BIOFACH and VIVANESS 2016: surveys on exhibitors’ views regarding current market developments

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In the run-up to this year's edition of the BIOFACH and VIVANESS trade fair duo, which is taking place from 10- 13 February, exhibitors have been surveyed on their views regarding current developments in the organic market.And according to them, the mood in the industry is excellent, as they envisage sales and turnover growing across all distribution channels. They were particularly optimistic when asked about natural food and natural cosmetics specialist stores and expect online sales to increase. Over 90% of those who participated in either the BIOFACH or VIVANESS survey use the trade fairs to identify trends and 80 % then incorporate this information when devising their future product strategy. With regard to their future prospects, the exhibitors believe changes in consumer and purchasing behaviour (BIOFACH) and being able to exploit new target groups (VIVANESS) will be the most influential factors. Their optimism is accompanied by challenges, such as securing a supply of required raw materials and opening up new distribution channels, but at the same time, the employment situation in the organic industry is improving. What BIOFACH exhibitors most wanted from key political figures was financial assistance to help them make necessary changes and use organic production methods.

The mood in the organic market is excellent according to BIOFACH and VIVANESS exhibitors. They are expecting a continuation of the positive trends that have emerged over the past 12 months and sales and turnover to increase across all distribution channels in the next 12 months. Most of those who took part in the recent survey believe natural food specialist stores are way out in front at the moment, with 84% of the BIOFACH respondents and 88% of the VIVANESS respondents expressing this opinion. Both in the organic food segment (BIOFACH) and the natural cosmetics segment (VIVANESS) of the market, most of the exhibitors are anticipating more turnover from online sales (the survey figures here were 73 and 86% respectively). For the VIVANESS exhibitors, natural cosmetics specialist stores are making the biggest leap in terms of importance, but chemists, beauty retailers, perfumeries and drugstores are also becoming more significant.

Trends detected at BIOFACH and VIVANESS
In both surveys, over 90% of the respondents said they see the two trade fairs as an excellent opportunity to identify trends and place a great deal of emphasis on this. For 80%, these trends then have an effect on their future product strategy or strategies.

BIOFACH and VIVANESS exhibitors' views on opportunities and challenges for the German market
The BIOFACH exhibitors believe their greatest opportunities and potential currently lie in changes in consumer and purchasing behaviour among customers (56%) and in opening up new target groups (47%) and distribution channels (44%).

The VIVANESS exhibitors share these views, but they are generally prioritizing new distribution channels (60%) and target groups (55%) ahead of the changes in consumer and purchasing behaviour (50%). However, in both surveys, a number of respondents classed this potential not just as an opportunity, but also as a risk (BIOFACH: 34%, VIVANESS: 30%).

When asked about the risks and challenges, the BIOFACH exhibitors deemed securing a supply of required raw materials (45%), changes in consumer behaviour (34%), and more corporations and multinational brands entering the market (31%) to be the biggest potential difficulties.

The VIVANESS exhibitors considered purchasing behaviour a challenge too (30%), but they were more concerned about opening up new distribution channels (53%) and the significance of traders' own-brand policies (35%). Securing a supply of required raw materials was seen as a challenge by 20%.

Sustainability to be the most important added benefit in marketing in future
The majority of all the exhibitors taking part in the surveys for BIOFACH and VIVANESS 2016 were in agreement that sustainability will be the top added benefit from now on (BIOFACH: 72%, VIVANESS: 78%), and they feel this added benefit should be communicated more effectively in marketing in future. In second and third place for the BIOFACH exhibitors here were regionality (48%) and certification (45%), while the second and third most important added benefits for the VIVANESS exhibitors were certification (70%) and effect (60%).

Climate change and international trade guidelines
26% of the BIOFACH exhibitors saw climate change as a challenge for the German market, with 9% viewing it as an opportunity. International trade agreements like the TTIP and the CETA were regarded as a risk by 22% of the BIOFACH participants and as an opportunity by 2%.

Financial assistance and organic training the best governmental support measures
When asked which governmental support measures would help organic agriculture the most in their opinion, the answer provided by 50% of the surveyed BIOFACH exhibitors was "financial assistance to help them make necessary changes and use organic production methods". 39% also felt further-training courses would be useful, and 32% thought high transparency standards and clear public commitments to organic agriculture from key political figures would be equally helpful.

Employment situation in the organic industry
39% of the BIOFACH respondents stated that their company had between 10 and 49 employees. 30% represented enterprises with one to nine employees, a further 24% of the businesses had 50 to 199, and the remaining 8% had more than 200 employees. The vast majority of those taking part in the online survey said that the employment situation had improved since their entry into the organic industry, with 72% declaring that the number of employees at their workplace had grown.

About the online exhibitor surveys
Between 02.12.2015 and 04 (BIOFACH) or 08.01.2016 (VIVANESS) 1,254 BIOFACH and 146 VIVANESS exhibitors were written to and asked to take part in a survey regarding their views on current developments in the organic market. 27 % of the BIOFACH exhibitors contacted participated, along with 29 % of their VIVANESS counterparts. The proportion of exhibitors from outside Germany taking part was 55 % for both trade fairs. Manufacturers accounted for the largest group of respondents, comprising 68 % of the BIOFACH participants and 79 % of the VIVANESS participants.

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