Organic growth in the retail sector is not reflected in workplace catering

Most contract caterers think it will be years before organic food is a routine offering in the workplace, even though it is starting to become available.

This is despite the rapidly growing organic retail market, which grew by 10% last year - twice as fast as conventional produce - with sales topping £1b for the first time, according to the Soil Association.

Consultant Adrian Stokes said there had been an increase in the call for organic food, but it had a regional bias focused on the South-east and London. "There is definitely more demand than five years ago and I think it will continue to grow," he added.

Rick Holroyd, joint managing director of Holroyd Howe, said the company had had the occasional request. "We have a couple of sites where we offer an organic bar, such as salads and sandwiches." But he said these contracts were normally with "green" clients with environmentally friendly policies. He expected the demand for organic provision to grow, but only when it was cost-effective.

Consultant Chris Stern agreed: he didn't expect that customers would dip further into their pockets to buy an organic lunch.

But despite a limited demand, the big firms are gearing themselves up to sell more organic produce. Sodexho Prestige set up Organica, its own organic division, two years ago. Compass said it was compiling a portfolio of organic suppliers, although the current level of demand for organic products was relatively small.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 13 - 19 November 2003