Organic Food Gains Momentum: Consumers Focus on “Genuine Value”

    In recent years, with the improvement of people's living standards, attention to food safety and health has been continuously strengthening. Organic food, with its concept of being natural, pollution-free, and additive-free, has increasingly gained popularity among consumers. It is predicted that this year China's annual consumption of organic food...

In Shenzhen, a number of businesses have already made forays into organic food, such as Walmart, Ruililai, Wangjiahuan, Chunguyuan, and others. With the groundwork laid by these businesses, an increasing number of consumers have begun to pay attention to this sector, and “organic consumption” is steadily heating up.

　　Organic food is highly favored

In recent days, reporters visited supermarkets such as Walmart, Rainbow, and Jusco, and found that these supermarkets have all set up dedicated organic food counters, with organic products covering vegetables, rice, meat, mountain delicacies, whole grains, and more.

Although the prices of organic food placed on supermarket shelves are much higher than those of ordinary food, they are still favored by consumers.

At the Rainbow supermarket, reporters saw a steady stream of customers selecting organic vegetables. In just half an hour, six customers placed organic vegetables into their shopping baskets. Supermarkets such as Jusco have specially set up dedicated organic food counters, with many customers selecting organic red beans, soybeans, and other coarse grain products. At Walmart, the most prominent items are organic whole grains such as soybeans, red beans, millet, and brown rice.

According to Huang Zhiping, Senior Director of Walmart (China) Investment Co., Ltd., organic food sales have grown substantially in recent years. Among them, organic vegetables, whole grains, meat, and rice have seen the fastest growth. Despite being more expensive than ordinary food, they are still favored by some people who are concerned about health and food safety.

　　Giants collectively ramp up efforts in organic food

Where there is demand, there is a market. In order to gain more “say” in the organic food market, giants have coincidentally ramped up their efforts in the organic food market.

As the “bellwether” of the organic food industry, Ruililai, while leading competitors in organic coarse grains, has also joined hands with Walmart to establish an organic edible fungi production base in Haicheng, Liaoning.

“Large supermarkets like Walmart have a very strict and standardized process in selecting organic food partner enterprises. Every link of the partner enterprise must fully comply with organic standards and certification before cooperation and sales can proceed,” said Yang Zhifeng, General Manager of Ruililai.

Agricultural product distribution giant — Shenzhen Wangjiahuan Industrial Co., Ltd. — has also quietly extended its reach into this sector. Wang Tianqi, General Manager of Wangjiahuan's Organic Food Division, said: “We began to get involved in organic food in 2007. We now have more than 50 organic food products, including organic coarse grains, organic mountain delicacies, organic oil, and organic rice, and we have organic food production bases in multiple provinces such as Liaoning, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi.”

However, unlike Ruililai's supermarket channel, Wangjiahuan's organic food mainly goes through group consumption and group procurement channels. Reporters learned that government agencies, schools, financial institutions, hotels, and enterprises are Wangjiahuan's main customers.

Shenzhen Chunguyuan Rice Industry Co., Ltd. is also optimistic about this market. Last year, the Beitian organic ecological rice it launched became an instant hit in the market.

　　Broad market prospects

“In recent years, many public food contamination incidents have occurred one after another, causing many consumers' attitudes to change. As the highest-level food in terms of safety, organic food is increasingly favored, and more white-collar workers, pregnant women, and young mothers are choosing organic food in their daily lives.

Group procurement and group consumption are also gradually heating up.” Ruililai, which has already achieved impressive results in the organic food market, is clearly very optimistic about the market prospects of organic food. Yang Zhifeng told reporters, “In the future, Ruililai will invest more energy and hopes to accomplish great things in this sector.”

Agricultural product distribution giant Wangjiahuan has also incorporated “organic food” into the company's new focus. “Although annual sales of organic products currently account for only a small portion of Wangjiahuan's total agricultural product sales, in the future, organic food will be one of our development priorities,” Wang Tianqi said confidently, noting that Wangjiahuan's use of its existing platform to launch organic food makes it easier for consumers to accept.

Regarding the future of this industry, Lin Chunwei, Chairman of Chunguyuan Rice Industry, is relatively optimistic. “The growth rate of the organic food market has been around 15% in the past two years. At the same time, concerns about genetically modified products and the endless emergence of ordinary food safety incidents are all favorable factors for the development of organic food,” he said. He believes that even if the price of truly organic food is one or even several times higher than that of ordinary food, there will still be a consumer group for it, as evidenced by the market success of the Beitian organic ecological rice launched by the company last year.

It can be foreseen that with the continuous improvement of income levels and quality of life, the consumer group for organic food will continue to expand, and the market prospects for organic food will become even broader.

　　Consumers focus on

whether products are “genuine and worth the price”

During the reporters' interviews, it was learned that the authenticity and price of organic products are the two major points of greatest concern to consumers. Some consumers said that a slightly higher price is not a problem; what they fear most is paying a high price without knowing whether the product is genuine. Other consumers said that organic food is very good and they would consider buying it, but the price cannot be too high.
(Reprinted from People's Daily Online)Өгүүлэл нь ...-аас авсанFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/mn/11241/