Organic food was trending in Austria in 2021

Despite the Corona crisis, the previous year was "quite a quiet year" in terms of household consumption - at least that is what the AMA consumption evaluation shows. Price increases were not yet an issue in 2021, "rather the opposite", reminds the AMA. For this year, however, major upheavals in the agricultural sector and thus in purchasing behavior are to be expected.

Hoarding purchases did not occur

Austrian households spent slightly less in food retail in 2021 compared to the previous year, but still almost 13 percent more than in the last year before the crisis. People are cooking and baking less again, with ready meals and dairy mixes booming instead, according to RollAMA (rolling agricultural market analysis), the AMA's evaluation of household spending. Hoarding purchases failed to materialize, which lowered demand for canned fruits and vegetables.

Promotional products became more important, but so did organic products

Two opposing trends emerged in 2021. First, promotional merchandise became more important - by value, 28 per cent of purchases were for promotions, a new high. On the other hand, organic products accounted for 11 per cent or almost 800 million Euros of purchases, which is also a record. For milk purchases, 30 percent already fall under organic, for eggs 25 percent and for meat meanwhile 6 percent. Glass packaging for dairy products is also slowly gaining acceptance. Consumers also buy 20 percent of fruit yogurts in glass jars.

Online business is still a minor factor in food purchasing; the AMA does not expect a dramatic increase here either. Only two per cent of the expenditure for the products recorded in RollAMA was made online, mainly for ready meals and frozen products, but organic products are also ordered online more often than average because of the many direct marketers. Online food purchases are likely to increase primarily in the area of staple foods or specialties.

The RollAMA evaluations are based on records of 2,800 households about their purchases in food retailing. The product groups covered are meat and poultry, milk and dairy products, cheese, fruit, vegetables, potatoes, eggs, frozen products and ready meals.