The latests figures from companies and retail chains show that the sales of organic food products are increasing again. Coop Denmark, one of Denmark's leading consumer goods retailers, accounts for a large part of this sale and has experienced an 11% increase in the sales of organic foods during the last three months.
- The Danes kept on buying organic food products during the financial crisis. This was due to Danes simply prioritising good and natural foods without unnecessary additives for the family. As the crisis is now slowly releasing its hold on the Danes, they have started putting even more organic foods in their shopping trolleys. The latests figures clearly show that the sales of organic products are increasing again, states Henrik Hindborg, Market Manager at Organic Denmark.
During the final months of 2009, Coop Denmark experienced a growth spurt in the sales of organic goods. This resulted in a total increase of 5% in 2009. A trend that has continued into the new year.
- In 2009, all of Coop Denmark's supermarket chains experienced a growth in the sales of organic products and in the last quarter of 2009 there was an 11% increase in sales, says Katrine Milman, Environmental Manager at Coop Denmark.
Organic Denmark estimates that Coop Denmark accounts for about half of the total sales of organic food products in Denmark.
The increased growth in Coop Denmark's supermarket chains mainly comes from the sales of organic processed foods such as grain, flour, bread, tinned foods etc.; and fruit and vegetables; and pleasure goods such as wine, candy, soda etc.; followed by meat and dairy products. Coop Denmark has therefore had a great start on their responsibility campaign which was launched in the autumn of 2009. A campaign where organic products are one of the strategic development areas.
Milk is again the star
The organic milk from the dairies Thise, Naturmaelk, Oellingegaard and Arla was for a long time an organic top seller – and now the milk is back again. At Arla, they have experienced an increasing demand for organic milk from consumers. In the last quarter of 2009, Arla saw a 7% increase in the demand for organic milk compared to the same period the year before.
- The reason for this growth is that on the one hand the shock of the financial crisis is disappearing and on the other hand the price difference between the cheapest conventional milk and organic milk is not that big. Moreover, the increased communication about and marketing of organic dairy products from both Arla and the other dairies have contributed to re-establishing the positive development, says Annette Kalle, marketing responsible for organic foods at Arla.
