A healthy concern

The argument for going organic is now a familiar one - organic produce is free of harmful pesticides.

It contains more vitamins, minerals and enzymes than intensively-farmed produce, it tastes better, and organic farms employ environmentally-friendly production methods.

Yet it is only recently that organic produce has become a viable option for many consumers.

Previously, producers were small businesses struggling to meet supply and consumers saw organic food as an expensive, luxury choice.

A growth sector

But the concept that ‘we are what we eat’ has taken hold.

The growing awareness of the health benefits of organic and whole foods has created an escalating demand for high-quality ingredients and a burgeoning sector of the already huge UK food market.

Latest figures show that the organic sector is worth around £1.2 billion a year in the UK (source: the Soil Association) - a tenfold increase on eight years ago.

Sales are growing by an impressive £2 million a week.

Supermarket chains such as Sainsbury’s have worked with producers to develop the organic supply chain by guaranteeing minimum prices and return.

Rejecting the fast-food option

The backlash against processed food is fuelling this momentum.

The Government is phasing out junk food in the UK’s schools.

And companies such as McDonald’s are scaling back, announcing in January 2006 that it would be closing UK branches and reducing its high street presence.

Despite these changes, organic and whole-foods production is still a fledgling industry accounting for just over one per cent of all food sales in the UK.

But it is therefore creating huge potential for investors seeking to provide consumers with the healthier alternatives they now want.

Consumers demand quality

It is exactly this scope that has allowed a company such as Green & Black’s, which imports organic Mayan chocolate from Belize, to grow from a tiny niche company to a major player in the UK confectionary market.

Katie Selman, brand manager for Green & Black’s, attributes this to consumer demand for quality food:

“Consumers are much more educated; they vote with their purses,” she says.

“There has been a rebellion against quantity in favour of quality.”

Expanding health foods into Europe

The Fresh & Wild chain of organic supermarkets also grew out of this association between healthy foods and quality merchandise.

It was bought out in 2004 by Whole Foods Market, the US organic-food retailer, which recently announced it will open the UK’s first large-scale organic supermarket in London in 2007.

Whole Foods Market sees the move as its first step in expanding the brand in the UK and ultimately into other parts of Europe.

Chief executive John Mackey said, “The UK is an obvious first choice due to the advanced acceptance of organic foods and the lack of a language barrier.”

What’s in what we eat?

And as UK consumers become more health conscious, so the labelling of food is taking on increased importance.

The emerging message is that people are more willing to buy if they know exactly what is in their food.

In March 2006, the Food Standards Agency approved a food-labelling scheme that will provide colour-coded ‘at a glance’ information on fat, salt and sugar content of all foods.

Healthy eating is an investment

The consistent approach across the industry will benefit producers by increasing consumer confidence, while further strengthening the growing organic sector by reinforcing its high nutritional value.

According to Sybil Kapoor, food editor of The Sunday Times newspaper, the interest in organic foods is not a fad:

“Parents with young families are the driving force in this awareness…It’s a long-term trend as they see healthy eating as an investment in their future.”