The Situation Regarding Organic Food in the Slovenian Retail Market

Organic farming in Slovenia is growing, the market for organic food is developing and demand is rising. However, the market share of organic food in Slovenia (between 1.25 % and 1.75 %) remains relatively low. The main reason for this state of affairs is the poor level of sales of organic products. Low sales give rise to the high prices of organic food, which can be as much as 300 % higher than the cost of conventional products.

Picture: Diabetic products in organic quality

This is one of the main reasons why consumers in Slovenia do not purchase much organic food.

The high prices are the result of high manufacturing costs and the predominantly lower income per hectare of organic farms. Despite the fact that the Slovenian government subsidizes organic farmers, prices remain high. This is because supply does not meet demand. High prices mean there is a lack of competitiveness on the market, and this deters even consumers who are well aware of the benefits of organic food. Because of the price differential, consumers prefer non-organic food to organic.

58 % of Slovenian consumers buy organic food from time to time, and they usually purchase it in hypermarkets and grocery stores. 54 % of consumers who do not eat organic food are put off by the high prices. 66 % of those who rarely eat organic food are of the opinion that organic food is expensive. But with increasing personal incomes the percentage of people who occasionally purchase organic food is rising. 

The second reason why the market share remains low is the public’s lack of awareness of the advisability of eating organic food. Slovenian consumers are familiar with the concept of organic food, but they do not understand it as health food. For them, health food means first and foremost lots of fruit and vegetables. Eating organic food is far from being at the top of their agenda. They do not have good enough information, and therefore they confuse the concept of organic with domestic, natural, homemade, etc. What is more, they consider vegetables produced in their kitchen garden to be organic.

They mostly do their shopping in retail shops and big shopping centres. They rarely buy food from farmers and specialized stores selling organic food. About 50 % of consumers buy food at least occasionally from markets.

In most cases they have become familiar with organic food through the media (newspapers, health magazines, television). Commercials for organic food are mostly seen in newspapers, magazines, grocery stores’ leaflets and on television.

The 58 % of consumers who eat organic food only occasionally purchase it mainly in hypermarkets and specialized stores. Organic markets are held in hypermarkets (Tuš, Mercator, Spar) in all the bigger Slovenian towns every Saturday, and it is here that consumers have the opportunity to taste organic food and convince themselves that organic products really do taste better than conventional products. On these occasions, promotional material is used to give consumers information about the advantages of organics.
 
Large retail suppliers, such as Spar Slovenia and Mercator, offer their customers own-brand organic products. Spar with its trademark “Natur pur” and Mercator, with its trademark “Zdravo življenje”, sell organic products at prices equal to or only slightly higher than the prices of conventional items. In consequence this means that people with lower incomes do have access to organic food.

As well as the organic food suppliers, who use various marketing techniques, the Slovenian government is also promoting organics in an effort to expand the supply and to identify target groups. In the last few months, posters published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food have appeared with the intention of ensuring Slovenian consumers are given information and of promoting organic food.