Dutch consumers spent almost €15.6 billion on food with a sustainability label in 2025. This was 6% more than a year earlier. The increase resulted from both higher prices and greater sales volumes. Organic products showed particularly strong growth. Nevertheless, sustainable food's share of total food expenditure remained unchanged at 22%.
These findings come from the Sustainable Food Monitor 2025, published by Wageningen University & Research. The monitor charts expenditure in supermarkets, foodservice and specialist sustainable food shops. Sustainable food is defined as food carrying an independently verified sustainability label.
Organic products show strongest growth
Expenditure on organic products increased by 13% to almost €2.5 billion. In supermarkets, growth reached 16%. Products carrying the Fairtrade and/or Rainforest Alliance label also recorded relatively strong increases, of 8% and 7% respectively.
Beter Leven remained the label on which consumers spent the most, at almost €5.7 billion. It was followed by Rainforest Alliance at nearly €3.7 billion and Organic at almost €2.5 billion. Products can carry more than one label, so the amounts for individual labels cannot be added together.
Growth varies by sales channel
Supermarkets accounted for the largest share of expenditure on sustainable food, at more than €13.3 billion. This was 6% higher than in 2024. Sustainable food's share of total supermarket sales remained stable at 28%.
In specialist sustainable food shops, expenditure rose by 8% to €495 million. Sales volumes increased by approximately 4%. Foodservice, which includes hospitality, catering and healthcare institutions, recorded more modest growth of 1%. As average prices in this sector increased by 4%, the volume of sustainable food sold declined.
Eggs and fish remain frontrunners
Expenditure on sustainable food increased by between 5% and 11% in almost every product category, although its share remained stable in most categories. The categories with the highest proportion of sales from labelled products were eggs at 63%, fish at 62%, and coffee and tea at 50%.
The actual share for fish is slightly higher because some supermarkets switched from the ASC label to GGN Certified Farming. This label was not yet included in the monitor in 2025. Beverages had the lowest share of certified products, at 7%.
More action needed to drive sustainability
Researcher Katja Logatcheva summarises the findings: "The figures show that spending on sustainable food is increasing, but its share of the overall food market is barely changing. Price increases also account for a significant proportion of the growth in spending. Without initiatives from within the food supply chain, the share of sustainable food remains stable or increases only slowly. Historically, the greatest growth in the share of labelled food occurs when retailers and foodservice providers work with their suppliers to make an entire product category more sustainable and offer it under certification. This raises the bar."
