Belgium: Purchases for organic on the rise again

Purchases for organic increased faster than spending on food overall in the period from July 2022 to June 2023 in Belgium. This is according to recent figures from market research agency GfK, commissioned by VLAM. Organic is picking up again, after the decline in 2022 due to the sharp increase in lifespan.

Total food and household (FMCG) spending increased 8.3% in the period July 2022-June 2023 (MATQ2 2023) due to high food inflation (13.9%). Spending on fresh food was slightly higher than average (+9.3%). The number of shop visits is on the rise again and tough discount is winning further ground, including in the fresh food market.

Purchases for organic increased faster than spending on food overall in the period from July 2022 to June 2023. This is according to recent figures from market research firm GfK, commissioned by VLAM. Bio is picking up, after the decline in 2022 due to the sharp increase in longevity.

Total food and household (FMCG) spending rose 8.3% in the period July 2022-June 2023 (MATQ2 2023) due to high food inflation (13.9%). Spending on fresh food increased slightly more than average (+9.3%). The number of shop visits is on the rise again and hard discounting continues to gain ground, including in the fresh food market.

In the last 12 months, total organic spending grew by 13% (21% for fresh) more than total food and household spending. As a result, the organic share grew from 3.4% to 3.5% (and in fresh from 4.9% to 5.4%). The growth of the organic share is only in Flanders and in fresh. In absolute figures, the Flemish organic market exceeds the Walloon organic market for the first time in several years. Per capita, the Walloon still spends significantly more on organic products than the Flemish, but the gap is narrowing. The number of organic buyers stagnates for most categories except for meat, meat products and bread. Meat, fish and bread grew strongly in volume per capita. In contrast, organic dairy and eggs fell sharply in volume. The highest organic share is found in eggs (17%), but this share declined.

Pensioners from the upper social class and older singles have the highest organic share (>4%). The price difference between organic and conventional narrows for the products considered in the product basket, except for milk and yoghurt, the price difference remains status quo.

The conventional supermarket (Dis 1) remains the largest organic channel with 45% market share, followed by the specialised channel (including Bio-Planet) with a 30% share. Hard discount is growing strongly for fresh food, among others, but not for organic and remains stuck at 7% market share. Farmers' and farmers' markets are smaller distribution channels, but with the highest percentage of organic products in the range. 30% of sales here are of organic quality, while at hard discount it is only 1.3%.

Source: AGF.nl (VLAM.be via BioForum)