Poland: biofood has benefited from inflation
Organic food has become more expensive than regular food, price differences have narrowed, so demand is rebounding - says Bio Planet, distributor of such products.
In recent weeks, the food market in Poland has been heated up by price competition from discount chains, which are trying to increase market share with aggressive promotional campaigns. At the same time, inflation fell below 2%, although in the case of food prices are expected to increase due to the restoration of 5% VAT.
In the volatile food market, the small but constantly growing organic food category is relatively stable. Last year, Poles spent approximately PLN 1.5 billion on products with the "organic" label. The largest Polish distributor of such products expects that Poles will spend more this year.
- The increase in organic food prices was lower than inflation in the entire food sector. This was due to the fact that bioproducers did not experience an increase in the prices of chemical spraying. As a result, the percentage difference between organic and conventional food has decreased. Half a decade ago it was very large due to the gap in crop costs, especially in the case of basic products such as potatoes and beets. Now the differences are much smaller, which makes organic food more attractive to consumers - says Sylwester Strużyna, president of Bio Planet.
Bio Planet is the largest distributor of organic food in Poland, listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In the first quarter of this year, the company had PLN 77.1 million in revenues, which means an increase of 12%.
- Last year, the organic food market increased slightly. This year we can already see growing demand and increasing consumer optimism. Sales are growing steadily in most categories, with the best results in the case of products that fit the keto diet, which is now in fashion, says Sylwester Strużyna.
Source: Puls Biznesu