The organic sector has been given a “green light for growth”, a buoyed up industry gathering was told at this week’s Soil Association Organic Trade Conference. 

The event took place a day after the Government published its long-awaited Organic Action Plan for England, hailed by the sector as a vital roadmap to addressing the gap between growing consumer demand for organic products and stagnant domestic production.

Welcoming delegates, Lee Holdstock, the Soil Association’s head of regulatory and trade affairs, said the plan had arrived at a pivotal moment for organic.

“In these turbulent times we are seeing increasing acknowledgement in both the UK and the EU of the crucial role that organic farming will play in the future resilience of our food systems,” he said. “All of us in this room and our wider sector have an incredibly important role to play now in growing organic. And the more we grow organic, the more we grow the resilience of our nation.”

Green light for growth
The sector’s opportunity to build on growing momentum was a recurring theme throughout the conference. In a video address, Defra minister Stephen Morgan told delegates that “organic is a priority for this Government”, adding that the new action plan set out how “the Government and the organic industry will work together over the next 10 years with a clear focus on growth”.

Christopher Stopes and Adrian Steele, co-chairs of the English Organic Forum, the cross-industry group that worked directly with Defra on the plan, thanked the department for the “energy and commitment” it had shown in “getting the plan over the line”.

In a scene-setting session entitled A green light for growth, Alex Cullen, commercial and marketing director at Soil Association Certification, reviewed the UK organic sector’s recent progress. Achievements included solid retail sales growth, the launch of the Organic for All initiative, collaborative work to build a more robust picture of organic consumers, and a trebling of PR coverage.

But significant challenges remain
Between 2004 and 2024, the UK fell well behind Germany and France in organic retail market value. By 2024, the German and French markets were worth €17bn and €10bn respectively, compared with €2.1bn in the UK. Yet 20 years earlier, the UK market had been larger than France’s and only slightly behind Germany’s.

Cullen argued that closing this gap should now be a central ambition for the sector, with the UK aiming to double the size of its organic market. The Government’s backing for the sector’s growth ambitions, through the action plan, represented “a tipping point, and an inspiration to mobilise ourselves as sector”.

“This is the start of a more structured conversation about what we need to do to ensure organic is more valued, valued by the buying teams, valued by the public, by the government – and how organic is going to be supported, and made more available,” she said.

Understanding the organic consumer
New research from the Organic Research Centre is helping the sector sharpen its understanding of its audience and target its marketing more effectively.

The findings indicate that younger consumers and lower- to middle-income households are now central to the organic market. These are, Cullen said, “households who believe in the quality of organic and the health and choice it offers their families”.

Better consumer insight gives the industry an opportunity to develop more targeted campaigns and “turbo charge our communications”, he added.

Engagement with retailers is also beginning to show results. “Retailers want to sell organic. That’s not a conversation we were having three years ago,” Cullen said.

He highlighted Marks & Spencer’s use of Organic September to position organic not simply as a premium product, but as an everyday value choice – a shift that could help broaden its appeal.

The health opportunity
Cullen also pointed to wider consumer trends that could strengthen organic’s position, including a changing approach to health and growing interest in the gut microbiome, alongside questions about the effects of pesticide exposure and the importance of soil health.

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, identified further opportunities as health trends reshape the grocery market. Nutrition and technology, he said, are two key forces influencing the future of health in supermarket retail.

Growing interest in nutrition is creating a “new battleground” for food marketing, while technology is “reshaping how shoppers discover, evaluate and purchase food”. Consumer trust is also evolving, with shoppers looking beyond individual products to scrutinise ingredients and supply chains.

The growing intention among consumers to reduce their consumption of ultra-processed foods and cook more from scratch could offer another opportunity for organic, Watkins suggested.

Organic, he said, could “now be seen as part of a wider health agenda”. For the sector, the challenge will be to translate that alignment with consumer priorities into greater visibility, wider availability and sustained growth.