This year marks 30 years of the Danish organic logo and is being marked with a special celebration.
Denmark is considered a world leader when it comes to the share of the total food market held by organic products and is represented with the national Danish organic logo – the red Ø – which is 30-years-old in 2020. 
Prior to this logo being established, the Danish Parliament had passed the world’s first law on organic production, and since then, the Danish Government has certified and controlled the country’s organic farmers and companies. Today, 98 per cent of the Danish population are aware that the red Ø is the Danish Government’s guarantee for the organic production of natural foods with focus on clean environment and a high level of animal welfare.
Each time a Dane buys food and drink for 100 kroner (the Danish currency), almost 14 kroner of that is spent on goods that bear the red Ø and the EU’s green organic logo. Based on increasing sales over previous years, Organic Denmark estimates that during 2020, the average Dane will spend 3,400 kroner, equivalent to 453 Euros, on organic products.
“There’s no doubt that the red Ø and the general cooperation between successive Danish consumers have a lot of confidence in the way in which products are controlled all the way from the farmer to the supermarket, and the label has a high level of credibility,” commented Pernille Bundgard, International Market Director at Organic Denmark.
The organisers of the annual Veganuary campaign are celebrating after increasing the number of participants by more than 150,000.
The 2020 campaign, which took place in January, saw more than 400,000 people take the pledge, a huge rise on the 250,000 in 2019 and exceeding the target of 350,000 for 2020.
Hundreds of new plant-based products were launched, with sales exceeding expectations. Retailers also saw interest in vegan products soar, for example, M&S’ Plant Kitchen No Chicken Kiev sold at a rate of four every minute since it launched on January 2.
April Preston, Director of Product Development at M&S, commented: “Veganism is a trend that we are absolutely loving at M&S, and as our customers continue to experiment and adopt more flexitarian diets, we too are having fun creating new products to fit within this.”
In addition, more than 50 companies took part in the Veganuary Workplace Challenge, encouraging employees to try vegan and providing more vegan options in the workplace. And Veganuary launched its first-ever TV ad on major networks in five countries including Sky News in the UK.
Veganuary’s Head of Communications, Toni Vernelli, commented: “With the link between animal farming and the climate crisis making headlines nearly every day, we expected Veganury 2020 to be the biggest yet, but it exceeded all of our expectations. We applaud everyone who took part and encourage them to continue eating vegan food as often as possible. And we’re grateful to all of the businesses embracing Veganuary and making it easier for more people to eat more plant-based food more often.”
If our annual Organic & Natural Business Product Awards have told us anything it is that product innovation and excellence is alive and kicking in our sector.
With a hugely varied range of products in the running for one of our awards, and with some new categories introduced to reflect the sheer number of new launches we have seen, our awards have proved more popular than ever.
And it gives us great pride and delight to be able to reveal all those brands whose products have won a coveted accolade. The reasons for why retailers felt they should be a winner were varied, but all were rooted in their excellence, ethics and innovation. Many congratulations to those who won or were highly commended and we thank all retailers who took the time to vote- winners below:
Best Skin & Bodycare:
Winner – Salt of the Earth Natural Deodorant
Highly Commended – Weleda Skin Food collection
Best Personal Care:
Winner – Organ(y)c Sanitary Pads
Highly Commended – JASON Himalayan Pink Salt 2-in-1 Bath Soak & Body Wash
Best New Beauty & Healthcare:
Winner – ATTITUDE Living BULK to go Hand Soap Orange Leaves
Highly Commended – My Beauty & Go Beauty Sleep Shot
Best Healthcare:
Winner – Celtic Nutrition Healthy Heart with Plant Sterols
Highly Commended – Salus Floradix Vitamin B-Complex
Best New Food & Drink:
Winner – Organico Perfect Gluten-Free Pasta
Highly Commended – Plamil So free Vegan Cocoa Bites
Best Food:
Winner – Tiana Fairtrade Organics Odourless Cooking Butter
Highly Commended – Navitas Organic Cacao Sweet Nibs
Best Drink:
Winner – Veg of Lund My Foodie Organic Drinks
Highly Commended – Pukka Cacoa Maca Magic Herbal Latte
Best Household:
Winner – Natracare Safe to Flush Moist Tissues
Highly Commended – ATTITUDE Living BULK to go Bathroom Cleaner
Read about them all here
Organic & Natural Business magazine