Soil Association admits organics need better PR

- Published: 23 July, 2010

The Soil Association has admitted that buying organic produce became a passing trend for many people, leading to sales plunges during the recession.

"We didn't educate people sufficiently in the reasons for organic purchasing better-tasting and pesticide-free food," said Soil Association non-executive director Graham Keating. "They didn't really know why they bought organic, so it left the sector particularly vulnerable and many moved to Fairtrade, which is easier to understand."

However, trade director Finn Cottle insisted that after a period in which "the media has had a great time bashing us, we're in a more positive place now. We've seen several retailer strategies swinging back to premium foods. We also have just 2% of the market, so there's huge potential to grow," Cottle added.

The latest Kantar Worldpanel figures to 13 June show a year-on-year fall of 8% for the organic market against the most significant drops of nearly 20% in April 2009.

Cottle said that the TV programmes by Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall around free-range chicken had significantly hit the organic poultry market, with "people believing they are doing their bit just by purchasing free-range".

"Poultry is our most challenging area," said Cottle. "There is much lower stocking density for organic chickens, and the feed costs a lot more. So there's a huge task there.

"However, people do see the need to buy organic in terms of animals being treated better. It just comes down to a trade-off on the part of the consumer between price and motivation to buy better food."

>> Organics 'have turned corner', says Soil Association

>> Organic meat sales fall in 2009