1 in 3 consumers prefer organic products over conventional
97% of German households buy some organic food and beverages, however one third of consumers manifest they prefer organic products over conventional. These two numbers can already serve as indicators on the demographics of organic shoppers – which vary considerably. Not everybody is a “real” organic shopper yet.
GfK has analyzed and defined three groups of organic shoppers:
While this represents the largest shopping group, their overall share is decreasing considerably. Selective organic shoppers spend only a single-digit percentage of their household budget on organic food, and in only a very limited number of products groups, most likely due to budget restraints. However, even these shoppers continuously buy a bit more organic and more frequently, primarily at discounters.
More than a third of organic shoppers count among this second largest group. Though their value and volume of organic decreased slightly in 2020, organic-oriented shoppers buy organic products in almost double as many products categories as the selective organic shopper. They also show an increasing preference for discounters, which could be linked to/caused by the expanded offering of organic products in this retail channel.
These are the “real” heavy buyers of organic food, who not only prefer but also buy organic. With more than two-thirds of the total organic spend, this smallest group of organic shoppers accounts – by far – for the highest organic share of expenditure on food and near-food products, compared to the two other groups. Whereas the selective organic shopper focuses on a maximum of five product groups, the organic-focused shopper buys organic in nearly all product categories.
And this group of “intensive shoppers” shows a particular high trust and preference in shopping at organic supermarkets and organic food stores. This overview already indicates that organic FMCG offers a lot of opportunities to a lot of market players.
A detailed analysis of the three shopping groups, their retail preferences as well as their budget spend and the product groups in which they choose to buy organic, can provide additional insight and recommendations for both manufacturers and retailers.
