19th Aug 2009 - 00:00
Abstract
Nearly one in five (19%) of all UK shoppers are remaining loyal to organic, maintaining their spend and a further one in 10 (9%) say they will buy more organic food when they have a bit more money to spend.
New consumer research from IGD also showed that 10% of shoppers say they have found other products that are cheaper but still provide the same perceived benefits.
A further 8% are focusing their organic spend on fewer products where they think it really makes a difference, and another 8% say they are not sure what organic stands for anymore.
Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive, IGD, said: "There remains a strong core of dedicated organic shoppers who are maintaining support, regardless of the economy. Even better news for the organic movement is that these supporters tend to be younger and more affluent - supporting our view that the organic market is experiencing a dip rather than a collapse. "There are still challenges, however. Those that have drifted away have not performed a U-turn on ethics – they are finding value for their values in, for example, products that meet high animal welfare standards, local foods and Fairtrade. The Soil Association estimated the value of the organic market to be £2.1bn in 2008, representing just over 2% of UK food sales.