Understanding ‘healthy’ growth processes in organic food businesses and values-based chains

Food businesses face specific challenges when they are expanding, and when volumes and turnover start growing significantly. Higher value food chains, such as organic food chains, tend to converge either towards rather narrow market segments and niches or towards conventionalisation and loss in added value. In addition many entrepreneurs in the organic food sector do not possess a formal training in business economics and/or management. However, as businesses grow, increasing management competences are required and this tends to become a constraint. Aiming to better understand different development pathways with their particular challenges, business strategies and management instruments, this paper presents an analysis of 19 case studies in Europe and Turkey with respect to their expansion pathways