The economic downturn has effected different European organic markets differently. The UK and Italy have seen significant weakening in demand for organic products. In these countries consumers perceive organic products as expensive and the benefits they provide have not been considered sufficient to continue to pay this premium.
Although this trend seems to be reversing thankfully, other European countries such as Sweden and France have continued to see double digit growth through the recession. They have more effectively informed consumers of the benefits organic food provides. But how?
We need to understand the dynamics in these markets. How have they sold the benefits of organic produce to their consumers and how does this differ from what we do in the UK? To learn from them will make our market more robust through future economic downturns and therefore more financially sustainable.
Perhaps some of the Organic UK promotional budget should be invested in understanding these markets better to see what can be learned.
