Worth £209.8 millon, the organics produce market isn’t something to be sniffed at, but after a year experiencing around a 10 per cent decline on its previous success, the fresh produce industry and consumers alike seem to be treating the movement with caution.
The general consensus over the last year or so is that the money has gone out of the game. “It’s all about price now; consumers want quality and the right price point and all the interest for organic has disappeared,” says one insider.
There seems to be two schools of thinking; the camp that expected organics to be a money-making brand and those who actually believe in the cause. It is no secret that dedicated growers such as Riverford Organic Vegetables and Organic Farm Foods are enjoying some success and there is still a core group of consumers that refuses to move away from the category.
On the road to recovery, organic sales figures have been showing signs that decline is slowing. “This is giving much confidence that the market is heading for stability towards the end of the calendar year,” says a Soil Association report.
And it seems that the end of the year may just be the time when organics come into their own. The EU approved funding for the UK’s first generic promotional campaign to increase awareness of the benefits of organic food and farming back in July. Project-managed by charity Sustain with the support of the industry bodies Soil Association and the Organic Trade Board, the campaign will receive a grant of £2m to be used over the next three years.
“This is going to be totally different to the sandal-wearing, hippy image that organics has unfortunately picked up over the years,” says Catherine Fookes, project manager of the campaign for Sustain. “We are going to challenge the stereotypes people have created. It will be a warm campaign, which will encourage people who already buy organic to buy more and also get more people to buy into the category.”
Fookes admits that many consumers in general have been lost along the way when it comes to the organic movement. “This is about organic products and increasing sales,” she says. “Our advertising agency compiled research on why organic products were not selling as well as they had done. We looked at why people were choosing certain foods and lots of people say they go for ‘natural’ foods, but then further down the line is their need for organic. So it was clear that people didn’t see the link between ‘natural’ and organic food.
“People are really confused with what organic is offering, as there are so many advantages in different areas. We aim to remind people of the benefits of organic in a simple and engaging way.”
The objective of the programme is to reverse the decline in the sales of organic foods and farming, through a high-profile media campaign to reignite consumer interest. The campaign will stress the many benefits of organic food and farming and comprise press advertising, a digital campaign and PR.
More than 75 organisations have pledged money to the campaign, including fresh produce heavyweights Produce World, Greenvale AP, Langmead Farms, G’s Marketing and Organic Farm Foods. Retailers are also on board with Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, as well as big name organic brands such as Green & Black’s, Organix, Rachel’s and Yeo Valley backing the drive.
The PR campaign will launch at the end of the year with the slogan, “Make this Christmas an organic one”, but the lionshare of the project will lie in advertising efforts aimed at the organics sector’s main target, women from 25-55 years old.
“The adverts are going to be very humorous and quick, bringing a new image to organics,” says Fookes. “Organic fruit and vegetables is a huge part of the sector as they are an entry point for many consumers and make up a large part of the campaign. You just have to look at the amount of support we have got from fresh produce companies. It fills us with a lot of confidence.”
Huw Bowles, chairman of the Organic Trade Board, says: “We’ve worked on this bid for several years and it’s a fantastic boost to our industry. It will give us a great chance for growth in all organic sectors so sales start to increase again.”
THE ORGANIC SECTOR PREPARES ITSELF FOR A REVOLUTION
Pollybell Organic Farm is an award-winning business that produces a wide variety of organic fresh produce from larger quantities of broccoli, bunched carrots and cabbage to smaller volumes of bunched beetroot and celeriac. Here, director James Brown explains why organics are finally seeing the light.
As one of the largest suppliers of organic vegetables in the UK, as well as supplying local farm shops, vegetable box schemes and packers across the country, demand for our products has remained steady throughout the difficult economic times and we believe this is because of our commitment to quality.
Of course, that is very easy to say, but complicated to deliver. We are selling our produce for a premium price and we therefore need to consistently grow a premium product. We do this by continually investing in technology to help us to adhere to our policy of growing crops in a sustainable way, while caring for the environment in which we live and work.
Pollybell Organic Farm is passionate about raising the bar for organic farming and this has stood us in good stead to weather the trading conditions in the past year.
There is no doubt that consumers are still interested in the organic sector and we feel that the upcoming Organic UK press and PR campaign will help to bring lapsed organic customers back in to the category.
If consumers are under pressure to spend each pound wisely at the moment, then those of us offering a product at a higher price point than others must make every effort to communicate the benefits of shopping and eating organically.
While we continue to invest in high-tech organic farming, we haven’t lost sight of our more low-tech developments. Our honey bee project is a new initiative, introducing our own honey bees into the farm. It aims to care for our local environment and its wildlife is central to our approach to farming. We are taking areas of the farm out of production in order to grow plants and trees that are great sources of both pollen and nectar. We have our new hives on the farm this summer, which will have been set up and will be maintained by Tom, our new farm beekeeper.
The next few months will be crucial for the organic sector as all farmers, organic and non-organic, hope for a boost to consumer confidence. After a difficult time for all brassica growers with the hot conditions in early summer, the Pollybell harvest is now looking good and I am confident that we have the quality of product to supply what consumers and retailers quite rightly demand.
