Shoppers buying up more organic food products in Dutch supermarkets

Consumers are increasingly choosing organic food and drinks in Dutch supermarkets, according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands. In the first half of the year, 3.5 percent of all supermarket food spending went to products with an organic label, slightly up from 3.2 percent in the same period last year.

Statistics Netherlands noted that the share of organic products rose slightly in almost all product categories. Sales of organic potatoes, vegetables, and fruit increased the most in proportion. In the first half of 2024, 4.7 percent of these products were organic; this year, the share rose to 5.5 percent.

Eggs are the most commonly organic product, accounting for over 17 percent of all sales in that category. Drinks are the least often organic, with only 1.6 percent of spending going to products with an organic label.

Looking at the period from 2018 to 2024, Statistics Netherlands found that, on average, 3 percent of the food sold in supermarkets was organic.

Supermarket chains such as Albert Heijn, Lidl, Jumbo, and PLUS have ambitious targets for organic products. Albert Heijn aims to achieve a 10 percent revenue share for organic fruits, vegetables, and potatoes (AGF) by 2026.

However, despite these ambitions, research shows that the promotion of organic products in supermarket flyers is limited. Albert Heijn is relatively the most active in promoting organic products, but even it dedicates only 5 percent of its total promotions to organic variants. Aldi and Dirk perform even lower, with less than 2 percent of their offers focused on organic products, according to EkoLand.

Organic products were cheapest at discount chains such as Dirk and Lidl in 2024, where consumers paid 18 percent less than the average for organic items, according to the Dutch Consumers’ Association. At other supermarkets, including Hoogvliet, Albert Heijn, Jumbo, and PLUS, prices for organic products are around 10 percent below the average.