Italy: Which consumers are buying organic?

With the amount of organic land rising in Italy over the past few years, the sector also offers employment to over 200,000 people. The positive development is – among other reasons – also due to the rising interest of consumer in organics. Evident differences occur between organic consumers and the average consumer in Italy, as well as between organic food consumers who shop at big retail chains and those who shop at specialised outlets. Read more in our article.

The economic crisis has not affected organic products in Italy. Evidence of this is the latest research by the Ismea / GFK-Eurisko panel, which indicates a growth of organic spending by 7.3% in 2012, after more than 9% in 2011. Statistics from Istat, Ismea/Nielsen and Iamb market research show, that Italian households purchasing organic foods at supermarkets and hypermarkets have fewer members: single or two member households make up no less than 46% of consumers at big retail compared with 31% shopping at specialised outlets. By contrast, the latter account for 41% of households with four or more persons compared with the 29.5% of these households shopping at the big chains. While the average organic consumer in an Italian supermarket is under 45, the age groups between 35 and 54 tend to buy in specialised shops (see table).

Table: Selected socio-demographic aspects of organic food consumers in 2010
 

(Source: Data processed from Istat, Ismea/Nielsen, Iamb)

Even if we take into account the fact that big retail seldom has more than 350 to 400 organic items in any given assortment on sale, it is clear that the difference in the volume purchased by a single person
shopping at a big chain and by a four person household shopping at an outlet with several thousand items to hand can be truly significant. A reworking of the Ismea/Nielsen survey figures shows that three-quarters of organic food consumers at the big retail chains are not habitual purchasers and that the picture is precisely the opposite for the specialised outlets, where more than 75% go to their outlets once or twice a week. The rate of purchases by shoppers who go to specialised outlets well stocked with organic foods is high: 49.1% say they buy “a lot” and 31.3% “everything or almost everything”. Company planning and marketing strategies must, of course, take into account these distinguishing factors among other things.

The strong suits of the speciality shops lie in the vast assortment of items on offer, prompt customer assistance and human relations. Indeed, although they’ve copied from big retail features like house publications, promotions, stamps and fidelity cards, no one who shops at a specialised retailer would be satisfied with the long-shelf-life items routinely found at their fresh food counters and the often very “basic” assortments stocked by big retail outlets. (Picture: Specialised retailers have loyal customers)

Organic wine is one of the sectors that was very successful in 2012 and achieved wide international recognition. The Italian company Barone Pizzini won the IWC Organic Trophy at the International Wine Challenge of London with its Franciacorta Rosé 2008 – a traditional, bottle-fermented sparkling wine also won the Italian Sparkling Trophy with the same wine at the same challenge. Two other Italian wineries gained a special gold medal for outstanding quality – the 2007 Caiarossa IGT Toscana by Caiarossa Srl and the 2007 Vin Santo del Chianti-Malvasia and Trebbiano-Toscana DOC, Fattoria la Vialla at the BioFach Mundus Vini contest in 2012. Other Italian wineries won 13 gold medals and 25 silver medals at the same contest. (Picture: Italian wine were award winners in 2012)
 

The website www.centovigneitalia.it ran a survey of 457 consumers, chosen from people who usually also buy wine online, with 39 % of those surveyed being female and 61% male aged between 21 to 65. About 27 % stated they know exactly what organic wine is; 54% said they know, but not in detail; and 19 % have never heard of it.
85 % of the people surveyed did not know the difference between biodynamic and organic wine. 9% of the interviewees regularly buy organic wine - mostly white (36 %) and sparkling (34 %). 84% think organic wine is healthier than conventional wine, mostly as pesticides aren’t used (65 %) and because it is lower in sulphites
(24 %). 14 % of buyers think organic wines taste better. 39 % think the best channel for sales is online, 34 % think it’s wine-makers’ direct marketing and 21 % organic shops.
 

After a drop in the organic land area in Italy in 2008, it has been on the rise again since 2009. In 2011, more than 847,000 hectares of land in Italy were cultivated organically, and almost 260,000 hectares were in conversion. Close to 42,000 farms were working according to organic principles. In 2011, more than 48,000 companies were engaged in the organic sector. While 18.6 % of farmers in conventional farming in Italy were younger than 50 in 2010, in organic farming the figure was a remarkable 65 %.

Organic agriculture and companies in Italy
The organic sector in Italy provides a wide variety of jobs. Altogether, over 200,000 people are employed in producing organics in Italy.
 

(Source: Sinab/Italian Ministry for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Politics)

Thanks to Roberto Pinton, FederBio, who provided the information.