The organic market in Germany sets new records.

In the latest quarter, Germans bought organic food and beverages worth DKK 33 billion. This corresponds to growth of 2.8 percent compared with the same period last year. This is shown by new quarterly figures from the German organic umbrella organisation BÖLW and the independent market analysis company AMI. For the first time, they have begun compiling quarterly figures for the organic market south of the border, where Denmark sells around half of its organic exports. According to new figures from Statistics Denmark, Germany bought organic food from Denmark worth almost DKK 1.7 billion in 2025. This corresponds to 47 percent of total Danish organic exports. That is a decrease of DKK 82 million compared with the previous year, but according to Dennis Hvam, international market manager at the Danish Organic Agriculture & Food Council, the new 2026 figures showing growth in the German retail market indicate that there should be good opportunities for German exports to return to a growth trajectory already this year. However, the current development in Germany is not the only reason why he is very optimistic about Danish exports. “At present, we are receiving almost exclusively positive reports on the development of organic sales from all the key Central European countries, and most recently also from Sweden. In Germany, it is particularly the large nationwide grocery chains that are driving the development of organic products, and this may mean that some Danish export companies will need a little time to adapt to the new reality south of the border,” says Dennis Hvam, who is currently in Austria in connection with the DACH project, which works to strengthen exports of organic and plant-based products to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The latest figures for the German retail market show that organic sales grew by 2.6 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2025. As a result, organic products reached a market share of 8.1 percent—the highest level ever—which immediately appears promising for Danish organic exports. According to Dennis Hvam, the German market is by far the most important destination for Danish exporters of organic food. However, although organic sales are currently setting new records quarter after quarter, several Danish producers are finding that extra effort is needed to take part in the growth. This is due in no small part to the aforementioned shifts in the German grocery market, where the large nationwide chains have put far more organic products on their shelves. Sales in discount chains grew by 4.4 percent, giving them a market share of 27.8 percent, while growth of 2.6 percent brought supermarket chains’ share up to 31.4 percent of total organic retail sales. However, the discount chains Lidl and Aldi are challenging supermarkets’ position as the country’s most important sales channel for organic products. The intensified competition, in turn, is affecting sales at organic natural-food and speciality shops, which fell by two percent. Their market share consequently shrank to 17.3 percent. Competition has intensified Petter Aagesen, sales and marketing director at Thise Dairy, says that this development is a challenge for the Salling dairy, which has been active on the German market for many years. “It is true that the German market is currently growing, but our situation is that our primary sales channel is the German natural-food trade, where organic sales are not growing. So even though more organic products are entering the market, unfortunately that is not where we sell our products,” says Petter Aagesen, who has headed Thise’s exports for five years. He compares the development in the German market with what happened in Denmark several years ago, when the nationwide grocery chains really began competing on their organic ranges. Petter Aagesen makes no secret of the fact that competition from the large nationwide chains and the shifts in sales are noticeable. “We do not supply the large chains, and that is a situation that presents a challenge for us, but generally we are nevertheless experiencing growth in the German market. Among other things, we have made local agreements with groups of Edeka retailers who operate several stores.” Thise follows consumers At the same time, several of Thise’s existing customers in the speciality trade have expanded their ranges of Thise products, which primarily include some of the dairy’s many speciality cheeses. “We are trying to follow German consumers to wherever they want to buy their organic products. At the same time, we are working to develop our cooperation with existing customers so that they take more products into their ranges, but it is not as though we can simply sit back and follow the growth that the German market is currently experiencing,” says Petter Aagesen. He describes it as an important balancing act to find partners with whom Thise is equipped to keep up with whatever demand may arise. “We already have a fairly broad customer portfolio in Germany, but we are not strong in the conventional supermarket trade, so that is something we are working to improve,” says Petter Aagesen, who this week is taking part in a promotional drive for Danish organic products in Japan.