The 2019 OTB annual briefing, took place at Farmers & Fletchers* on 6 March and was attended by representatives from across the membership, from certifiers to brands and producers and retailers as well as representatives from Department of International Trade, Food and Drink Federation and Hoare’s Bank.
Attendees started the day with delicious organic mini breakfasts and had the chance to catch up and network with industry colleagues before the meeting began. In the morning sessions the OTB and guest presenters shared reviews of the industry and EU funded Organic. Feed Your Happy campaign as well as insights into the organic market and consumer to inform future initiatives to grow organic, together.
The day began with a review of the success of the 2018 Organic. Feed Your Happy campaign by Aileen Nicol, OTB Campaign Director who later laid out the plans for 2019 including information on how members can support and engage with the activity.
Melanie Cherchian from Sainsbury’s and Lorenzo Fiorletta from i-2-c shared impressive results from the activation of the Organic. Feed Your Happy Campaign in store and online in September 2018.
Clare McDermott from the Soil Association outlined key findings from the Organic Market report for 2019, demonstrating the continued growth of the organic market across channels and categories.
Robert Cassie from Kantar Worldpanel gave insights into the organic shopper and market, identifying opportunities to drive future growth by meeting shoppers needs effectively.
The day concluded with Paul Moore, Executive Director from OTB sharing proposals and plans for an exciting 2020-2023 industry-funded campaign, with the aim of continuing to build on the successful work of the previous 9 years of campaign activity.**
Attendees included Abel and Cole, As Nature Intended, Asda, Belton Cheese, Berry Gardens, Better Food, Calon Wen, Community Foods, DPS Ltd, Daylesford, Doves Farm, Dunbia, Ecotricity, Garden Organic, Greenhouse PR, Greenvale AP, Helen Browning, Luscious Organic, Naturen Organic, OF&G, Organix, Pip Organic, Planet Organic, Pukka Herbs, Riverford Organic, Roots & Wings, J Sainsbury’s, Be Organic, Seeds of Change, Soil Association, Sunita, Tree of Life, Vintage Roots, Viridian and Yeo Valley.
Presentations from the day are available to OTB members on the Members Resource area of the website, here, if you need a reminder of the password please email Annie.
The OTB Annual Briefing is an OTB member event, if you are interested in joining the OTB, click here to fill in the contact form.
The event was documented by photographer Fran Hales.
*Farmers & Fletchers is owned by the Worshipful Company of Farmers and profits from the organisation go to charities including Royal Agricultural University and the Duchy College in Cornwall.
** 2019 represents the OTB’s ninth consecutive year of investment in the sector amounting to around €14 million that has been supported by our members and the EU.
