Organic food’s small stir

Veena Desai, a banking professional, is aware of the benefits of pesticide- and chemicals-free organic food. But she never felt the need to shell out a few more bucks and dig into the organic shelf in supermarkets.

But recently when she received meal vouchers from a customer as a Diwali gift, she decided to redeem them by buying organic items like grocery and vegetables. “The prices were much more than the regular fare available. But since I was not spending from my pocket, I really didn’t mind,” said Desai, adding that in future, she does not plan to make any organic purchases unless it means redeeming meal vouchers.

IT professional Manisha Thorat, on the other hand, carries a more liberal wallet from which she spends about Rs250-300 in a month on organic items like pulses and fruits.

Being extremely health conscious, Thorat doesn’t mind paying a little more to buy organic fare. Rs250-300 is peanuts from a monthly package of Rs35,000, she said. However, she added it is
still a long way before she would even think of going completely organic.

“Colleagues introduced me to the concept. I have allocated a particular amount for this. But unlike someone in office who buys only organic food, I have restricted myself to just pulses and fruits,” said Thorat. Thorat was quick to add that her visit to the organic shelves does not happen on a regular basis. It depends on her mood and willingness to spend. Buyers of organic foods are limited in number, say experts, often displaying irregular buying habits.

The demand is growing, but very slowly, said Riyaz Marol, general manager, Namdhari’s Fresh, which stocks organic vegetables and groceries in its 20 stores in Bangalore. Though it is more of the upper middle class and the rich who form the bulk of customers of organic sale, the middle class is also climbing the ladder, albeit one step at a time, said G Krishna Prasad, director, Sahaja Samrudha, an association of organic farmers in Karnataka.

Marol says there is a need to create a campaign on the need for pesticide- and chemicals-free food and its benefits.
Listing out the preferences of an Indian consumer, Mohit Khattar, MD, Godrej Nature’s Basket, said it’s organic tea, marmalade, honey, flours and cashew butter which score high in the table of precedence.

Varun Gupta, CEO and founder of Pro Nature Organic Foods, a Bangalore-based marketer of organic foods, sounded optimistic. “Retailers would say this category has limited buyers due to the high prices. But today, I feel organic is a key differentiator on retail shelves.”

Ponnu Subramanian, senior VP (buying, merchandising), hypermarket and supermarket chain Spar, thinks that organic products have a long way to go.

There are several factors that decide buying decisions involving organic food. First, the high prices (See table).

Prasad said organic farming is a much more expensive process. Second, the availability of organic food, rather the lack of it, is also a limiting factor. “The range is not complete. Organic alternatives to jams, milk, eggs, pickles, fruits and vegetables are not widely available,” rued Gupta.