Waitrose has revealed that more shoppers are seeking out organic food and drink after the pandemic led to a growing interest in provenance and animal welfare.
The supermarket highlighted that searches on Google for its Waitrose Duchy Organic range almost doubled during lockdown and that interest in organic food and drink has been reflected in its stores and online with sales growing 13%.
Research conducted for Waitrose by OnePoll found that over half of shoppers surveyed wanted retailers to show more information about ethical practices on packaging. Meanwhile, three-quarters of respondents said they would like to see more British sourcing and over 44% of people now actively seek out products with less packaging when shopping online.
Rob Hues, Waitrose agriculture manager, said: “For many the time at home has meant more time to prepare home-cooked meals and with that an increased awareness of where and how food comes to our kitchen tables. Provenance, animal welfare, taste and value have never mattered more to our shoppers and we see this increased interest only continuing.”
Organic categories which have seen some of the biggest sales increases at Waitrose include chicken (+43%), vegetables (+23%) and eggs (+13%). Meanwhile, 52 bags of Waitrose Duchy Organic carrots, 34 organic blueberry punnets and 39 bags of organic bananas are now sold every hour on the retailer’s website.
Waitrose is now launching a range of organic British grown blueberries, with it claiming to be the first time a UK supermarket has been able to offer the organic crop in commercial quantities from a British farm. The Waitrose Duchy Organic blueberries have been grown in Herefordshire by a supplier who has grown fruit for Waitrose for over 25 years.
