Soil Association Certification is supporting organic businesses once again this festive season with the launch of its online Organic Collective Christmas Marketplace.
Featuring a wide range of organic products – from turkeys, veg boxes, gifts, spirits and chocolates as well as Christmas essentials – the marketplace aims to help consumers find, try and buy everything they need to celebrate an organic Christmas.
The Organic Collective Christmas Marketplace gives all Soil Association Certification licensees a platform to showcase their products, and is designed to drive more traffic to websites and retail outlets, and increase sales of organic over the holiday period.
“We want to continue to reinforce the positive messaging around organic, especially at this key time of Christmas when shoppers are thinking more about where their food comes from,” says Clare McDermott, business development director. “Organic is food as it should be, and means fewer pesticides, no GM ingredients, no routine use of antibiotics, always free-range and no artificial colours or preservatives.”
We want to continue to reinforce the positive messaging around organic, especially at this key time of Christmas when shoppers are thinking more about where their food comes from
“As well as getting consumers to find everything to be inspired about organic in the Christmas hub, we are also encouraging consumers to visit their local independent organic retailer, try a box scheme or visit a farm shop, and will be producing point-of-sale materials to assist retailers in highlighting and celebrating their organic products this Christmas season.”
Key categories for organic around Christmas in 2016 included cream, chocolate, preserves and spreads, wine and spirits, and these all performed better around Christmas than during the rest of the year (Nielsen Scantrack). Soil Association Certification says it expects to see repeated support for these areas and increased interest in others, as shoppers continue to seek out healthy food and prioritise traceability in food sourcing.
For more information about the Organic Collective Christmas Marketplace, including how to have your business included in the online listings, contact Niamh Noone [email protected].
