Are big retailers piggy-backing on hard-won organic values? How are successful organic bands differentiating themselves in an ever more crowded premium food fixture?

These are just two questions addressed in a new report that charts latest developments in the worldwide organic food sector.

Global Market for Organic Food & Drink, from analysts Organic Monitor, says the lines between brands and retailer private labels are becoming increasingly blurred. Private labels are leveraging organic values and winning consumers by marketing products at competitive prices, while organic brands are having to re-invent themselves, with many adopting new values to broaden consumer demand.

The report says retailers are very successful with private labels because they offer organic products at competitive prices. In some cases, the organic products are even cheaper than conventional ones.

But some, it says, argue that large food retailers are taking advantage of the ‘organic’ brand without making any of the associated investment. The report notes: “An industry has been built by certification agencies and pioneering brands; the same logos and brands that are slowly disappearing in supermarkets and mainstream retailers.”

Increasingly crowded retail space is making many brands re-invent themselves, says Organic Monitor. But private label brands are also evolving with some transcending traditional boundaries. It gives as an example Safeway’s O Organics private label, which, with sales of $400 million, is fast becoming the leading organic brand in the US. O Organics has also expanded from into foodservice outlets in the US and also has secured (non-Safeway) retail presence in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

With increasing commoditization of organic products, Organic Monitor sees growing pressure for leading brands to differentiate themselves. It sees successful brands as those that can adopt new values to expand their consumer base. Those that do not could end up being confined to specialist retailers, the same channel where many organic brands have worked hard to expand from.

• For information about the report and Organic Monitor’s upcoming events visit www.organicmonitor.com