OUTLOOK
Continuing our new found love for luxury splurging , mid-price and premium table wines will continue to boom as lower price tiers decline . Australians are shopping by heritage and reputation , with the $ 20 –$ 50 category enjoying double-digit growth headlined by Penfolds . Premium spirits are also showing off , including Johnny Walker Blue Label (+ 45.5 per cent ), Four Pillars (+ 60.8 per cent ), and Grey Goose (+ 29.2 per cent ). 25
The price of beauty unmasked Extensive lockdowns had a huge impact on beauty and personal care with premium products growing almost twice as fast as the category . 26 We increasingly shopped through burgeoning online beauty retailers Adore Beauty , RY , and Oz Hair & Beauty , and were entranced by the personalisation that traditional retailers like Mecca , Sephora , Myer , and David Jones delivered online . This will continue as we experiment and seek bespoke solutions – especially as we gather in real life again .
MCoBeauty is a runaway success , adding an impressive $ 7.1 million 27 with its under $ 40 “ luxe-for-less ” cruelty-free , innovative vegan beauty solutions and trend-focused products , while “ affordable and authentic luxe ” brand The Ordinary naming its products by their main ingredients got authenticity credentials right with shoppers . Oral care preference shifted as the sensitive segment grew to be the single biggest in Australia , while electric toothbrushes grew + 16.2 per cent . 28 As we meet again in real life , expect home beauty and healthcare to be a very interesting follow .
Convenience is all about provenance , sustainability and indulgence The agenda for retailers will be to have an even spread of shops and services and solutions . Expansions of offerings and hybrid solutions ( for example , buying a premium ready meal at the gym ) need to be beyond the CBD as traditional needs met near to the work environment now spread to the suburbs . But more importantly , they need to be convenient yet meet our increasing , more forcefully expressed desire for health , provenance , sustainability and indulgence . •
HUNGRY FOR HOLISTIC HEALTH
Consumers now expect nutritional and functional benefits from the products they purchase .
As wellbeing remains core to what we eat and how we shop , there is no single strategy delivering the dynamic and ever-changing health landscape . We are placing greater expectations on products we consume , wanting them to deliver functional benefits as well as nutrition . Our healthy mindset has not moved . It is still paramount and as we settle into a new way of life , we are hungrier than ever for holistic health encompassing diet , mental health , self-care , and natural and organic options .
Functional food is no fad The shift in how we view food has led to large-level functional innovation with food – those made with ingredients offering health benefits extending beyond their nutritional value . As a result of the pandemic , immunity interest is accelerating , leading to an influx of product launches containing probiotics , prebiotics , dietary fibre , polysaccharides , and beta-carotene . Immunity management will become interlinked with stress management and more intrinsically connected to emotional wellbeing .
Over half of Australian restaurants now cater to vegan diets 29
Over half of Australian restaurants ( 51.7 per cent ) now cater to vegan diets , while the average price premium on plant-based sausages , for example , is 43 per cent 30 . In the liquor market , Hero of Zero (+$ 5.8 million ), Hello ! Very Friendly vegan wine (+$ 1.5 million ) and Round Theory (+$ 1million ) ruptured the market as niche vegan brands led a category that will continue to rise in uptake and distribution ( 70 – 90 per cent of value was generated in the latest MAT alone ).
The proliferation of plants Creative product development – not vegetarianism and veganism – is propelling the plant-based trend . Meat and dairy alternatives simply offer another option as Australians embrace a more balanced approach to food . As such , plant-based proteins represent an exciting growth opportunity . For some , this represents a healthier way to eat ; for others , it is more sustainable for the environment . The top-selling protein variety in mainstream multi-outlet channels is animal-plant combination as opposed to plant-based protein alone . People seem to have negative connotations of the “ vegan ” and “ vegetarian ” vernacular , with many associating the words with restricted , bland , fad diets that are boring or difficult to follow and will leave them hungry . Packaging must communicate that you ’ re getting more plants , more nutrients .
Supplementing beauty is skin deep The coming year will also likely bear witness to the increasing emergence of beauty claims on food items . Interest has veered towards collagen and the anti-oxidising superfruits like blueberries and aronia berries , but the clearest crossover is collagen – despite contradicting scientific studies on its benefits . Consuming collagen has headlined the Asian market for years but was previously limited to dietary supplements or smoothie powders . Bovine