Organics on the rise

The meteoric rise in demand for organic foods both here and globally has seen New Zealand’s largest organic food brand Ceres experience 100 percent growth over the past five years.

MD of Ceres, Noel Josephson, says the company has had average increases in growth of around 20 percent for the past 30 years since it was established, but the last five has seen exponential growth. 

“While the general food sector has crawled along reporting one to two percent annual growth, the demand for organic food has catapulted since about 2009 as consumers become more aware of what’s in their food, and what they don’t want in their food,” Josephson says. “What we’re seeing in New Zealand with the organics market is indicative of a global trend,” he says. “We have been dealing with some of our international organics suppliers for decades and they are all experiencing unprecedented growth, which is very exciting for the industry.”  

Ceres is an Auckland-based company that provides a range of organic food products across a wide variety of food groups including beans and pulses, flours and grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, canned vegetables and fruits, as well as fresh produce. The company also distributes other popular health and beauty organic brands such as Dr Hauschka and Natracare.

Originally started as an organic vege co-op working out of a garage, Ceres now employs 150 people and leads the organics market in New Zealand with distribution across major supermarkets, health food and organics stores. It also has a growing presence in Australia and interests in Argentina and Thailand. 

The business recently moved premises to a purpose built facility that is on track to earn a Five Green Star rating for its eco-design, which included re-using and recycling the materials from the original building on the site.