Making more organic products available in GDO (Large-Scale Distribution) stores is certainly a good strategy to relaunch the sector, and on this, the large retail chains are committed. However, among consumers, there is still little knowledge, if not confusion, about the characteristics and values of organic products. This is why, to relaunch organic products, we must start from the point that ‘the distribution strategy is not only made by the Large-Scale Distribution but by the entire sector – as emphasized by the head of development and sustainability at Coop, G. Bellini, and our columnist Fabrizio Piva – Together, we all make the distribution strategy, and this is what we must focus on and believe in.’ This is the summary consideration that emerged from the webinar ‘Distribution, a role to recover,’ the second appointment in the series ‘How Organic Can Become a Leading Player Again,’ organized by GreenPlanet in collaboration with Omnibus Comunicazione and with the support of Consorzio il Biologico.
The meeting, moderated by Chiara Brandi, journalist and coordinator of GreenPlanet, also featured Fabrizio Piva, Alberto Ancarani, head of organic fruits and vegetables at Coop Italia, Nicoletta Maffini, president of Assobio, Ernesto Fornari, director of Apofruit, Silvia Schmidt, policy manager at IFOAM Organics Europe, and Annamaria Medici, head of organic fruit and vegetable purchases and training at Multicedi.
From the interventions of the organic fruits and vegetables managers at Coop Italia and Multicedi, it emerged that neither the wide assortment nor the distribution of promotional flyers has helped increase organic consumption in their stores. ‘We have tried to relaunch organic consumption, and despite the wide assortment we offer, we have not achieved the expected results; the recipe has not yet been found,’ emphasized Alberto Ancarani regarding organic product sales at Coop Italia.
‘At Multicedi stores,’ observed Annamaria Medici, ‘it is difficult to support the organic assortment. Categories like nickel-free and zero-residue products have eroded some of the organic turnover, and we had also somewhat eased up on it, but then we decided to meet the demand of consumers who seek it, so we started including it again in our promotional flyers, providing information to strengthen consumer trust and loyalty.’
For Nicoletta Maffini, president of Assobio, the organic consumption market is showing some recovery and is still above the commonly indicated 3% share of the entire agri-food sector because consumers not only buy in GDO but also in direct sales points and specialized stores. ‘That said,’ Maffini observed, ‘there is still a lot to be done, and it can be done together, among the various operators in the supply chain. On our part, we work a lot in synergy with the GDO to promote organic products, and if we still haven’t seen the expected results, it’s because there is still consumer skepticism about organic products, who are also confused by the various green claims.’
On the recent statement made by Minister Lollobrigida that organic production should increase and guarantee lower prices for the market, making them affordable for a wider consumer base, the director of Apofruit, Ernesto Fornari, intervened, observing that ‘this is shooting ourselves in the foot. In fact,’ Fornari said, ‘my biggest fear is that without the right income for organic producers, agricultural land will be lost, and when an organic business is gone, you can’t recover it.’ ‘There needs to be more information for consumers and a well-assorted range of products with many varieties,’ Fornari added, ‘as well as seasonal promotional campaigns at the right time.’
Coop Italia wanted to contribute a solution to the problem of relaunching organic products by stating, ‘We could push more on certain types of organic products that consumers like, such as lemons,’ Ancarani said, ‘by selling only organic lemons in small and medium supermarkets and not conventional ones.’ A proposal considered ‘interesting’ by the director of Apofruit, Fornari, ‘because different store sizes can offer different sales options. We have experience in this regard, with positive results.’ However, on the ‘one-way sales’ concept, Annamaria Medici expressed reservations, emphasizing ‘I don’t agree with the idea of eliminating conventional products because our retail reality (Multicedi is a leading GDO player in Central-Southern Italy, mainly in Campania) is in a highly productive area.’ Medici reiterated that consumers need more information about organic products, ‘and if zero-residue products have increased sales, it means they have communicated better than organic products.’
Certainly, organic has values and characteristics that other production systems do not have and should be communicated better,’ emphasized Fabrizio Piva. ‘For example, the environmental premium of organic farming should be better communicated.’
Silvia Schmidt from IFOAM Organics Europe, the European division of IFOAM Organics International, the global federation for organic movements, focused on the issue of tariffs, reporting that the federation ‘immediately contacted the US counterpart, and agricultural sector associations on both sides of the ocean expressed concern. There is widespread belief that the introduction of tariffs will have negative effects on both producers and consumers.
