Going forward

Scandinavia has one of Europe‟s most interesting markets for organic food. Not only does Scandinavia have a very high per capita consumption of organic food, when compared to other countries in Europe, but the organic market has experienced a tremendous growth during the last decade. Even though a slowdown was experienced in 2009, mainly due to the worldwide recession and a shortage of supplies, the organic market is expected to show strong growth also in the future.

The Nordic Market

The Norwegian food retail market has experienced a steady growth in recent years. The industry had total revenue of NOK 102.5 billion in 2009 with an annual growth rate of 2.8%. Even though the number is a considerable account, Norway still only accounts for 1.1% of the European food retail industry value. However, the small percentile is due to Norway’s market size rather than its power. Norway has a population of only 5 million, but is one of the world’s wealthiest nations per capita and remained strong throughout the economic crisis. The economy remains stable but is growing at a slower rate. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) forecasts growth for Norway of 1.15% in 2015 and 1.05% in 2016. Unfortunately the organic food products in the Norwegian market do not occupy a significant market share in the overall food retailing industry as they currently control less than 2% of the overall food product sales. The main limiting factor for organic market expansion in Norway is expected to be a shortage of many organic products in the coming years (Norfelt 2008). The import of organic foods will, however, significantly complement the Norwegian production and ensure access to foods that are not produced in Norway.

We must make sure “Just Organik” product line is widely available in many stores. Consumers are not willing to travel for their everyday grocery shopping, reaching them locally is as important as lower prices. So the goal would be to get “Just Organik” in a large chain or several smaller retailers.
I feel that Norway is a perfect country to introduce your brand to the Scandinavian market. Although the market is not as strong as Denmark or Sweden this also means that market is not saturated.
Starting with the smaller health food shops and online shops should give us the base for chasing the bigger supermarkets. After establishing ourselves in the Norwegian market we will have the perfect opportunity to access the rest of the Scandinavian market. As you can see from my report many of the large Norwegian supermarkets also trade in other Scandinavian countries. There are many similarities among the Nordic countries with regard to culture, language, political and social systems etc. Also when it comes to consumer behaviour and product preferences you find many similarities.

My plan is is to start in Norway, because of location (I live in Norway) and my knowledge of the Norwegian market. I would begin with the smaller online shops and independent health scores to get a feel for the market and get brand awareness. Then move on to a national health store chain. I believe “Just Organiks” has the right look and brand would fit well into one of the larger Scandinavian retailers.

To recap:
Phase 1 online shops, independent health stores and health stores chains.
Phase 2 Norwegian retail groups and large shopping centres.
Phase 3 moving to other Scandinavian markets.

What I need to get started:

Branded email.(very important)

Its a very important to make a good first impressions and when your email is sent from your domain name, it helps to convey the idea that you’re already established, professional and take your long-term branding seriously, which helps to build trust.

Home page for Scandinavia.(Good, but possible to work with out)

It is very possible to work with the web site that Just Organiks has. It is very good and easy to navigate. The only changes I would like remove the prices (so we can more easily enter negotiation with individual companies) and later maybe add a few recipes because some of the ingredients are uncommon in Scandinavia.