Sales of organic food and beverage products reached a record €3.3 billion in Italy in the year to June 2020, having seen 4.4% growth, new data has shown.
The figure represents retail sales only and does not include the consumption of organic products in the HoReCa channel, in schools or commercial canteens, or exports.
The positive performance was boosted by the increasing popularity of organic products during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a report presented by ISMEA.
An estimated 90% of Italian consumers bought an organic food product 'more than three times' in the period, the data showed.
Organic product sales were largely driven by large-scale grocery retailers, which saw sales increase 5.7% in the period. Discounters stores also performed strongly, growing by +10.7% in the first few months of 2020, however the channel represents just 9% of overall spend on organic products.
On average, organic products are priced 60% higher than other products, the study found. The gap is narrower in the fruit and vegetables segment, compared with other categories.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
