Sanphi: France gains taste of Brazil

Posted - August 15, 2009

Sanphi: France gains taste of Brazil

By Adriana Michael

Sanphi International, a sourcing, trading and consulting agency established in Brazil two years ago, will be introducing well known organic certified Brazilian brands to France this Fall. After two decades of rich experience acquired dealing with the international market in Latin America, French national Philippe Leclerc decided to relocate to Brazil two years ago to start this new venture sourcing Brazilian foods and ingredients to satisfy the growing demand for organics in France. “I have worked in many parts of the world and mainly in the banking and wine industries”, says Philippe. “I like Brazil very much and with the growing interest in organic food and with the supply not keeping up with the demand in France, it was a good moment to start Sanphi”.

Leclerc has been sourcing the best products available for exporting and is pleased with the results so far: “We have exclusive distribution rights for Native, the largest producer of organicsugar in the world, a firm with 25% market share at the moment”. Native is a Brazilian organic pioneer that has been able to find ways to sustainable development in the highly competitive sugar industry.

Sanphi will introduce Native to BIOCOOP , the largest organic retail chain in France with 320 stores, to Naturalia with 30 stores in the Paris area and to Natureo, a new concept in organic retailing, currently with three very large outlets with over 3,500 sqm, modelled after Whole Foods. “Even though Brazil enjoys a large domestic market for many sectors and does not depend on exports like other countries in the region, I can see organic entrepreneurs taking the export activity seriously, they are eager to develop a good product for the international market”, says Leclerc.

Native has diversified its offer adding other foods such as coffee and Sanphi will introduce those lines to France as well. At first it was difficult for the buyers to understand why Native would not sell under private labels, but Leclerc says now they agree it is a great concept to allow consumers to get the direct connection from the farm to the shelf. To complement the Native line and offer French buyers a complete variety of the tastes and flavours from Brazil, Sanphi will also introduce heart of palm from Fazenda e Casa, instant coffee under its own brand Biograal, flavoured organic mate from Campo Verde and baby food imported from Argentina. “We are concentrating efforts in Brazil with a few companies to serve those three main chains for now, but expect to add other retail chains and other suppliers in the near future”. Leclerc and his partner Stephane Savigny will be present at NATEXPO, to meet their clients at other interesting items the French organic trade may suggest for them to export from Brazil and the Latin American region.

France’s Humble Boom

Posted - July 23, 2009

France’s Humble Boom

By John Coghlan

The next time you nestle into your chair at a Paris bistro and order a wine from Provence, you may be ordering organic. France’s organic market may be small, but, recession aside, growing fast. Sales of organic food jumped 25% last year and more than 60% in the past three years to reach 2.6 billion Euros. Agence Bio, France’s organic association said that sales would probably continue to grow as the public wanted to avoid pesticides in food and genetically modified foods.

Today, organic products in France are offered in all distribution and consumption channels. Already 36% of cafeterias offer at least one organic serving on their menu. In total food sales, organics still have a humble market, jumping from 1.1% of market share in 2007 to 1.7% in 2008. But the organic sector is still growing. Since 1999 organic farmers have almost tripled area allotted to growing organic produce to 580,000 hectares. And market share will continue to grow: 74% of those who had bought organic food said that they would maintain or increase their purchases over the next six months. In a recession, growing markets are something to watch. Agence Bio’s head, Elizabeth Mercier stated that organic products so far appeared resistant to the recession with sales continuing to increase.

One lesson for organic producers and retailers: keep prices modest. In a recent survey, 57% of French polled said that they compare organic and non-organic prices. Only 47% said so in 2006. As well, growth rates are down in all major organic food markets, such as the United States and Germany. The same is proving true for France.

To further build the organic sector, Agence Bio ,in cooperation with other organizations, launched in 2008 a two year national consumer communication campaign. Events that highlight the benefits of organic farming have been scheduled at major stores and fairs. And to increase organic production another initiative is courting grain farmers. Leading organics are the fruit and vegetable, wine and livestock sectors. In the south, Languedoc Rousillon’s organic vineyard area is increasing 36% a year, followed by Provence-Alpes-Côtes-d’Azure, with a 26% yearly growth in organic vineyard area. Last year, 5.6% of France`s fruit cultivation had become organic. Of note too, farmers are planting aromatic organic crops for the perfume industry – above all, lavender, and medicinal herbs for sales in health products. And despite humble cultivated area, in the past year, these crops registered a 25% increase. But the greatest jump in organic production has been the 40% increase in organic olive production. So at the Paris Bistro, even the olive in your Martini may soon be organic.

China’s market shows potential

Posted - April 1, 2009

China’s pretty face

By Adriana Michael - As printed in O.W.N. Winter 2009

When people think of China from a business perspective, probably the last thing to come to mind would be high-end, certified organic cosmetics, but Jasmin Skincare has broken the perception barrier. Run by Gordon Chalmers and Lihua Song, an Australian husband and wife team, the company has launched itself into the Chinese market with great success.

Jasmin Skincare opened its first retail counter in a high-end shopping centre in Guangzhou in October 2008, with plans for seven more points of sale next year.

“Significant sales have kicked off this year with our products now becoming available around China and at counters in the major department stores,” Chalmers said.

With the beauty and lifestyle industry booming in Asia, Jasmin Skincare is ready to tackle it head on, but theirs is not an overnight success. It took the company three years to go through China’s stringent product testing.

After setting up in an old bio-dynamic fruit orchard and jam factory at the top of Mount Tambourine, in the beautiful Gold Coast hinterland of Australia, Jasmin Skincare has focussed since 2005, on foreign rather than domestic markets.

“China does offer amazing market potential,” said Valerie Bell of Bell Alliances, a Canadian based consulting firm that assists Asian and North American companies in the natural and organic food and health care sectors, “but interested parties need to be aware that there is need of strong commitment, perseverance and a readiness to make serious investment”—something Chalmers and Song were definitely willing and able to do.

Bell also explained that the best type of person to navigate business challenges particular to China would be someone with a dual upbringing, perhaps Chinese-American or Chinese Canadian, who was also perfectly fluent in the language and customs of that country. Given that Australian citizen Lihua Song was born in China and is fully bicultural, tapping into the Chinese market seemed the logical choice for Jasmin Skincare.

Though there are no official systems in place to secure a national distributor and gaining national media coverage is notoriously difficult for foreign companies, Song’s bicultural advantage opened many doors. Amazingly, most local and national TV stations in China and Hong Kong have offered Jasmin Skincare major coverage. There was also a program about her life story on national TV during the Chinese New Year celebrations.

“This is obviously a huge thing for a small company,” said Lisa Tristam, spa and aromatherapy business development manager at Jasmin, “and we hope it’s the start of something big.”
Queensland Trade Minister John Mickel said Jasmin Skincare was making the most of the booming luxury markets in China, and have to be commended on being the first certified organic skincare range to pass the strict Chinese Government import certification.
“The Chinese are traditionally tough negotiators ,” said Bell. “They want imported goods, but as much as they are willing to pay for organics, they also want low prices.”

Responding to customers’ needs, Jasmin is committed to helping people by having nutritionists and skincare professionals available to educate people about the importance of organics. In fact, education is how the idea for Jasmin Skincare germinated. Several years ago, Song’s father was diagnosed with cancer, and she started looking into natural medicines. What she found inspired her to delve deeper into natural healing alternatives and natural skincare products. A mere seven years later, Jasmin Skincare is poised to go national across China, a country whose sense of organics is not highly spread yet.

“In Hong Kong the organic sector is much more developed than in mainland China,” said Valerie Bell. “Therefore it is a much easier gateway to enter the giant tiger. Hong Kong has a bilingual workforce, lots of people who have travelled the world, a better mix of west and east. There are also large distribution chains based there to serve not only China, but also other Asian markets.”

These challenges notwithstanding, Jasmin Skincare’s strategy for China is to open more upscaled skincare outlets, holistic lifestyle and well-being stores, and Jasmin spas.

Riding high on the crest of their success in China after only four months, Gordon Chalmers said, “If we got a 12 million dollar order on our first sale, don’t tell me there is no market in China for high-end organic products.”

Brazil Third in Organic Farms

Posted - March 30, 2009

Brazil Ranks Third in Number of Organic Farms

OrganicsBrasil Reported Successful Participation at Biofach

By Sofia Garcia, O.W.N.

Brazil, a country known for the cultivation of both exotic and staple food ingredients, currently ranks third in terms of number of organic farms, according to a recent survey by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).

This vast Latin American country, which concentrates most of the Amazon rainforest, has been leading the world in production or export volume of coffee, soy beans, cane sugar, orange juice and beef. Now it also offers a wide range of organic certified products for export. Thirty one exhibitors with quality ingredients such as cashews, acai berries, cacao, coffee, and processed foods, supplements, essential oils, cosmetics and even apparel made of organic certified cotton were on display at the OrganicsBrasil Pavilion at Biofach in Nuremberg, Germany this past February 19-22. Exotic Umbu fruit jam and Baru nuts, where two new product introductions at the fair.

OrganicsBrasil also had a stand for the first time at Vivaness (Biofach’s sister and parallel fair for personal care products), with leading Brazilian natural cosmetics firms Ecove and Surya present. Beraca, Brazilian leading supplier of natural and ethical cosmetic ingredients was also showing its range for the third time, first under the umbrella of OrganicsBrasil. “Biofach ‘09 was impressive”, said Filipe Sabara, Beraca’s business director. “The organic market has been growing each year in different product categories, and in the personal care market, it was amazing to see an increase of exhibitors and visitors, compared to Biofach last year”. Sabara added that visitors seemed more focused and knowing the products they wanted to find.

The Beraca group is working hard to supply products that will help natural cosmetics manufacturers continue strong focus on “naturally and organically” claims, which may help them go through tough economic times. Surya export manager Vinicius Vasconcelos was also satisfied with the response to his line at Biofach. “Interest has been high and we have excellent medium term prospects for closing deals with retailers and importers.” Surya’s products use ingredients from the Amazon and are fair trade certified.

According to Ming Liu, OrganicsBrasil project manager, the thirty one Brazilian exhibitors at Biofach generated an estimated $21.8 million in sales opportunities.

“Despite fewer visitors, approximately 30% less than previous years, we noted that those who did appear were more objective, focused on closing deals and establishing long term partnerships”, said Ming Liu. “The results achieved by Brazilian participants were solid and positive.” This season OrganicsBrasil also had a pavilion at Expo West in Annaheim , March 5-8 and is joining the Brazilian pavilion at Sial Montreal, April 1-3 exploring the Canadian market.

More information available at www.organicsbrasil.org.

Italian Firm Reaches Latin America

Posted - March 30, 2009

La Finestra’s Next Frontier: Latin America

By Adriana Michael, O.W.N.

It’s easy to think of Latin America as a source for wholesale organic ingredients, but few think of it as a market for high-end European organic foods. Yet improving economies are changing that perspective. As the standard of living rises, so do the occurrences of diabetes, allergies and obesity. Enter La Finestra sul Cielo, an Italian organic pioneer and leading food producer with a heavenly antidote: carefully processed foods that appeal to those who know that prosperity means little without good health.

Spearheading the overseas project to bring La Finestra sul Cielo (in English the name means “window to the sky”) to Latin America is Miguel Angel Montesinos, managing director of the sister company in Spain. Montesinos and his wife, Anna Flo started la Finestra sul Cielo España five years ago, after noticing that Spain did not carry any products such as those of La Finestra’s unique line. The couple took on the challenge of introducing the Italian line first to Valencia. Sales exceeded soon everyone’s expectations. This prompted Marco Merla, managing director at La Finestra’s head office in Italy and the Montesinos to expand operations across Spain. Currently, over 1,200 Finestra products can be found in 1,500 Spanish retail outlets, including organic supermarkets Eco Veritas and Natura Si, with annual sales reported at over 4 million Euro.

The contagious enthusiasm of Montesinos and his passion promoting organics has also opened doors for La Finestra’s line of macrobiotic foods in Portugal. With this market ably covered by Anna , Miguel sees Latin America as the next obvious region for expansion. A target many European organic companies have not considered in the near future.

For Spain, it’s a natural market,” Montesinos says. “If several companies from different sectors such as cars, computers, heavy machinery and consumer goods are doing well in Latin America, why not organic certified foods?”

First stop: Brazil.

In cooperation with distributor Jeffrey E. Sidi La Finestra sul Cielo Espana is now bringing their products to Brazil, first because it has a growing organic market. Second, the government is particularly supportive of the organic sector. La Finestra tested the market with their line of cereal beverages through Pao de Açucar, a local supermarket chain that has identified organic foods as a category of importance. It serves it with a more personal approach than other large conventional supermarket chains. Response to la Finestra’s products at Pao de Açucar has been positive. Careful not to compete with existing businesses in Brazil, however, Finestra will introduce only unique products such as their vegetable and cereal based drinks, spelt pasta and crackers, all milk, egg and sugar-free foods.

“Most of the local businesses concentrate on fresh produce, tropical and exotic fruits, soy and soy-based foods, rice and coffee,” says Sidi. “We will only import foods that don’t compete with local suppliers.” However, although soy-based drinks are already popular there, they are often full of sugar, coloring, preservatives and other undesirable substances that health-conscious consumers avoid. La Finestra’s soy drink line, on the other hand, stands out because of its highly nutritious and natural makeup.

So far, La Finestra sul Cielo Espana has introduced 80 products into Brazil, in spite of the relatively high retail price. Besides the cereal drinks, goods made with quinoa and amaranth have been well accepted “We work with very low margins” says Sidi. “But with over a thousand different products to choose from, we are able to remain profitable in spite of a strong Euro and currency fluctuations”. Montesinos and Sidi are optimistic. They believe one way to the Latin stomach is by introducing health practitioners to their product line.
“Consumers need coaching in the purchasing of organics,” says Sidi. Health practitioners can explain to their patients how gluten, sugar, egg and salt-free foods are important to a balanced diet, while also explaining the health benefits of cereals like kamut and quinoa.

Though a venture still in its infancy, La Finestra products can now be found in 150 Brazilian retail outlets after only one year. In 2009, the young and enthusiastic team targets 300 outlets in Sao Paulo and other main Brasilian cities.

Montesinos already put an eye in other markets to conquer: Colombia, Mexico and Chile. Both men agree that the key to opening up Latin markets is a combination of finding serious entrepreneurs passionate about organics who have a strong financial foundation and a commitment to see a project through, despite economic ups and downs. Looking through heaven’s window on what Montesinos has already accomplished for La Finestra in Spain, Portugal and now South America, success seems deliciously close.

Africa at BioFach 2009

Posted - January 18, 2009

Africa Pavilion Going Strong for BioFach 2009

Africa will again makes its presence known at BioFach. After great success with its first Africa Pavilion at the 2008 edition of the Nuremberg, Germany, fair, 2009 fair visitors will again enjoy African designs, colours, sounds and flavours.

Last year, the Africa Pavilion gathered 73 exporters exhibiting from 13 African countries, generating favourable coverage and sales. This year over 100 exporters, export promotion agencies and non-governmental organizations will showcase specialities from Sub-Saharan African countries, connecting buyers and suppliers. According to organizers Grolink and Agroeco, this year, around 35 stands with 120 exhibitors from 14 African countries will be exhibiting a full range of organic certified products.

Products to be displayed include cashew nuts, cereals, cocoa, coconut oil, coffee, cotton, dairy, dried fruit, essential oils, fertilizers (organic, of course), flowers, fruits, spices, nuts, herbs, hibiscus, honey, wax, macadamia, natural products, oilseed, processed food, pulses, rice, sesame, shea butter, spices, tea and vegetables.

Countries represented are: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The 2009 Africa Pavilion will occupy 500 square metres of space; Uganda alone will occupy 90 square meters.

Products to be displayed include cashew nuts, cereals, cocoa, coconut oil, coffee, cotton, dairy, dried fruit, essential oils, fertilizers (organic, of course), flowers, fruits, spices, nuts, herbs, hibiscus, honey, wax, macadamia, natural products, oilseed, processed food, pulses, rice, sesame, shea butter, spices, tea and vegetables.

Organizations cooperating with Grolink and Agroeco in the development of the project include IFOAM, ITC, Organic Exchange, Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, NOGAMU (a Ugandan agricultural movement), TOPAZ, Hivos and the Triodos Foundation.

If the Africa Pavilions at Biofach 2009 and 2010 show results similar to those in 2008, organizers will consider to celebrate Africa as Continent of the Year in BioFach 2011.

Visit http://www.organicafrica2009.com and send any requests to africa2009@grolink.se.

La Vita Launches New Cookies

Posted - December 18, 2008

Crunchy, Healthy Cookies Deliver Old-Fashioned Good Taste: La Vita Introduces Eight New Prebiotic Cookie Varieties

La Vita Health Foods has introduced a line of cookies with a low glycemic index that are also prebiotic, vegan and Kosher, and cholesterol, wheat, dairy and lactose-free. These La Vita All Natural Crunchy Cookies contain no high fructose corn syrup, maltitol, artificial sweeteners, or preservatives and still have a year-long shelf life.

“When family and friends visit this year, hosts can offer adults and children alike La Vita Crunchy Cookies,” said Zina Minz, founder of La Vita Health Foods. “They’re suitable for guests with special dietary needs, or just watching what they eat. As a family-run business, those values are so important to us at La Vita and are always at the forefront of our minds.”

Industry-savvy attendees at the 54th Fancy Food Show in New York City recently proclaimed the cookies the best-tasting sugar free and gluten free cookie they had tried.

“Until now, most healthy, high-fiber cookies simply have not been very enjoyable to eat,” Minz said. “We developed La Vita All Natural Crunchy Cookies to have a delicious homemade taste and fresh-baked texture that melts in your mouth.”

After two decades of research and testing in Israel and Europe, La Vita’s unique soy-flour recipes and baking processes now allow the firm to offer its nutritious alternative to “traditional” grocery-store baked goods, which usually contain artificial preservatives, colors and flavors.

La Vita Crunchy Cookies are available in eight varieties, based on classic recipes updated with a modern twist to appeal to today’s health-conscious eaters. These include Poppy Seed, delightfully matched with a whisper of light lemony goodness, Peanut Butter, for that rich, satisfying wholesomeness, and Cajun, which features cayenne, red peppers and chicory and is subtly sweet with a pleasant saltiness.

Try some out at your next party or as a gift. For once, you can be sure no one will miss the “junk” food!

About La Vita Health Foods, Inc.

Based in Monsey, New York, La Vita Health Foods is dedicated to providing consumers and retailers with the very best “Gluten-Free and Sugar-Free Foods for a Healthy Future.” Its Crunchy Cookies are available in Almond, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate, Strawberry, Poppy Seed, Raspberry Lemon, Cajun, and Peanut Butter. For more information, call (845)368-1073 or visit www.LaVitaHealthFoods.com.

Pasta Profits

Posted - November 1, 2008

Alb-Gold : Inspiring noodles

By John Coghlan – as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2008

How can you succeed with noodles? In 1977, each day, Alb-Gold produced about 110 pounds of Spatzle – traditional German noodles. Today the company produces, each day, a thousand times that much. A European leader in the tough high-quality noodle market, now it’s time for Alb-Gold to increase its market share also in the United States. In Amana, Iowa, where one hundred fifty years before inspired German-Protestant mystics built their communities, Alb-Gold is opening a plant in a joint venture with successful German beverage manufacturer Bionade. Alb-Gold will build the 50 million US dollar factory following the highest environmental standards. Connecting the Alb-Gold plant with the Bionade bottling plant, will be an information and nutrition center open to the public, a similar successful concept of Alb-Gold at its main plant in Germany.

Egg Crisis, Sunny-side Up

The story begins with Klaus Freidler’s father who had established a chicken farm in 1968. Freidler, Alb-Gold’s CEO, remembers the farm as it was forty years ago:“The egg market was in a big crisis. Prices went down and we had lots of problems selling our eggs for good money.” But one day when visiting a local fair, Freidler turned the egg crisis sunny-side up – into opportunity. An exhibitor was showing onlookers how to make good noodles with a noodle machine. What hit Freidler was how many eggs went into the dough. “That was the answer to our problems. We had tons of eggs, why not produce high quality egg-noodles? I bought the machine the same day.” Alb-Gold hatched.

Creativity and Ecology

Alb-Gold became “bio“. To be even more eco-friendly, Alb-Gold has also used advanced technology to decrease its environmental footprint and reduce the use of natural resources, including solar panels installed on the processing plant. Lost heat from pasta-dryers now heats administrative buildings. But Freidler was too creative to stick to traditional spinach and tomato Spatzle. Alb -Gold moved to making ginger, herbal and other exotic noodles The menu at Alb-Gold’s on-site restaurant “Sonne” (which means the sun, also the firm’s logo) and the cooking studio include lemon, chocolate and gingerbread Spatzle for desserts.

Freidler showed how Alb-Gold added eco-consciousness to the company’s ethos. Alb-Gold stipulates that its spelt farmers must put flower strips around their fields. “For most of our organic products, we use cardboard boxes. There is no extra plastic bag for the noodles,” says Friedler. “We think this is one of the best ways to pack the noodles and to avoid plastic in the landfills.” Then Alb-Gold further committed itself to quality and went organic. It started offering organic pasta in the early 1990s. Today 25% of the firm’s noodles are certified organic. The premium specialties, the ecological and organic and last but not lesast exotic tastes and forms have lead Alb-Gold to success.

Noodle-Beverage Fusion

Then, in 2004, at a mountainbike-event sponsored by Alb-Gold, Freidler showed his creativity yet again: he met Peter Kowalsky, managing director of the German well-known organic beverage company, Bionade. Both were committed to regional values, high food quality and sustainable development. From this and further opportunities to share values and visions came the idea of opening joint plants in Iowa.

Alb-Gold’s success also comes from connecting direct consumers with the roots of the food they taste.Each year, the plant hosts over 350,000 visitors. They see how the noodles are produced; try them at the restaurant; learn some recipes at the cooking studio; walk through the herb garden to learn about the local herbs used in Alb-Gold noodles; shop at the store that features many regional foods and hand-made products from local artesans; visit the stalls where companies offer food samples; and attend the many cultural and sports events the company supports each year – a host of activities to inspire.

Alb-Gold produces 15% of its noodles for export, most going to the United States and Canada. In 2010, when the new plant in Iowa opens, US sales will doubtlessly go up.
But success aside, Freidler wants Alb-Gold to avoid the big mass supermarkets, where price, not quality or health, comes first. The company will continue to sell through the gourmet channels, to natural health stores, specialty food shops and will also provide its line to the food service segment. To meet distributors who share their views Alb-Gold will exhibit along with Bionade at fairs like Expo West, All Things Organic and the Fancy Food Expo in NY. This fall they will also be present at Biofach America, parallel event to Expo East in Boston.  A good showing for a remarkable year and company: Alb-Gold is celebrating its fortieth year – contact them and earn a 40th anniversary-discount.

Chocolate for a Good Cause

Posted - November 1, 2008

Pacari Chocolate Goes Beyond Sweet Actions

By Lucia Lorente - as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2008

In Ecuador, some rural areas do not have access to electricity. Communities use a huge number of battery-operated flashlights, consuming 10-12 batteries per month at a total expense of around 5-8 USD – a high portion out of an income that is often less than 2 USD per day!

Further, batteries are toxic products that contain harmful metals and substances. The used batteries are not properly discharged. They fill fields all over, and children are found playing with the colourful used “toys,” even putting them into their mouths!

Aware of this situation, Pacari Chocolate, the first organic and fair trade chocolate developed in Ecuador from bean to final product, and its parent company Ecuadorian Organics have started a new program. The community-minded firm imports solar-powered flashlights to help farmers get around 5-6 hours of light. The batteries required last around three years, saving tremendous expense and waste.

The solar energy flashlights offer a temporary but smart solution, until the government brings electricity to those families, that also implies loss of more natural resources, as more forests are cleared to give space to new roads and antenas. “Solar energy is still one of the few free clean commodities available to all”, says Ecuadorian Organics co-founder Santiago Peralta. “We also aim to help limit the use of other fuels for lamps and candles that can cause domestic fires”.

Ecuadorian Organics has also launched the Organic Agriculture Educational Project, providing technical support in organic farming as well as used computers collected from overseas clients and donors who ship them to rural schools in Ecuador. A pilot project has served 1,000 children and the next phase plans to include other schools.

Danish Lead 2009

Posted - November 1, 2008

Denmark Country of the Year at BioFach 2009

By Adriana Michael - as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2008

Next year in February, Biofach, the most international and influential fair for organic trade celebrates its 20th anniversary. Denmark has been selected  “Country of the Year” to greet and share its amazing success story in the organic sector with over 46,000 visitors and around 2,900 exhibitors.

This is no surprise for those in the know. Denmark has a strong history of environmentalism. The country is a pioneer and trailblazer in wind power.

Today Danes spend an average of 80 Euros a year per person on organic food, making this small country of over 5 million people, the leader in the European Union (EU). Sales of Danish organic products grew by 33% in 2007.  A 6.5% of all food sold in the country comes from organic sources. The capital city of Copenhagen enjoys a 12%, while the Danish government scores even higher than the citizens, with 45% of food requirements in schools, hospitals and other official areas coming from organic production.

“We have chosen Denmark because it has one of the world’s leading organic markets,” said in a release Udo Funke, managing director of BioFach in Nuernberg. Biofach management is convinced Denmark will continue to play an important role on the organic market in the future. “Denmark is a strong export-partner with internationally recognised organic products.”

How did Danemark reach this benchmark?

Denmark was the first country in the world to introduce a state-controlled organic certification, represented by a red Ø-mark, says Paul Holmbeck, managing director of Organic Denmark, a national umbrella organization that coordinates all private and public efforts for the proper development of the organic sector in the country. “Our national organic mark is trusted by Danish consumers and enjoys a 94% recognition rate”, says Holmbeck. “People in Denmark believe in our government institutions”. If someone tries to break the rules, the process goes very public and this openeness creates consumer trust.

Holmbeck also believes that the merging of all consumer, farmer and trade organic associations in 2002 under the umbrella – Organic Danemark – was a real turning point in the country’s organic movement.

The merger of eight main different organic associations was a process that started back in 1998, when the first step was to move offices of all entities to the same building. Holmbeck has been involved with the organization since the beginning and has seen first hand the process of internal restructuring and organization that has made Organic Danemark the powerhouse it is today.

“We had the same objectives and worked on the procedures to make sure all needs of all entities were addressed and covered,” says Holmbeck. Having one voice, one umbrella has empowered the movement and its members even further. “Communication with government officials and the media and reaching end consumers has been much effective”, adds Nanna Hyldegaard Hansen, public relations manager for Organic Danemark.

One of the main accomplishments of the Danish organic sector i since its pioneering years has been the cooperation of farmers and processors with the major supermarket chains, a task that Organic Danemark has developed even further.

“We created a tailor-made marketing strategy with each chain,” says Holmbeck. “They are competitors and know we work with all of them, but we make sure to offer each chain added value for our relationship with them.”

Another contributing aspect to the strong development of the organic sector has been the product differentiation, thanks to strong cooperation between organic producers, research institutions and Universities and the amazing support received from the government. “Danemark  enjoys an environment that rewards innovation and a commitment to product development and to find more sustainable ways to obtain consumer goods”, says Holmbeck.

Given Denmark’s high levels of organic food consumption, it’s a sure bet that their strategy has paid off. Holmbeck also says that Organic Danemark is using the same approach to increase export activity with supermarket chains outside the country. During Biofach 2009 in Germany, visitors and exhibitors will enjoy a series of seminars and presentations to showcase Danemark’s success story and the different aspects of the programs currently in place , besides the release of results from research showing more evidence of the strong relationship between health issues and organic farming.