natural and Organic Products Europe trade show.
 
Attendees heard about the huge success of organic on the continent and the recent changes in customer habits – shopping more often in smaller stores and online. Speakers agreed that keeping pace with this change can present a huge opportunity for growth in organic and Beth Hart commented; “The basket size of our organic customer exceeds that of a non-organic shopper which highlights the importance of our SO Organic range.”
 
Both Nundy and Hart emphasised the importance of values to their businesses and recognised the growing trend of customers towards ethical, local and healthy purchasing.  Hart said; “Our values are really important to us as a retailer, including how we source our products and the impact this can have on the environment. Soil is at the root of all the food we produce and our pioneering work with farmers aims to improve the farmland and soil we’re responsible for.”
 
Speaking at the market briefing, Clare McDermott, business development director at Soil Association Certification commented, “The UK’s organic market is looking immensely positive for the future. Since the beginning of the year we have had over 1000 new product applications with Soil Association Certification and an increase of 14% in the last 6 months in number of new applicants for organic certification. This is really exciting as it shows us there is a real confidence in us and in the future of organic. Brands are releasing new lines and expanding their offerings to respond to food trends and demands. Organic September is having a real impact on organic across the UK too – everyone in the industry is linking up to help consumers make small changes for a big impact. Together with recent data from Nielsen, it’s easy for us to see that organic is becoming a real pillar of UK business.”