El Corte Inglés has opened La Biosfera (The Biosphere), its first organic food department, at one of its stores in the city of Valencia, where it will offer over 1,500 products. The initiative will be expanded to 19 other supermarkets before next autumn and will be accompanied by a new brand, 'El Corte Inglés Bio', under which they will sell about a hundred products.
La Biosfera will have an area of between 50 and 150 square metres, depending on the space available in each store, and will be staffed by specialists, who will advise customers on their purchases.
Juan Carlos Jimena, one of the people in charge of marketing at El Corte Inglés, has attributed this commitment to the growing demand for organic products in Spain, which is increasing at a rate of 25% per year. "We have the widest range of organic products to be found in any Spanish supermarket; we want to offer our customers a full selection of these products, from the most basic to the most emerging, such as quinoa or chia," assured Jimena .
Likewise, Alberto Moraleda, responsible for the area of Purchases and specialist in "eco" products at the company, has guaranteed that no pesticides were used in the production of the foods on offer and that animal welfare is respected.
Regarding the origin of the products sold under the department store's own brand, 'Corte Inglés Bio', Moraleda explained that around 80% will be produced in Spain and most of them will be available starting next year.
Source: Efeagro
