Hi this is my first post! As a member of Organic Exchange's Farm Development Team, I attended the Organic and Natural Products Europe trade fair in London last Sunday (yes, gave up my day of 'rest' and commuted to London for this!). This must be one of the largest organic fairs in the UK but unlike the Soil Association’s Organic Festival in Bristol, UK, it is not open to the general public.

The fair was huge; mainly occupied by brands and other wholesalers, a small number of public and third sector organisations, and I suspect a number of traders and other intermediaries - but these folk were not conspicuous (to me). Riverford (a UK based organic farm doing box scheme – now very large) and the like, were there but I doubt there were many primary producers. The space was made up, more or less, of companies promoting their food and beverages, cosmetic and beauty products, natural 'remedies' and to a lesser extent clothing and textiles. The stalls were very smart reflecting the hugely professional marketing, packaging and promotional status we now expect of organic and natural products. My feeling was that there was little representation by farmers - on the food side – promoting local produce or anyone promoting the social opportunities associated with fair-trade. And, as I’ll get to later, this aspect of the marketplace was greatly overshadowed by the immense range of cleverly-named and tastefully-packaged goodies… fitness bars, ice lollies, smoothies, speciality teas, and capsules or tonics for any ailment, deficiency or for general wellbeing. Since this is an opportunity to throw some personal thoughts into the pot I guess – if it wasn’t for the organic quality of most of this stuff – I would be slightly perplexed by the need for it all!

Anyway, back to “the fair”. I managed to catch two of the almost back-to-back 45 minute long presentations given by experts or marketers throughout the day, covering topics such as the current organic marketplace (really interesting presentation by the Soil Association) and a passionate Dr Barbara Olioso. Dr Olioso did have a product to sell – albeit a natural and environmentally responsible one but I have to admit her zeal to do the right thing by nature was a joy to behold. Other talks, of which I didn’t get to, touched on retail/consumer-facing issues such as do organic textiles standards limit style and colour...? Actually, on that note, I was rather surprised and delighted to see such a rich and vibrant range of organic cotton clothing (especially for little ones of course). I could see that the range of colours and printing methods had definitely improved over the last few years… As has the range and quality of natural beauty products; the Greenpeople and Weleda's of the world are no longer the crusty bean sprout end of the market. This is I imagine, partly down to the hugely sophisticated packaging I observed… adding much to the general eye-candy appeal!

I came away from the fair with two main breakthroughs in my knowledge and understanding of the organic marketplace – and useful for my work exploring the diversification of organic cotton farm systems. First, and not terribly surprising, the majority of brands/wholesalers – promoting their organic, ‘green’, natural, and wholesome credentials – still do not in the main know their products. They don’t know who grows them, how they are grown, the breakdown of their supply chain, how much the farmer is paid, or the living conditions he/she might live in. Some of the stalls I saw sported beautiful pictures of farmers harvesting succulent fruit and the like but when politely probed there wasn’t much more depth. Of course there were a number of exceptions such as Essential’s enthusiastic interest in knowing their farmers ‘story’. Second, and on a much more up-beat note, almost all the Asian business people I spoke to have a social mission attached to their product. Anecdotal I admit. But social investments ranged from sending a percentage of company profits back to Indian schools, orphanages and so on. Right up to having very committed supply chain relationships with specific grower associations, often facilitated by NGOs.

So to finish on a positive note… the fair proved the organic marketplace in the UK to be innovative… lush with beautiful, sometimes niche products; and according to various reports holding its own during these tough economic times. I’ve also seen some spot-on companies (Biona and Essential amongst them) and witnessed the opportunities a number of Anglo-Indian companies are providing for their brothers and sisters back home.

follow up...
I would be very interested to hear your views on the CSR (corporate social responsibility) aspects to organic trade and opportunities for all within the supply chain. Are traders, wholesalers, brands and retailers missing a trick by keeping their producers faceless and produce un-traceable? Or will it generally remain in the too-hard basket for most... and besides what does it add to the bottom line? Some companies are exploring the business case for improving their supply chain relations, others act because its 'the right thing to do', and the best do it because it's a great business model... Any comments on this topic (or others raised in my blog) would be terrific to see!

Bye for now,
Liesl (Farm System Crops Programme Manager, Organic Exchange)