Oslo: Norway’s organic industry ready to expand

When it comes to the production and consumption of organics, Norway is one of the countries lagging behind in Europe. Further evidence is the fact that we can’t get up-to-date organic data about Norway – this most western of the Scandinavian countries and also one that is not a member of the EU. In Oslo (600,000 inhabitants) there are a mere half dozen outlets that deserve to be called specialist stores. Whereas electro-mobility is an environmental initiative that is already relatively well developed in Norway, the organic industry is lagging behind.

Picture: Røtter is where the wholefood scene meets in Oslo

Røtter is the location of the classic wholefood scene

The trendy place to shop in Oslo is most definitely Rötter (Røtter in Norwegian), a classic wholefood store in the affluent St. Hanshaugen district. The popular store at Ullevalsveien 39 has a good 300 customers coming through its doors every day. Over 6,000 articles are presented on a retail area measuring approximately 100 m²! So there’s not much room to move along between the high shelving. The store was founded in 2007 by Anders Petersen (41), Mathias Gabrieben (39) and their friend Gustav Martinsen (59). It carries an excellent stock: everything from juices and flakes to food supplements. It’s true the chilled organic fresh food, including dairy products, are less than prominently placed at the back of the store, but they do have  a good offering of fruit and vegetables, milk and dairy and vacuum-packed meat. These organics account, however, for only 20 % of turnover.

Picture: A customer buying vegetables

The procurement logistics for the specialist retail trade involve a huge input. “We have to order from about 250 suppliers – some of them in Germany,” Mathias Gabrieben explains. This means in most cases having to purchase large quantities and large batches. In the cellar they have a roughly 100 m² store room that they can access by a frequently used lift.
This is where they keep opened cartons and other packages of goods. Clearly, this ties up much more capital than in the case of specialist stores that receive deliveries “just in time” from their wholesaler two to four times a week, which is common in other countries. Among the main suppliers are Kinsarv:k, Norganic, Vitalkost and Alma. So far, there aren’t any wholefood wholesalers with a full product range (dry, fresh foods, possibly cosmetics, drugstore articles).

Picture: A packed store with friendly staff

There are another two Røtter shops in Oslo, run by their employees, that offer “only” 2,500 articles in a retail area of 90 m² and100 m². “We can’t expect our employees to cope with the huge amount of work created by a full range of products,” say Mathias and Anders unisono. They both work in the main store in Oslo-Hanshaugen. The two other shops were taken over in 2007 and 2008 from the insolvent Helios Group. Whereas annual growth in turnover has been up to 60 % in recent years, in 2014 the three Røtter stores registered a rise of 10 %.  

Picture: Anders Petersen (on the left) and Mathias Gabrieben

Helios an important player in Norway

Two of the four Helios stores continued under the management of the Life Scandinavia corporation. The two franchise stores belong to the wholefood wholesaler Alma, that in turn belongs to Validus (www.Validus.no) and Life. The specialist wholefood store Helios Colloseum in the Majastua district (Middelthungsgatan 23) plays an important role in organic marketing via the specialist trade and is the biggest specialist store in the capital. 150 to 200 customers a day shop in the roughly 250 m² self-service store. The location is between the Colosseum cinema centre and the Frognerpark, well known to tourists on account of its sculptures. An estimated range of 3,500 products is clearly arranged and offers a good selection of articles for everyday use. Near the entrance you find the well stocked fruit and vegetable department.

Picture: Fruit and vegetables; in the background, the checkout area

The customers are pleased with shopping with a trolley in a relaxed atmosphere and with  the sound advice they can get from any of the seven employees. Promotion tables draw customers’ attention to manufacturers’ campaigns and you see goods like cosmetics, gift articles and food supplements prominently displayed. You can enjoy a small meal at a table near the front window and also browse through organic magazines and eco books.

Food supplement ranges play an important role in the Helios stores because they are marketed under the Life brand. Around 200 everyday essentials are marketed there under the Helios own brand and are also sold in other specialist shops and supermarkets in Norway and Sweden. The specialist store Helios Colosseum was taken over in April 2014 as a franchise by Daria Sensen. She worked previously for many years in one of the Life boutiques.

Picture: A big selection of bars but – by a long way – not all in organic quality

Life stores as health food boutiques

Another Helios store (about 150 m²) is located at Hausmans Gate 10, ten minutes walk north of the main railway station. Although it’s a corner shop among houses and lies on a central traffic route, the footfall is at the lower end of viability, and the shop really needs more customers. More Helios stores are located in Trondheim and Tønsberg. The very first Helios shop was founded as long ago as 1969 and was therefore one of the first specialist stores in Europe. However, the little organic chain suffered a crisis after the original founder withdrew at the beginning of the millenium.

Life is the name of a chain with around 90 shops across the whole of Norway. They are mainly run a franchises (?),with 30 to 60 m², and sell food supplements, drugstore articles and organic food. One of the Life shops with about 30 m² of retail space is located in a busy shopping arcade in Oslo’s main railway station. The product range includes magnesium tablets, slimming teas, energy bars, guarana, natural cosmetics by Dr. Hauschka and organic food like snacks and a number of staple items.
 

Another small chain with a similar concept is Sunkost. Founded in 1997, it now has about 120 franchise partners, of whom about a dozen operate in Oslo. Every day, approximately 60 customers come into the shop run by Randi Sand, that is located in a shopping centre near the Colloseum underground station. On sale are fresh organic bread, flakes, noodles, rice, bars etc. plus protein powder and other food supplements. The owner estimates that about half the stock is organic and includes the Helios, Völkel, Beutelsbacher, Salta, Bioking, Horizon and Dr. Martins brands. Good advice is on hand for a comprehensive range of natural cosmetics, with products by Weleda, Dr. Organic, Lavera, Dr. Hauschka and other brands.
 
Picture: Randi Sand likes advising her customers

Only a few other wholefood stores

Økohjertet is the name of a nearly 100 m² store that opened near the harbour in February 2014. Central to the marketing plan was the sale of loose goods in big containers in order to save packagiung materials. A dozen open sacks from the Davert mill enables customers to take and pack as much as they want. You can buy pack-your-own herbs and spices too. Every second Sunday they hold lectures on nutrition in order to familiarise people with the theme of wholfood and to provide information about the health benefits. “You’re only allowed to open on Sundays if you’ve got less than 100 m²,” grins Robert Crnalic, who comes originally from Croatia.   

Picture: The wholefood store covers two rooms. Behind the counter: Robert Crnalic

The mother, Dragica Vukota, and son run the store jointly. There are seats where you can choose from hot drinks, freshly pressed juices and a few snacks. They bring out more chairs when events are being held. As well as the obligatory dry goods, you see fruit, vegetables, dairy products and meat. In total, Crnalic sells around 1,500 articles. “My aim is to open in a few years time an organic supermarket like in Germany,” says this  entrepreneur, who is in his early 30s.  

All photos by Kai Kreuzer

Tip:
Røtter: www.roetter.no
Helios: www.lifebutikk.no
Økohjertet: www.okohjertet.no
Life: www.life.no
Sunkost: www.sunkost.no