Food and drink trend growing
The UK organic food and drink market has smashed the£1 billion mark, with sales almost doubling in the past five years.

Sales will reach£1.2 billion this year, with 71 per cent of the UK buying into the market, according to a Mintel study.

It is not just affluent foodies driving organic sales, the research revealed. In the past 12 months, 53 per cent of the C1 middle-income group purchased organic fresh fruit, compared with 59 per cent of the better off AB group.

Mintel senior market analyst Julie Sloan said: 'Sales are being driven by consumer interest in healthy eating, locally sourced produce and concern for the environment and food safety. There is no doubt that these products have jointed the mainstream.'

Fruit and vegetables are the most popular organic products, with 54 per cent of adults having bought them over the past year. Organic meat is the second-most popular product.

Sloan said: 'Organic ranges are available from all major multiples and the majority of households do buy organic food, even if some are only doing so occasionally.'

Supermarkets sell 80 per cent of all organic food. Sainsbury's relaunched its So Organic range earlier this year. At Asda, sales of organic food are growing 41 per cent year on year.

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