Italy: posts new record in organic sales

Picture: NaturaSi organic supermarket chain with its presentaion at the Expo. Photo © Karin Heinze

Nielsen data presented by the Italian Association for Organic Trade AssoBio show a very positive trend in the sale of organic food in Italian supermarkets. From January to April this year, total sales (food, drinks, pet food) increased by 3.7%, up from 0.5% in 2016. The share of organic food in the total food sales increased from 2% in 2013 to 3.4%. Italian consumer purchases in supermarkets have more than tripled since 2009. Also traditional specialized organic shops are growing. 83% of Italian households bought organic products in 2016.

Coop Italia is since long successful with organic food. Photo © Karin Heinze

Growth was above the average

The value of sales of organic products in supermarkets increased by 19.7%, amounting to 1.33 billion euros in the twelve months ending 31 March 2017. In discounters (+ 31.7%) and in superettes (mini-marts, + 23.5%) the growth was above average. Supermarkets (+ 19.8%, sales of 609 million euros) and hypermarkets (+ 16.7%, sales of 409 million euros) took the lion’s share in this period. AssoBio explains that, compared to the same period in the previous twelve months, overall food sales in supermarkets increased by 419 million euros, 166 of which were attributable to organic products. This means that organic food contributed 40 percent to the growth of the total food market in Italy.

The average organic product range in supermarkets grew by 30%, and the share of organic products in the growth of total food assortment is 23%. In a word, 23 out of 100 new products placed on a shelf are organic. The category is such that in 59% of supermarket promotional leaflets you can find advertisements for some organic products  (21.6% of which in the last twelve months were under promotional initiatives). The weight of organic packaged fruit is 5.1% in its category, and that of groceries is 4.2%. Among the 15 top selling organic products in Italy, the study names 52.8% of whole and special pasta, 32.7% of non-dairy drinks, 30.1% of jams, 19% of pulses and grains,14.5% of eggs, and 8.3% of flour.

Organic fruits and vegetables offer in a specialized organic shop. Photo © Karin Heinze

83% of Italian households bought organics in 2016

75% of purchases in value are made by 5 million households out of a total of 20.5 million buyers, 83% of Italian households who are habitual consumers (every week). The penetration rate for Italian families is above average in Northern Italy and, to a lesser extent, in central regions; Southern Italy is below average. Above average is the frequency of purchases in families with 3 and 4 members and between the ages of 35  and 44 and 45 and 54. In relation to income, the penetration is practically the same in households with below average, medium and high incomes, while it is lower in low-income households.

“In conclusion, organic growth in Italian consumption is consolidating year after year and organic is gaining a role as a determining factor in the growth of total food sales,” says AssoBio. The main driver of growth is the widening of the range, but demand is also growing, with a strong increase in households choosing organic products (one million more in the last year).

NaturaSi is the biggest organic supermarket chain in Italy. Photo © Karin Heinze

AssoBio focused on the Nielsen data at its conference on the supermarket channel, but in Italy there is a strong specialized organic shop channel too, adds the Organic Action Network . There are about 1,250 organic shops all over Italy, with a stronger concentration in Northern and Central regions), and about 350 are supermarket-sized with a range of around 4,500 food items. AssoBio estimates for 2016 sales of 890 million euros in the specialized channel; food service is worth around 350 million euros (the daily use of organic products in school meals is compulsory in Italy), while other channels (direct sales, farmers' markets, box schemes, online, small non-specialized food shops) account for 380 million euros.

Many Italians also prefer to purchase their food in smaller organic shops. Photo © Karin Heinze

Consumers are aware of the serious impact of conventional food production

Roberto Zanoni, President of AssoBio, emphasised that organic markets are booming all over the world because the consumers are increasingly aware of the overall quality of the products.  They are less and less interested in products that, even if apparently cheap, have a serious environmental impact. The Ministry of Environment’s official findings say that 63.9% of surface water and 31.7% of groundwater are to some extent contaminated by pesticides. “All you have to do is look at official Italian Statistics data: for every Italian, conventional farming pumps more than 70 kg of insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers into the environment. It is increasingly evident that the planet cannot sustain production of this kind any longer,” says Zanoni and he adds: “Not to mention the big issues of antibiotic abuse and the density and general conditions of mainstream breeding farms, not to mention GMOs and food additives. It is obvious that an informed consumer is looking for an alternative to this way of producing, thus becoming a protagonist in the conversion to a sustainable economy.”

Background Information:

The goals of the Organic Action Network Italia are the coordination and internationalization of the Italian organic sector with the joint efforts of FederBio (Italian Federation for Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture, and ICE (Italian Trade Agency). The independent organisation Assobio was founded in 2006 by 11 Italian companies (it has grown to 81 companies today with sales of around 1.5 billion euros).