Organic food revenues in Germany grew in the last decade, from **** billion euros in 2013 to almost ** billion in 2024. With increasing consumer interest in how food is produced and attention to healthy lifestyles, this trend is set to continue on a long-term basis. Certified products To be classified as organic, consumer goods have to go through a certification process. The number of products with organic certification in Germany has grown steadily, reaching ******* in 2024. When broken down by product group, hot drinks were the most common in terms of being certified, followed by herbs and spices, then bread and baked goods. The highest share of organic store shoppers was found among those aged 50 to 59 years. Consumer opinions German consumers bought organic groceries due to concern about animal welfare and wanting to support regional companies, to name a few examples. In terms of sales channels, most recently the highest revenue share for organic food products came from food retailers, including drugstores.

In 2024, food retailers made up the largest revenue share from organic food sales in Germany, at around ***** billion euros. Figures grew annually during the specified time period, indicating that most customers purchase organic food while grocery shopping. However, sales revenue also mostly increased annually across all channels. Consumer goals Consumer attitudes regarding food items have been changing in recent decades. Views and demands are connected both to the desire to maintain good individual health, as well as contributing to reducing climate change effects through sustainable consumption. By definition, organic food is considered both least harmful to the environment and safest for consumers. Among German organic supermarket chains, Alnatura was the most profitable. Customers’ pursuit of transparency about food product origins may lead companies to reconsider their production methods, if necessary, as well as how information about the product is communicated. While change does not occur overnight, if at all, German legislation around food production continues to develop, providing a more defined legal framework for companies and consumers alike. In 2024, roughly ***** companies in Germany were using organic labels. Organic groceries The label signals trust for customers. German consumers bought a variety of organic products, with eggs, fruit and vegetables, and potatoes at the top of the grocery list. The products most often certified as organic included hot drinks, herbs and spices, and bread and baked goods.

Germany has the largest market for organic products in Europe. In 2022, retail sales values for organic products in Germany amounted to about 15.3 billion euros. France had the second largest market with sales reaching almost 12.1 billion euros. The products that were most commonly labelled as organic in France were fruits and vegetables, dairy products and eggs. Most food supplements and prepared foods were not organic.

Organic farming in Europe

Organic farming standards usually vary widely from country to country. The EU published common rules for organic production and labelling in May of 2018. The largest land area producing organic products in Europe could be found in France with over 2.7 million hectares, followed by Spain and Italy. Overall organic sales revenue in Europe reached 54.5 billion euros in 2021. Of those 46.7 billion were made in the European Union.

The German market

In 2022, organic market revenue in Germany amounted to over 15 billion euros. Revenues on the German market have been growing since 2004, except for a small decline in growth in 2009 and again in 2022. Most of the revenue was generated by food stores. The revenues these stores made with organic products more than doubled between 2008 and 2022.

Around 76 percent of organic store customers preferred regional products from home. Roughly 50 percent paid attention to buying fair trade products. Consumer values ranged across the topics of sustainability and regionality.The Allensbach Market and Advertising Media Analysis (Allensbacher Markt- und Werbeträgeranalyse or AWA in German) determines attitudes, consumer habits and media usage of the population in Germany on a broad statistical basis. Daily life German organic store customers expanded on their sustainability views in an additional survey conducted in 2024. Around 39 percent of respondents acknowledged that sustainability issues played a big role not just in their purchase decisions, but in their lives as well. Only ten percent of respondents stated these issues did not play a role at all. By definition, it is to be expected that organic store shoppers pay attention to their eating habits, which is confirmed by data. Around 77 percent followed a healthy diet as of 2024, while around 27 percent were vegetarians or mostly avoided meat. Roughly 13 percent monitored their eating habits due to weight issues or being overweight. The market Organic foods generated increasing revenue in Germany in recent years, with around 16.1 billion euros in 2023. This trend may continue due to growing interest among consumers in healthy eating and consumption, though, on the other hand, higher food prices all over the country may influence shopping choices all the same, or at least the number of products bought. The majority of organic food items were bought from food retailers (including drugstores), with around 10.82 billion euros generated in 2023.

Organic retail sales in 2023 came to approximately 46.5 billion euros in the European Union and 54.7 billion in Europe. In both cases an increase could generally be observed over the entire period. An annual increase was seen between 2004 and 2021 for both regions with a steep acceleration of growth, beginning around 2014. Retail sales of organic food in Germany amounted to approximately 16 billion euros in 2021. The second biggest market measured in retail sales was France. Per capita consumption Per capita spending on organic food in the EU-27 reached 104.3 euros per person. The highest spending on organic food could be observed in the Alps and in the North of the continent. In Switzerland and Denmark, per capita spending reached 418.4 and 383.6 euros in 2020, respectively. Sales in Germany and the UK The German market has seen a continuous upward trend in sales since the year 2000 barring only the years 2009 and 2022. The dip was likely caused by the financial crisis. In contrast, UK sales suffered immensely in 2008 and the following years. The loss in sales was so heavy that the market needed until 2017 to generate more sales than were generated in 2007.

This statistic presents the growth rate of leading organic markets in Europe in 2020. Germany had the largest percentage increase in the sales value of organic products at 25 percent compared to a year earlier, followed by Denmark at 13 percent.

The German chemical company BASF was ranked number one in the ranking of the world's leading chemical companies based on revenue, generating a revenue of approximately 68.03 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Revenue of the top chemical companies worldwide Chemical companies produce and develop industrial chemicals through the conversion of raw materials –organic and inorganic - into a wide variety of products. Chemical production is classified into two separate categories. There are specialty batch manufacturers that produce more expensive chemicals that are less commonly used within the chemical market. These performance chemicals are often produced by smaller manufacturers. On the other hand, commodity manufacturers tend to produce a large volume of basic and inexpensive compounds. The production of organic polymers for plastics, fibers, and elastomers is a rapidly growing sector of the chemical industry. Leading chemical manufacturing countries The chemical manufacturing industry in the United States is quite prominent, with companies such as Dow, DuPont, and LyondellBasell Industries. The chemical sector in Europe is also very prominent, as demonstrated by the fact that it represents a great proportion of their manufacturing trade surplus. Europe (and the European Union) is one of the largest chemical trading regions in the world. With Germany accounting for the largest share of total EU chemical revenue. Three of Germany’s chemical companies are considered some of the largest in the world. German companies BASF and Bayer are consistently among the largest earning chemical companies in the world. BASF operates on a global scale and maintains its segmental operations in chemicals, materials, surface technologies, nutrition and care, industrial solutions, and agricultural solutions. With headquarters around the world, Bayer is known for marketing heroin in the past and branding aspirin.

In 2022, organic food sales made up six percent of total food sales in the United States. Organic food sales have grown every year since 2008, amounting to an overall increase of three percent in the organic share of total food sales between 2008 and 2022.

Organic food in the United States

The United States organic food industry generated by far the largest revenue of any country in the world. In 2018, organic food revenue in the United States amounted to approximately 40.5 billion euros, almost four times as much as the country with the second largest organic food revenue, Germany. The fastest growing organic packaged foods in the United States are organic savory snacks and organic confectionery, which have grown between 2016 and 2019 by 60 and 59 percent, respectively.

Organic food sales worldwide

From 1999 to 2018, there has been a steady increase in worldwide sales of organic food. Worldwide organic food sales are now more than six times as large than they were in 1999, amounting to approximately 95 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

Sustainable products are becoming more and more popular among German consumers. In 2022, organic food had a food retail revenue share of around 7.5 percent; fair trade products had a revenue share of approximately one percent.

The revenue in the 'Milk Substitutes' segment of the food market in Germany was forecast to continuously increase between 2025 and 2030 by in total 876.1 million U.S. dollars (+79.46 percent). After the tenth consecutive increasing year, the revenue is estimated to reach 2 billion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2030. Notably, the revenue of the 'Milk Substitutes' segment of the food market was continuously increasing over the past years.Find other key market indicators concerning the volume and average consumption per capita. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

Based on the sales volume, organic plant-based drinks had a market share of over ** percent in Denmark in 2023. This makes it the most popular type of organic product in the country. In the same year, the market share of organic lemons exceeded ** percent, followed by organic bananas with roughly ** percent. The revenue of organic product sales was highest in grocery stores including online sales, reaching roughly ** billion Danish kroner. Organic food export Denmark exported a share of ** percent of organic dairy products and eggs of all organic food products in 2019. By comparison, the share of organic fruit and vegetables exported from the country amounted to ** percent, ahead of the share of exported organic meat.    Export partners In 2018, the share of organic food products exported from Denmark to Germany was with ** percent highest. The second most important organic food export partner for Denmark was Sweden; in this year, it amounted to ** percent. Other export partners for Danish organic food products were France, the Netherlands and China.

In 2018, it was reported that Germany ranked first among the European countries included in terms of organic food product retail sales with approximately 4.4 billion U.S. dollars. During the period covered, Germany’s market of processed organic food was the largest in Europe. The French market was the second largest, closing the gap to the German market from 2015 onwards. Notably the UK market somewhat stagnated in recent years and was overtaken by the Italian market in 2016.

The complete organic product market

The so far discussed numbers are limited to processed and packaged food. When considering all organic agricultural products sold in retail, the German market in 2017 was larger than ten billion euros. Two more markets in Europe surpass the UK’s market in size. Switzerland and Sweden both had markets slightly larger with 2.44 and 2.37 billion euros respectively. Consumption in the European Union came to 67.2 euros per capita in 2017. Growth in the market was significant and amounted to almost seven euros more per capita compared to the previous year.

The struggling UK market

After 2008, the organic food market in the UK shrank and sales of organic products did surpass 2008 sales up until 2017. The German market experienced a minor dip in comparison, seeing overall growth. Compared to other markets in Europe, on the UK market, retail only had a small share of organic products with a dozen other countries having a higher share of organic retail sales in 2017.

The per capita spending on organic food in Europe varies depending on the country in question. In 2023, organic food purchases were highest in Switzerland with *** euros spent per person. What qualifies as organic food? Food products must adhere to certain national standards to be considered organic. Most commonly, this means the food is grown and processed without being subjected to synthetic compounds such as fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics and food additives. This extends to the land which the produce is grown on, which needs to be free of prohibited chemicals for multiple years in a row. Livestock also must adhere to specific feeding, housing and breeding requirements. Further restrictions may apply. Worldwide these vary strongly from nation to nation.In the European Union, products need to be certified, and specific labels for products exist to inform the consumer that the product adheres to EU standards. Organic market in the EU Between 2004 and 2021, organic retail sales in the EU and the entirety of Europe have seen strong growth. Germany was the leading market in 2023, with just over ** billion Euros generated in organic sales. However, the largest share of organic products can be found on the Estonian market.

German consumers were most worried about microplastics in food and antibiotic resistance components as of February 2024. These figures are revealed in a survey conducted among the German population, asking to what extent consumers were personally worried about the health and consumer issues listed in this graph. Food safety Most recently, the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, BVL) issued *** warnings about food products. This office is the leading national authority, on a government level, for measures relating to food safety in Germany. The BVL also contributes to the exchange of warnings about food products between German Federal States and other EU countries. Various reasons led consumers to buy organic groceries, the leading being concern for animal welfare, consuming food that was as unprocessed as possible and support of regional companies. Organic consumption The majority of organic food product revenue in Germany was generated through food retailers (including drugstores), with around ***** billlion euros in 2023. On a global scale, Germany still had some catching up to do regarding eating organically. In terms of per capita organic food consumption, the leading three countries in the world were Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden.

McDonald’s revenue in Germany amounted to an estimated 4.2 billion euros in 2022. McDonald’s is one of the most popular fast food restaurants in the world, and Germany is no exception.

McDonald’s in Germany

Despite McDonald’s international long-term success and popularity, at the same time the brand has had to battle various challenges in recent decades: changing attitudes towards fast food and meat consumption, growing awareness of fair trade and organic products, attention to healthy lifestyles and general growing competition in the restaurant industry, to name just a few examples. In Germany, surveys on the population’s frequency of eating at McDonald’s showed that the largest share of respondents actually never ate there. Sometimes McDonald’s customers also went to Burger King. In terms of age, most McDonald’s visitors were aged 20 to 29 years.

Fast food is less healthy today

Based on recent studies, fast food has become less healthy since the 1980s, with both portion sizes and calorie counts growing. McDonald’s was among the fast food chains studied. It still remains the most visited fast food restaurant in Germany.

The retail sales of vegetarian products and plant-based alternatives in the United Kingdom amounted to an estimated **** billion British pounds in 2022. Sales peaked in 2020 during the pandemic and collapsed in 2021. The market seems to have returned to pre-pandemic levels and might continue the trend seen before it was majorly disrupted. Meatless diets in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, the share of vegans was estimated to be around **** percent. This puts the country into the top five European countries with the biggest share of vegans. Pescetarians and Vegetarians add to this number so that the total of UK consumers following a meat free diet is around ** percent. Younger consumers are more likely than any other age group to attempt to live meat free. About ** percent of members of Generation Z stated that they wanted to live meat free in 2023. For millennials, the same share was slightly over a quarter of survey respondents. For older generations, it was progressively less. The European market for meat substitutes In 2022, the United Kingdom was the second-largest meat substitute market in Europe. Since the start of the pandemic, Germany has taken the top spot as Europe’s leading meat substitute market. The Netherlands lands on rank three in front of Italy. The UK generated *** million euros in sales. Germany, exceeded this number by over *** million euros. The overall market for meat alternatives in the European Union came to about *** billion U.S. dollars. It is forecast to pass the ***** billion euro mark in 2028.

Germany was the leading chocolate exporting country worldwide in 2024. The country exported over 7.16 billion dollars worth of chocolate.Chocolate in the United KingdomThe value of chocolate imported to the United Kingdom (UK) has more than quadrupled during the last two decades. While imports were valued at approximately 400 million British Pounds in 2001, the value of chocolate imports has risen to approximately 1.75 billion British pounds in 2020. Particularly, chocolate imports from EU countries have continuously increased, whereas imports from non-EU countries remained comparatively small. The sales volume of chocolate manufactured in the United Kingdom (UK) has slightly decreased during the last couple of years. Fairtrade Chocolate in Germany: A growing trend?In 2020, the sales volume of fairtrade chocolate in Germany amounted to approximately 3,231 thousand tons. Fairtrade chocolate is becoming increasingly popular in Germany. In comparison to 2010, the current sales volume is more than three times the size. Accordingly, revenues from organic chocolate have continuously increased in Germany and are at an all-time high. In 2020, approximately 5.5 percent of all fairtrade products sold in Germany were chocolate.