Organic butcher continues sustainable trend
The organic butchery branches De Groene Weg continue to record remarkable growth. The successful third quarter is evidence of increasing sales and growing customer numbers in the current ten butcher shops. The company, which has stood for high-quality organic meat for more than forty years, sees this success as an expression of increasing consumer demand for more sustainably produced food.
Increasing sales and customer numbers
After an initially weaker first quarter with an average sales index of just under 100, De Groene Weg recorded strong growth in the third quarter with a sales index of 107,1. This increase in sales is partly due to higher prices, but above all to an increase in the number of customers in the butcher shops, with a receipt index of 106,5.
De Groene Weg has been the address for organic meat in the Netherlands for more than forty years. During this time, the company founded by Peter de Ruijter has grown from a small butcher shop in Utrecht to a company that brings high-quality organic meat to the market across Europe. In addition to ten butcher shops spread across the country and its own online shop in the Netherlands, De Groene Weg supplies organic meat to producers across Europe.
Consumer preference for sustainability
The success of De Groene Weg is due to its consistent focus on the EU organic label. The label (“the green leaf”), which is subject to strict EU legislation and independent control by the Dutch foundation Skal Biocontrole, offers consumers a guarantee of organic quality from the farmer to the packer. The company emphasizes the added value of organic meat through additional living space and organic feed for the animals, as well as the use of 100% organic ingredients by the butcher. Despite inflation, consumers remain loyal to De Groene Weg's more expensive organic products. The numbers show that once customers switch to organic meat, they don't readily return to non-organic alternatives. This reflects consumers' willingness to pay for the quality and sustainability of organic meat. Organic chicken meat, for example, is on average 2 times more expensive than non-organic meat. Nevertheless, organic chicken is a top 3 product at all butcher shops in De Groene Weg.
Future plans and sustainable communication strategy
De Groene Weg is committed to further growth and wants to use its communication to raise consumer awareness of the added value of organic meat and inspire a broader target group to make more sustainable decisions. Innovative projects such as the “Calf for Cow” initiative underline De Groene Weg’s pioneering role in this sector. The butchers are thrilled. Their stores are doing well and the story they can tell their customers every day is true. And all with a delicious piece of quality meat.
With ten butcher shops in the Netherlands and a growing demand for organic meat, De Groene Weg remains committed to its sustainable mission. The formula has the ambition to further expand the number of branches in the future.
