Organic grows by 4.2 per cent to almost hit £4bn

The UK’s organic food and drink market has grown by 4.2 per cent, outpacing organic and marking a doubling in a decade.

That is according to the Soil Association’s annual Organic Market Report, which revealed the sector is now worth some £3.9bn, and has entered its 14^th consecutive year of growth.

The 2026 Organic Market Report, which tracks the value growth of the market over the previous year (Jan-Dec 2025), shows that overall sales of organic have increased by 4.2 per cent, with value sales in major retail growing by seven per cent, driven by uplifts in dairy, ambient grocery, fresh produce and meat, fish and poultry. The unit growth of organic in supermarkets is four times that of non-organic, at 1.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively. The report also revealed that sales in independent retail are down 1.1 per cent, with retailers reporting lower volume sales and basket spend as consumers face rising costs in products like chocolate and coffee. Meanwhile, food service was down 1.5 per cent and home delivery down one per cent.

The report said: “Organic sales continue to grow. However, the category represents a small part (1.6 per cent) of the overall market. Barriers to growth include a frustrating lack of support for organic farmers, rising business costs, export challenges and inflation continuing to put pressure on both producers and consumers.”

Dairy has been one of the biggest drivers of growth, particularly organic milk and eggs which both returned a volume sales uplift of over eight per cent. Health is dominating consumer choices, with a desire for more protein, fibre and nutrient density driving purchases towards more whole foods. With a rising number of households in the UK having at least one GLP-1 drug user, the trend to smaller but more nutrient-rich meal portions will only become more prevalent. On a global level, the UK organic market is also looking healthy, sitting at the eighth largest market globally for retail sales of organic.

“The continued growth of the organic market reflects the strong consumer demand for healthier, more nature friendly food,” commented Alex Cullen, Commercial Director at Soil Association Certification. “Concerning headlines around both pesticides and PFAS or ‘forever chemicals’ in food, and their link to health issues, have no doubt also captured consumer attention and driven shoppers to look for the organic logo, a trusted signpost to fewer artificial pesticides, additives and higher welfare. Eighty-three per cent of households are buying organic and the frequency of organic purchases has increased in supermarkets, with shoppers on average buying organic once every three to four weeks – that’s 17 trips to buy organic a year. Businesses are wise to take notice and continue to make organic food and drink available and accessible in their stores so that consumer footfall continues to be captured.”

However, there remains an issue over production; the report found that while consumer demand remains strong, this is still largely being met by imports because the UK’s overall organic production remains stagnant. The latest DEFRA figures (covering 2024) have the overall percentage of UK farmland stuck at three per cent, and while there was an increase in land in-conversion in England last year, this dramatically slowed when Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) payments were frozen. Contrast this with Scotland, where the Scottish Organic Action Plan launched in January, has seen Holyrood commit to a three-year, £200,000-invested strategy aimed at expanding organic land, increasing production, and boosting demand for Scottish organic products, with strategic routes to market support such as public procurement.