UK Organic ceases operations after funding gap
Following its 2024 transition to a Community Interest Company it has been announced that UK Organic (formerly the Organic Trade Board) has ceased operations due to a lack of financial support.
Whilst UK Organic’s marketing and communications plan — aimed at aligning the organic sector around a central consumer message on the benefits of organic food, drink, textiles and cosmetics — had ample industry backing, a lack of adequate UK Government or EU funding led to its failure to deliver on those objectives. Post-Brexit, the group was unable to attract the level of financial support required to deliver impactful campaigns such as its previous high-profile promotions ‘I Love Organic’ and ‘Organic. Feed Your Happy’, the latter of which was fronted by BBC DJ Sara Cox.
Now, says The Soil Association, ‘the spirit and mission of maintaining cross-sector collaboration and growing awareness amongst consumers of the benefits of organic will be best led by Soil Association Certification’, which will become solely responsible for annual campaigns such as Organic September.
In a statement, chair of UK Organic Adrian Carne says: “Over the last 16 years, UK Organic has delivered a number of highly successful consumer PR and marketing campaigns. These were primarily through a series of multi-million pound EU funding bids, and, more recently, driven by the support of the members. Along with the rest of the Board of Directors, I am very grateful for the commitment of our members, who have enabled us to achieve so much over this time. In a post-Brexit era, and in the absence of EU funding, UK Organic has not attracted similar funding from the UK Government, which means that the model is no longer viable.
“In a post-Brexit era, and in the absence of EU funding, UK Organic has not attracted similar funding from the UK Government, which means that the model is no longer viable.”
“But to continue the collaborative working, I am delighted that the Board has agreed that the team at Soil Association Certification will take up the mission of uniting the sector, providing PR and marketing campaigns, and seeking opportunities to grow the organic sector. On behalf of the UK Organic Board, we would like to offer a special thank you to the UK Organic team — especially Cristina, our managing director, and Maria Taffurelli, our membership manager — for their dedication, passion, and hard work over the past five years. Their leadership and commitment have been instrumental in delivering the work of UK Organic. We are also deeply grateful to all the organizations and individuals who supported our mission, contributed to campaigns, and championed the value of collaboration across the organic sector.”
Dominic Robinson, CEO, Soil Association Certification, adds: “I want to convey my heartfelt thanks to the wonderful UK Organic team for their tireless efforts in promoting the organic sector in the UK. There is so much to be proud of having achieved over this time. I want to recognize the personal impact on the team and reassure the UK’s organic businesses that we are committed to continuing the spirit and mission of our colleagues, as we have worked side-by-side to promote the strong and growing organic market.
“As a director of the UK Organic Board I am also keen to ensure that the valuable role for cross-sector collaboration in the UK organic community is not lost. Soil Association Certification will take the next 12 months as a listening exercise to understand what organic businesses and other industry stakeholders see as core activities for the UK organic sector. We welcome reflections, insights and feedback from all businesses, brands and retailers interested in continuing to propel the organic market forward at a time when people, nature and the planet most need it.
“I hope that in the future we can emulate the activities of successful organic markets around the world; uniting government, retailers, businesses and communities, turbo-charging our current trajectory, to achieve a bigger organic sector, delivering what consumers want and what the world needs.”
By Rosie Greenaway, editor