2001 has turned into another record year for organic dairy products reports market leader Yeo Valley Organic.
Sales across all sectors broke new ground and by the beginning of December, the market was worth almost £43m, even higher than the £40m predicted by the company earlier in the year.
Though organic yogurts have started to come under price pressure as a result of everyday value competition by the multiples, organic yogurts managed to develop their business at a faster rate than that achieved by conventional brands, and ended the year up by 14.4% in value and 14.9% in volume. This compared to 8.9% value and 7.3% volume recorded for the total yogurt market.
Children’s products continued to move ahead rapidly, with value for the total market (conventional as well as organic) of £43m, up by almost 22% on the previous year. Chilled desserts also enjoyed rapid growth, up 11.4% in value and 12.8% in volume, year on year.
Yeo Valley Organic retained its place as clear market leader in the organic sector, with a brand share of more than 56%, seven times that of its nearest rival.
“We are now not only the most significant organic brand in the total grocery business, but also a major competitor to non organic products. While other long established yogurt brands have seen their share fall, our growth has helped to drive the total yogurt market,” commented Yeo Valley Marketing Director, Ben Cull.
“Demand for organic products continues to increase strongly and the Soil Association believes that sales will continue to grow by 20% year on year. This reinforces our view that the organic sector will continue to be the most dynamic part of the dairy business, with continuing strong progress for many years to come.”
