Ecological product companies grow by almost 40% over five years in Catalonia

Ecological product companies have grown by almost 40% over the last five years in Catalonia. The sector has grown from just 2,470 companies in 2013 to the nearly 4,000 currently operating in the market. 

The rise has been seen all across Catalonia, but Barcelona has seen the most growth for ecological produce companies. From the sector, they consider people’s "awareness for healthy eating" as the main reason for the growth. 

In this sense, Manel Marcè, the manager of the dairy products company Mas Marcè, makes it clear that the guidelines established by the Catalan Council for Ecological Agricultural Production (CCPAE) are "clear" and does not allow false eco products to "disguise" themselves. Another reason that explains the increase, explains Marcé, is the quality of the products they offer.

There is an increasing interest from citizens in "healthy food", and this has resulted in an increase in demand, which has led to the emergence of many companies that are dedicated to developing or marketing these types of products.

Others have seen a new market opportunity in the realm of eco foods, and have decided to make the change to dedicate themselves exclusively to this growing trend.

A question of coherence

Marcè explains that from the beginning they understood that this new market brought with it a series of conditions and challenges such as higher costs of production. The dairy manager points out that everything ends up reverting to a higher quality product, which in the end is "what buyers look for".

But apart from the biggest expenses in the purchase of raw materials, Marcé explains that if you want to market a product of this type "you have to believe in it,” and this entails not exporting abroad. 

"It does not make sense that I eat a German yogurt or sell mine over there, however ecological they are, because that will mean I will have spent money on gasoline to transport it," he says.