Are consumers paying more attention to their Organic Consumption than before?

Are consumers paying more attention to their Organic Consumption than before?

Eating organic food means growing it using techniques that respect the environment and animals. Organic food is produced from ingredients grown without chemicals.

Today’s key figures 

The different organic farmlands:

This graph allows us to see the different types of organic farmland found around the world. 

From this graph we can see that Oceania is the continent with the most agricultural land in the world. Indeed, it has half of the world’s agricultural land. Europe comes second, but has seen a greater increase in land than the rest of the world, with a 5.8% increase in 2019.

Europe : 16,5 → 23%

Amérique du N. :  3,6 → 5%

Amérique du S. : 8,3 → 11%

Afrique : 2 → 3%

Océanie : 36 → 50%

Asie : 5,9 → 8%

Total : 72,3

Growth of organic consumption 

Indeed, the growth of citizens’ organic consumption was accelerated by the COVID 19 health crisis. The lockdown that all countries in the world experienced allowed citizens to change their life habits by taking up sports for example or even their eating habits.

The population preferred to buy their products from local producers to support them and promote local know-how.

This consumption also allows the inhabitants to know better the products they buy because they go through short distribution channels, through direct sales to the producer.

The different trends in organic consumption

As consumers become more aware of their organic consumption than ever before, they are following trends that allow them to change their eating habits.

The “consume less but better” trend

The lockdown allowed consumers to become aware of their consumption. This lockdown has allowed them to take the time to cook due to the fact that restaurants are closed and consequently they have to cook for themselves. The savings made on catering allowed them to realise that it was important to eat quality products which are certainly more expensive but better in the mouth rather than opting for consumption in quantity. 

People then became willing to spend more to eat organic.

The “responsible and local consumption” trend

Citizens are also following this trend for different reasons. First of all, they want to eat more local, fresh and seasonal products. Eating locally is also good for your health.

Consuming responsibly also helps to avoid losses and waste of local products.

But will these trends continue in the years to come? Will people go back to their old habits over time?

The new generations are more attentive to the quality of the products they consume, which makes it possible to believe in a constant growth of organic consumption in the years to come.

Focus on France

To illustrate the above, let’s take the example of France. 

In 2020, France took a big step forward in the organic market. 13 billion in sales, up 10.4% on the previous year.  This increase is explained by the change in eating habits of the French during their confinement, who opted for a more local consumption.

Moreover, France is constantly increasing the number of its agricultural sectors. Indeed, in 2020 there were 53255 farms that were committed to organic farming, which corresponds to 12% of French farmers.

In 2020, sales of raw products – such as fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat, seafood, delicatessen, frozen food and bakery – accounted for over half (56%) of the organic retail market.

The most dynamic organic products on the French market in 2020 were beers (+33% compared to 2019) due to the success of organic micro-breweries. 

Frozen foods (+30% compared to 2019) also won over the French thanks to their long shelf life and practicality in times of confinement and teleworking.

Finally, organic grocery products were also very successful (+17% compared to 2019). Savory products have increased with shelf-stable products as well as auxiliary products such as canned vegetables for example. As far as sweet grocery products are concerned, it is the breakfast section that has been very successful.

If you are a seller of organic products, do not hesitate to join us on our B2B Marketplace as Seller and consult our “Market News” section which will keep you informed of the latest trends in this market.

uFoodin Team