In November the Soil Association launches its Online Christmas Market to link suppliers and buyers of organic Christmas produce.
“It’s very much focused around ways to have an organic and more sustainable Christmas,” says Clare McDermott, SA business development director, “and to encourage people to include organic at this time of year. We are aiming to increase consumer awareness and sales of organic in the run-up to Christmas, for licensees, producers and the shops that stock organic.”
She says produce can’t be bought directly from the hub but visitors can access people who sell relevant organic seasonal products – from small turkey producers to larger flour producers, to the retailers who will be selling organic products this Christmas.
“It’s a shop front in which people can advertise and make their products available, with links straight to their shops or websites. We would like to call on independent retailers who are stocking organic Christmas products to make sure they include their listings on the site.”
The campaign is being supported by a press and social media campaign alongside the digital campaign.
McDermott points out that sales of some organic produce rise markedly over the holiday period: “People increasingly want to know where their Christmas products are coming from; they’re looking for provenance and are therefore looking for organic. And because of the current trends around home cooking, there is a big increase in organic flours and ingredients for mince pies, puddings and cakes.” To support this, recipes will be included on the website, she adds.
“Sales of organic turkey, vegetable boxes, mince pies, chocolate, cheese, Christmas teas and general meats also rise around this time of year,” says McDermott, “as do beauty gift sets, which increase significantly.”
In addition to flagging up organic, the Soil Association will be encouraging people to gift responsibly by buying FSC wrapping paper too.
For more information, to list your store, order POS materials and download digital assets, visit the Soil Association website.
