An overwhelming offer of organic products

It was amazing. The first thing I saw when I stepped into the supermarket where walls full of organic products. Time for some research.

Talking with the manager of the shop taught us that selling these organic products are important for the people’s health. But not only important for individual reasons, it is also better for environmental and social reasons. ‘Gemeinsam besser’ is the slogan of this supermarket REWE. They achieve assurance for the personal health, the health of the animals and cares for the environment. Because for these organic products using chemicals is not necessary for growing the fruits and vegetables. But they care also for social responsibility. They give assurance for the international relations with fair trade products.

Fourteen years ago, this supermarket chain REWE started with selling organic products. It was no success. People wouldn’t buy it. It was more expensive and people didn’t see the value of it. Everyday they had to throw away lots of these organic products. But now almost every customer of REWE prefers to buy organic products. What made the people switch their mind? I asked the manager. He wasn’t sure, but he thinks it is the advertisement. A lot of commercials on the television promote buying organic food. The newspapers and magazines are full of it. So now they don’t have to throw away the 10 percent of the organic products, but are most of their selling’s organic products.

Maybe if we ask the customers we can find out more about their choices for buying often than not organic products. The first man we asked was really into organic products. He told us he cared about him selves and the environment. The second women, who was pregnant and had little children did it mostly for healthy reasons and accused her parents for buying canned vegetables. After asking many people we only get answers of people who do buy organic products for similar reasons. If it was a good sample, we aren’t sure. Even here not everybody spoke English or want to talk to us. And we don’t have to forget that we were in a supermarket with a large offer in organic products.

What the real reasons for people is to go organic is hard to find out. And even it is only because of it is a trend to buy organic, it is a good thing and I do like this trend. Hopefully it will go on for a long time. And also interesting to mention, there are more than 20 organic shops in Munich right now, so that’s a good thing.

A day of research made it plausible that the German supermarkets and the German customers care about organic food!