ORGANIC FOOD SALES HIT NEW HIGH
THE organic vegetable delivery box business Riverford founded by Guy Singh-Watson (pictured) has seen sales soar by 40% on the back of a boom in demand for organic food during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Singh-Watson has passed Riverford ownership onto employees. Managing director Rob Haward told the WMN he expected growth to continue even after Covid, driven by “health, ethics and concern for the environment.”
BOOMING demand for homegrown organic produce has seen the market hit its highest growth level in 15 years after sales rose by nearly 13% in 2020, new figures have revealed.
Total sales of organic hit £2.79 billion, meaning more than £50 million per week was spent on organic in 2020, as shopping needs and habits changed dramatically due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This is the highest year-on-year growth rate in the organic market since 2005, according to the Soil Association Certification’s Organic Market Report 2021, with the market on target to reach £2.9 billion by end of 2021.
Sophie Kirk, senior business development manager at Soil Association Certification, said: “The unprecedented crisis of 2020 has brought immense challenges for organic farmers and the entire food supply chain. So it’s heartening that in times of crisis, more people are supporting home-grown organic produce, with many British organic products benefitting from strong sales growth through supermarkets this year.
“Online organic sales through box schemes and home delivery services have seen stand out growth of 36.2%, with many organic businesses expanding their online and direct to consumer sales.”
Alongside this many organic producers are selling direct to the public, she added, playing to their key strengths of promoting British sourcing and sustainability. Ms Kirk continued: “With the organic market growing faster than ever and expected to reach £2.9 billion by the end of 2021, there are opportunities for UK organic farmers looking to meet growing consumer demand for sustainable, British food and drink and Government support is available for organic farming through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
“The Government must continue to invest in farming systems that deliver for climate, nature and health in the transition to Environmental Land Managenement (ELM) schemes.”
The report shows that organic market year-on-year sales growth reached 12.6% in 2020, outperforming growth in the non-organic sector. Online and home delivery sales fuelled much of the growth in the organic market in 2020, with sales increasing by 36.2%, meaning this channel to market accounts for almost 25% of the total sales.
It also reveals strong growth in organic supermarket sales at +12.5%. Organic supermarket categories which experienced increased growth in sales include: produce, which have grown by 15.5%; meat, fish and poultry, which have grown by 16.8% and dairy which have grown by 7.7%. Key organic products that have seen positive sales growth include eggs +17.2%, beef +30.9% and carrots +17.2%.
Rob Haward, managing director of Buckfastleigh-based organic veg box company, Riverford, said: “Riverford was experiencing strong growth early in 2020, pre-Covid. This was driven by a desire for more plantbased eating and a continuing desire from our customers to eat organically.
“The surge in demand caused us to reduce our range back to veg boxes to meet our customers’ needs and limit sales to new customers. Even with these measures in place our sales increased by more than 40% compared to the prior year.”