Organic retailing case studies

Four case studies of how retailers up and down the country are increasing their organic sales, including the winner of the Soil Association BOOM Awards Best Independent Retailer.

Better Food - Best Organic Independent Retailer 2017

The natural health industry has numerous shop styles with a diversity of product mixes and therefore varying national Gross Profit (GP) averages.

What made Better Food a winner? An unwavering support for organic, local and ethically sourced products, dynamic in-store presentation, excellent marketing and a strong commitment to local organic ventures.

Each store serves its local community with a vast range of organic groceries, meat and dairy, chilled products and fresh produce sourced mainly from The Community Farm just 13 miles from the city centre. There are organic special diet ingredients, alcohol, freshly prepared grab- and-go options, household and health and body care products. Even organic cotton clothing.

The business plays a vital role in bringing new products to market by mentoring local suppliers such as Strode Valley Organics and enJoy organic raw chocolate.

Active accounts on Facebook (4,000 likes), Twitter (4,000 followers) and Instagram (1900+ followers) are reaching new audiences. A recent #LoveOrganic campaign, celebrating the Organic Served Here award, asked people to #ShareTheLove, giving friends and family the chance to win organic cake and coffee in the cafés. The posts reached 25.6k impressions, 1,535 engagements and 631 shares.

BIG IDEA: To help customers navigate the wide range of dietary choices, Better Food has introduced colour-coded dietary tagging to all products to clearly identify organic and free-from lines.

www.betterfood.co.uk

Factfile:
LOCATION: BRISTOL
STORES: 3
ANNUAL ORGANIC SALES: £4m
STAFF: 111
70% ORGANIC

Read Boom time for organic here...