Does organic means health for consumers? Selected issues of organic food market

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe organic food supply and demand from the perspective of evolutionary economics. Furthermore, identification of motives of organic food purchasing as well as the most important distribution channels was performed.Design/methodology/approachThis study included review of statistical data available on organic food market, observations from three different formats of shops in France and Poland as well as collected data from 54 French and 85 Polish consumers.FindingsThe findings of this paper show how the organic food market undergoes evolutionary changes, especially how supply and demand sides are being tuned to each other. Health properties of organic food were found as universal characteristics affecting organic food purchasing, regardless the level of the national market development. Organic food retail adjusts to consumer demand, but the rate of this transformation is different when markets of different countries are compared.Originality/valueChanges in supply and demand are continuous in the organic food market; therefore, they should be monitored on an ongoing basis. The insights extend present knowledge on consumer behaviour indicating health concerns as a universal motive affecting organic food purchasing. The study also takes the existing literature a step further by providing additional insight into adjustment of organic food retail to consumer demand.