Biological specialty stores saw their turnover grow by 14.6 percent last year. This increase is not due to inflation, but because more customers visited the stores, reports industry organization Bionext. The stores mainly sold more organic fish and bread.
The total organic turnover increased by 9.6 percent in 2024, reports Bionext. That amounts to 1.77 billion euros. Part of that growth is due to the turnover of organic specialty stores: it increased by 14.6 percent.
That is mainly because the physical stores attracted more customers, writes the industry organization. The “strong growth” of the webshops of specialty stores also plays a role.
“The growth confirms what we see in the stores,” says Roosmarijn Saat, chair of the Biowinkelvereniging. “More and more consumers are finding the organic specialty store.” According to Saat, this is due to “the combination of a good assortment” and “expertise and commitment” of the stores and webshops.
Supermarkets mainly sold more organic fish: that turnover grew by 74 percent. The sale of canned meat and bread also increased significantly.
What is organic?
The word ‘organic’ is a protected term within the European Union.
“Organic farming takes animal welfare and the environment into account as much as possible,” the Nutrition Center previously told NU.nl. “For example, animals have more space to live and display natural behavior, and farmers use the manure from their animals as much as possible on their own land.”
Rules also apply to growing vegetables. For example, farmers are not allowed to use artificial fertilizers and chemical pesticides for their crops.
Share of Organic Agricultural Land also Increased
In addition, the share of organic agricultural land in the Netherlands grew. In total, 5.1 percent of Dutch agriculture is now organic. The largest part of those organic hectares is grassland for the animal sectors, especially dairy cattle.