Organic is taking flight in various European countries. This is the case in, among other countries, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark. Denmark will soon become the country with the highest percentage of organic consumption in the world.
Danish organic products, which can be recognised by the noticeable ‘red Ø’ of the Danish organic label, amounted to 13.3 per cent of the total food sales in the past year. In 2017, a total turnover of 11.3 billion Danish krone (1.71 billion euro) was realised in organic food (+31% compared to 2016). The most important market channels are traditional supermarkets (41.2%) and discounters (39.4%). Online sales have a share of 13.5 per cent.
Growth in Denmark.
Basic products are particularly dominant on the organic market. Some products have a very high market share: oat flakes (52.3%), carrots (42.3%), natural yoghurt (38.8%) and eggs (32.6%). The sales of fruit and vegetables increased by 26 per cent in 2016, and now amounts to 29 per cent of the total organic turnover.
Regarding distribution, 41.2 per cent of organic products is distributed via traditional supermarkets such as Irma, SuperBugsen and Superbest. Discounters such as Netto, Fakta, Kiwi, Rema 1000, Aldi and Lidl have a market share of 39.4 per cent. Netto has the largest share in total turnover of organic products (19%). The online sales of organic products is booming and has reached a market share of 13.5 per cent. The company Aarstiderne is particularly successful in distributing organic meal boxes.
Supermarket chain Coop started a fund to support organic agriculture in Denmark late in 2017. In early 2018, the fund had already raised 2.9 million euro.
Ambitious action plan
Danish production also increased sharply in 2016. The organic area increased by 21 per cent. The organic agricultural area amounted to 154, 283 hectares in 2016, across 3,115 organic farms. In total, 537 new agricultural companies were founded. Analysts assume a further growth in production is necessary to continue meeting increased demand.
Denmark is also becoming more dedicated to the export of organic products. In 2015, products amounting to 270 million euro were exported (155 million euro in 2012), 38 per cent of which to Germany and 20 per cent of which to Sweden. From 2013, organic dairy products are exported to China as well. Twelve per cent of export is now meant for China. The most important export products are dairy and egg products (51%). In coming years, a continued growth of export of ten per cent per year is expected.
The Danish government has an ambitious action plan for the organic sector: by 2020, they want to have doubled their area compared to 2007. To realise this, they are dedicated to organic in the public sector, export, organic in the teaching package of primary and agricultural eduction, and finally in research. More information about the Danish organic market can be found at www.okologi.dk and at www.organicdenmark.dk.
Sweden
The strongly growing organic trend in Sweden has been persistent for more than five years. Between 2014 and 2017, the organic market doubled to a turnover of 2.9 billion euro. In 2017, the growth, 9.8 per cent, appears to be a bit more gradual than in previous years. This is attributed to a saturation of the market, but also to a shortage of organic materials. Fruit and vegetables in particular were limitedly available in 2017. The organic market share grew strongly to 9.3 per cent, and immediately became the largest in the world. The organic area increased by 6.5 per cent to 552,695 hectares in 2016, this is 18 per cent of the total agricultural area.
The most important sales channels for organic products are ICA (29% market share), COOP (11%) and AxFood (8%). Systembolaget, a government-controlled chain for alcoholic drinks, has a market share of 19 per cent. Martin & Severa, an important player on the Out-Of-Home market, has a market share of 18 per cent. Discounters such as Lidl and Netto and the chain Bergendahl each have a small market share of one per cent. Lidl and Netto did expand their organic assortment extensively in 2017. Lidl now has 1,875 organic products, and they experienced a growth of 30 per cent. Netto experienced a growth of 45 per cent in 2017. Sweden has hardly any specialised organic shops. Online trade has an organic market share of 4.4 per cent. It’s expected this market channel will soon start gaining market share.
Typically Swedish products such as dairy, eggs and meat products each have a relatively large market share. Ekoweb sees growth potential for these products in particular, because Swedish consumers think the regional origin of these products is important. These are currently widely available in Sweden. More information about the Swedish market can be found at www.krav.se and www.ekoweb.nu.
Switzerland
In 2017, 6,234 Swiss farmers worked organically (279 more than in 2016). The area increased by 11,000 hectares to 151,000 hectares (14.4% of the total agricultural area).
The Swiss organic market is growing significantly. In 2017, a total turnover of 2.7 billion CHF was realised (±2.26 billion euro; +8.1% compared to 2016). The Swiss spend CHF 320 per year on organic products (268 euro). With a market share of nine per cent, Switzerland has the second-largest market share in Europe after Denmark. Organic eggs have a market share of 27 per cent, vegetables 23 per cent and bread 22 per cent.
Source: Bioforum Vlaanderen