Organic food is booming all over the world and the same thing is happening in France. In fact, the sector has been constantly growing since 2007 and the sale of organic food increased to 13.2 billion euros turnover in 2020, 1.4 billion euros higher than in 2019 (+10.4%).
People under 35 years old are the driving force behind organic food consumption. However, all generations have been found to be interested in organic food. In fact, 47% of French consumers are eating organic food at least once a week, and 90% are occasional buyers.
Health is the main reason why French people eat organic food. After which consumers often cite quality, taste, and environmental reasons.
Over the last few years, we have observed new purchasing habits influencing consumers' eating patterns, particularly with the return of "home-made" food. The French are getting more and more interested in the origin of food and production methods when putting meals together. The aim of these new habits is to ensure a healthy and balanced diet at home.
Purchasing behaviour has changed, with consumers comparing product prices, checking the origin and quality of products and promoting short supply channels.
In 2019, the biggest contributors to organic sales were groceries, with 29% of market share, fresh fruit and vegetables (17%) and dairy products (16%). Sales of other products have recently started to increase significantly, such as alcoholic beverages and frozen products.
Source: Agence Bio: Le marché alimentaire bio en 2019
Mass distribution has accounted for more than half of organic sales in France (55%) in 2019. After this come specialised organic supermarkets (28%). Direct sales from producers to consumers represent 11% of the sales. However, consumers tend to buy different types of product depending on the distribution channel. Specialised organic shops are leaders in the distribution of organic fruit and vegetables (43%). Mass distribution is the leading distribution channel in the dairy sector with 82% of milk sales and almost two thirds of organic egg sales. As for direct sales, wine scores the most highly (45% of sales).
Source: Agence Bio: Le marché alimentaire bio en 2019
There are many independent organic retailers in France as well as larger organic chains operating all over the country. Here are the more developed chains:
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