The organic sales have been stagnant for four years. It calls for political action, says ØL.
Økologisk NuNew figures from the analysis company Kauza show that the organic share in the first half of 2026 has fallen to 12.3%. Growth in organic sales has stopped, and over the past four years, the organic share in Danish retail in the first half has fluctuated between 12.1% and 12.5%, while politicians still aim for a doubling of organic production by 2030. This is stated in a market update, where the Organic Association's market department announced on Monday morning the latest panel data from Kauza, which delved deeper into the numbers behind the recent stagnation. Kauza's data shows that it is primarily higher prices for organic products that are the reason why the organic share in the first half of 2026 did not shrink more than 0.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Looking at several underlying figures, it becomes clear that organic sales measured in volume have fallen by 7.6% compared to 2025. During the same period, the volume of Denmark's total food sales grew by 0.2%, and according to Birgitte Jørgensen, market manager for retail at the Organic Association, this is a concerning development. "The trend from the first quarter continues, as both customer frequency and the number of organic products during shopping trips are decreasing, but the worst is a minus of 7.6% in organic sales measured in volume. So, there is really a need to do something," said Birgitte Jørgensen during today's webinar. The lack of growth starkly contrasts with politicians' goal of doubling organic sales and the organic area by 2030. Therefore, the Organic Association is now appealing to politicians. "Action is needed if politicians truly mean it when they say they want to double organic production and thereby ensure cleaner drinking water, more animals outdoors, more life in Danish fjords, and greater biodiversity. It is no longer enough to just talk about it. Politicians must do something now to stimulate demand," says Rasmus Prehn, CEO of the Organic Association, in a press release. They show, among other things, that organic sales measured in volume have fallen from a share of 14.9% in 2025 to 13.8% in 2026, and the Organic Association is working on several fronts to reverse the trend. Organic sales in volume: Several paths to growth Rasmus Prehn emphasizes that the Organic Association has several suggestions for how to increase demand for organic products. One of them is to participate in the current debate about VAT. "It is illogical that the state should earn the most from organic products when they have the least environmental impact. It now turns out that the government's own VAT plan is historically expensive. Instead of lowering VAT on all foods and removing it on all fruits and vegetables, they could eliminate VAT entirely on organic products and save 10 out of the 17 billion kroner that their own plan costs. This way, consumers will get more organic products for their money, and it will make organic products more attractive," the director points out. He hopes that more parties will see the sense in the proposal, which as a side benefit will positively impact drinking water, animal welfare, water environment, and biodiversity. 200 products disappear annually A prerequisite for getting Danes to put more organic products in their shopping baskets is that they can find these products on the shelves, and the Kauza analysis shows that this has gone in the wrong direction in recent years. The number of so-called EAN numbers has decreased in stores. EAN numbers are used to generate unique barcodes that retailers use to identify and scan products. Mid-2022, Kauza registered 4,726 organic products. In the half-year figures for 2026, the number had fallen to 3,849. This corresponds to an annual decline of more than 200 products. To reverse this trend, the Organic Association is working closely with supermarket chains to get more organic products on the shelves, and the association is in ongoing dialogue about further marketing and visibility of organic products. "We experience many initiatives from the chains. They want organic products, but it hasn't really translated into the assortment yet," said Peter Rasmussen, market consultant and business developer at the Organic Association, during today's webinar. Organic needs a fresh boost Rasmus Prehn emphasizes that political initiatives and dialogue with the grocery trade are closely linked. "If we succeed in increasing demand for organic products, it will boost supermarkets' willingness to display organic products on shelves and to include more organic items in their range. This will have a ripple effect down to the content on farmers' fields and will support the politicians' organic doubling goal, which honestly needs a fresh boost," he says, referring to the fact that the Organic Association is implementing several campaigns and projects this year to promote organic products to consumers.
New figures from the analysis company Kauza show that the organic share in the first half of 2026 has fallen to 12.3%. The growth in organic sales has stopped, and over the past four years, the organic share in Danish retail in the first half-year has fluctuated between 12.1% and 12.5%, while politicians still aim for a doubling of organic production by 2030.
This is stated in a market update, where the Organic Association's market department announced on Monday morning the latest panel data from Kauza, which delved a bit deeper into the figures behind the recent stagnation.
The data from Kauza shows that it is primarily higher prices for organic products that are the reason why the organic share in the first half of 2026 did not shrink more than 0.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
Looking at several of the underlying figures, it becomes clear that organic sales measured in volume have fallen by 7.6% compared to 2025. During the same period, the volume of Denmark's total food sales grew by 0.2%, and according to Birgitte Jørgensen, market manager for retail at the Organic Association, this is a concerning development.
"The trend from the first quarter continues, as both customer frequency and the number of organic products during shopping trips are decreasing, but the worst is a minus of 7.6% in organic sales measured in volume. So there is really a need to do something," said Birgitte Jørgensen during today's webinar.
The lack of growth stands in stark contrast to politicians' goal of doubling organic sales and the organic area by 2030. Therefore, the Organic Association is now appealing to politicians.
"Action is needed if politicians truly mean it when they say they want to double organic production and thereby ensure cleaner drinking water, more animals outdoors, more life in Danish fjords, and greater biodiversity. It is no longer enough to just talk about it. Politicians must do something now to stimulate demand," says Rasmus Prehn, CEO of the Organic Association, in a press release.
They show, among other things, that organic sales measured in volume have fallen from a share of 14.9% in 2025 to 13.8% in 2026, and the Organic Association is working on several fronts to reverse the trend.
Organic: There are several ways to grow
Rasmus Prehn emphasizes that the Organic Association has several suggestions on how to increase demand for organic products. One of them is to participate in the current debate about VAT.
"It is illogical that the state should earn the most from organic products when they have the least environmental impact. Now it turns out that the government's own VAT plan is historically expensive. Instead of lowering VAT on all foods and removing it on all fruits and vegetables, they could eliminate VAT entirely on organic products and save 10 out of the 17 billion DKK that their own plan costs. In this way, consumers will get more organic products for their money, and it will make organic products more attractive," the director points out.
He hopes that more parties will see the sense in the proposal, which as a not insignificant side effect will have a positive impact on both drinking water, animal welfare, water environment, and biodiversity.
200 products disappear each year
A prerequisite for getting Danes to buy more E-marked products is that they can find the products on the shelves, and here Kauza's analysis shows that the situation has worsened in recent years.
The number of so-called EAN numbers has decreased in stores. EAN numbers are used to generate unique barcodes, which retailers use to identify and scan products. Midway through 2022, Kauza registered 4,726 organic products. In the half-year figures for 2026, the number had fallen to 3,849. This corresponds to an annual decline of more than 200 product numbers.
To reverse this trend, the Organic Association is working purposefully with supermarket chains to get more organic products on the shelves, and the association is in ongoing dialogue about marketing and further highlighting organic products.
"We experience many initiatives from the chains. They want organic products, but it hasn't really translated into the range yet," said Peter Rasmussen, market consultant and business developer at the Organic Association during today's webinar.
Organic needs a fresh boost
Rasmus Prehn emphasizes that political initiatives and dialogue with the grocery trade are closely linked.
"If we succeed in increasing demand for organic products, it will boost supermarkets' appetite to display organic products on the shelves and to include more organic products in their range. This will have a ripple effect down to the content on farmers' fields and ensure life on the politicians' organic doubling goal, which honestly needs a fresh boost," he says, referring to the fact that the Organic Association is implementing several campaigns and projects this year to help showcase organic products to consumers.