The retail sale of organic food in Finland increased by 6.7% in 2015. This is against the general trend which saw an almost one percent drop in the total sale of convenience goods last year.
According to estimates by the Finnish Organic Food Association Pro Luomu, Finnish convenience stores sold 240 million euros worth of organic products last year. The market share of organic products of all food sales in convenience stores rose to 1.8%. The estimation is based on sales data collected from retail shop groups.
Marja-Riitta Kottila, executive director of Pro Luomu, finds this a good achievement in the current economic situation when total sales of consumer goods are going down. She believes that both an increased interest for organic products and a better supply explain this development.
– More and more consumers want to buy organic products, and if there is a good product available for a good price, the interest materialises in a purchase. New, good products support growth in entire product groups, and the reductions in prices have made organic products a more attractive option, Kottila says.
Sales volumes vary
The development of the sales of organic products vary from product and retailer group to another. Last year, the sale of fresh organic meat, organic coffee and organic cheeses, for example, grew strongly.
– New products that interested consumers, such as Gouda cheese and minced lamb, were launched to the market in all of these product groups last year. The range of organic coffees also increased, Kottila points out.
The biggest relative growth was seen in frozen foods, encouraged by the successful launch of Finnish, organic ice cream. The sale of organic bread, however, continued to go down. According to Kottila, the organic bread market would definitely benefit from new products.
– The available choice in shops and pricing of retailers have an impact on the sale of organic products, she points out.
Organic fruit and vegetables still the bestsellers
As before, the bestselling organic product group was fruit and vegetables: their sales grew clearly last year, too. The increase in the sale of fruit and vegetables has a significant impact on the growth of the organic market.
Organic milk continues to be the single most sold organic product, with a market share of 15% of the total organic market. Due to the dip in the price of organic milk, the volume of sales in euros dropped somewhat even though it grew in litres.
The market for organic products is expected to grow
Retail experts expect the demand for organic products to continue to grow in the coming years. According to an estimate from last autumn, the organic market in Finland will exceed 410 million euros in 2020. This would mean a market share of about 3% in the sale of daily foodstuffs.
Further information: Executive Director, Marja-Riitta Kottila, Pro Luomu, marja-riitta.kottila(at)proluomu.fi, tel. +358 (0)40 581 9252
