New research has revealed an upsurge in organic ingredients being used across mainstream food product development, well ahead of trending supermarket shelves.
Point74, a Midlands-based food tech firm specialising in product development software, has tracked a steady year-on-year rise in organic ingredient use across the thousands of recipes created within its software.
The food tech company confirmed that momentum for organic ingredients has accelerated over the last 12 to 24 months, with 10% of its customers’ active products now containing organic ingredients; the highest percentage on record.
The firm noted how one snacking manufacturer alone has introduced almost 50 products, actively positioned as organic, in the past two years.
The new data supports a wider industry trend. The Soil Association – a leading food and farming charity – recently released its 2026 Market Report, confirming the UK the organic market grew 4.2% this year to reach £3.9 billion. This represents its 14th consecutive year of growth and double its value from ten years ago.
Food product development typically operates on lead times of one to two years. That means the organic ingredients being built into recipes today will start appearing on supermarket shelves over the next 12 to 24 months, and Point74’s data suggests the volume will be significant.
“This is not a reaction to a trending search term,” says Rob Sinclair, CEO of Point74. “Manufacturers made a strategic decision to invest in organic years ago. We’re only now approaching the point where consumers will see the full scale of that on shelf.
“Organic isn’t something manufacturers are experimenting with anymore. It is being built into everyday product development workflows, including recipe checks, ingredient suitability fields and retailer submission processes. What we’re tracking now is what Britain’s food aisles will look like in 2027.”
Point74’s data spans some of the UK’s most established food producers across meat, snacking, bakery and prepared food categories. Customers include Morrisons, Ginsters and Charlie Binghams.
Its software currently manages more than 50,000 ingredient specifications and supports the launch of more than 4,000 products annually.
“The organic trend is also arriving at a moment when compliance has never been under greater scrutiny,” continues Rob.
“Labelling requirements continue to tighten, with new rules on country of origin, prepacked food, and product claims introduced over the last two years.
“Interestingly, this coincides with Point74 seeing an upsurge in the usage of organic ingredients. Organic claims carry their own regulatory obligations, and calling a product ‘organic’ without certification is a breach of UK food labelling law.
“It’s one of the reasons we’ve recently acquired compliance specialist, Quor. The move will ensure our customers can rest knowing they’re on the right side of legislation when launching organic products.”
