Organic food and drink sales in the UK rose by 9.5% in 2018, to £2.2 billion. The Soil Association’s annual Organic Market Report shows that the largest growth was in home delivery box schemes and online sales. Such sales account for 14% of all organic sales and this share is expected to grow to 25% by 2023.
The fastest-growing sector was beer, wine and spirit sales, but chilled food and deli item sales, along with canned and packaged groceries, also rose significantly. Chilled convenience products, including tofu and fresh vegetarian products, grew by more than 25%.
More land in organic
For the first time since 2008, the area of land farmed fully organically also rose, albeit by a small margin of 0.4% to 484,800ha.
The UK’s total organic market, which includes beauty and textile products, is now worth £2.33 billion after a 5.3% growth in sales in 2018, which is well ahead of the non-organic market.
Source: fwi.co.uk