Fresh food in 2024: The big picture
2024 continues to be a challenging year for fresh food in Australia as many consumers are still unable to spend as freely as they would like, and are choosing to reduce their spending on fruits, vegetables and meat to help manage their budgets while paying bills and other essentials. While inflation in 2024 is easing compared to the previous year, and the average unit price of some categories, such as meat, is stagnating or declining, many consumers are still struggling to cope and are unable to increase their spending.
2024 key trends
One of the major trends in 2024 is a strong focus on research and development for fresh food production in Australia. There are two key benefits to gain from this research.
Retailing developments
Supermarkets remains the leading distribution channel for fresh food in Australia, holding 58% retail volume share in 2024. In Australia, there are only two major supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, so these two brands dominate the distribution of fresh food.
What next for fresh food?
The outlook for fresh food in Australia is more optimistic over the forecast period. In 2024, prices have already started to stabilise and with inflation easing and interest rates also expected to be cut in 2025, there is a sense that consumers will finally have higher budgets to spend on purchasing fresh food.
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Overview:
Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Fresh Food industry in Australia with research from Euromonitor International's team of in-country analysts – experts by industry and geographic specialisation.
Key trends are clearly and succinctly summarised alongside the most current research data available. Understand and assess competitive threats and plan corporate strategy with our qualitative analysis, insight and confident growth projections.
Data and analysis in this report provides further detailed coverage dedicated to the following key categories, where applicable:
- Eggs
- Fish and Seafood
- Fruits
- Meat
- Nuts
- Pulses
- Starchy Roots
- Sugar and Sweeteners
- Vegetables
If you're in the Fresh Food industry in Australia, our research will help you to make informed, intelligent decisions; to recognise and profit from opportunity, or to offer resilience amidst market uncertainty.
The Fresh Food in Australia report includes:
- Analysis of key supply-side and demand trends
- Detailed segmentation of international and local products
- Historic volume and value sizes
- Five year forecasts of market trends and market growth
- Robust and transparent research methodology, conducted in-country
This report answers:
- What is the market size of Fresh Food in Australia?
- What is the impact of commodity price fluctuations on local production and consumption?
- What are the key campaigns or legislation driving Fresh Food sales?
- How are consumer attitudes towards fresh food evolving?
- How significant is health and wellness in shaping consumer demand?
- Where is future growth expected to be most dynamic?
Fresh Food in Australia
Fresh food in 2024: The big picture
2024 key trends
Retailing developments
What next for fresh food?
DISCLAIMER
Eggs in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Growth of eggs remains steady but marginally impeded by outbreak of avian influenza
Australian Eggs launches new training tool to reduce risk of biosecurity issues
Positive outlook for eggs in Australia as consumers diversify diets and seek other sources of protein
Research and development in egg production to improve sustainability outcomes
Fish and Seafood in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Fish and seafood experiences persistent price inflation compared to fresh meat
Consumer concerns over sustainability and origin of imported fish
Slow recovery of international markets provide greater opportunity for domestic seafood consumption
Aldi expected to grow its seafood business as consumers look for the best value
Fruits in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Inflationary impact on price of fruits results in reduced consumption
Launch of new apple brand can help create excitement
Stronger volume growth as inflation eases and consumers seek healthier snacking options
Supermarket demands impact livelihood of farmers in Australia
Meat in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
High inflation and cost of living cuts into consumer spend on meat
Innovations in meat manufacturing focus on delivering sustainability goals
Total consumption of meat expected to quickly recover as prices stabilise
Recovery of foodservice expected, but channel sees rising demand for plant-based meat alternatives
Nuts in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Marginal volume growth for nuts in Australia amidst moderate inflation
Increase in almond production raises concerns over water supply
Nuts set for steady growth but category needs marketing push to stand out against competition
Developments in farming techniques to help improve production efficiency
Pulses in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Consumer preference for shelf stable and frozen pulses impacts performance of fresh produce
Improvement in farming conditions to help control prices
Growth potential for pulses as consumers seek out plant-based protein alternatives
Steady recovery of sales expected as price of pulses starts to ease
Starchy Roots in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Potato consumption declines as Australians struggle to cope with rising cost of fresh food
Focus on aesthetically-pleasing potatoes increases amount of food waste
Positive outlook for potatoes as inflation eases and consumers resume typical spending
Innovation to help with improving yields and sustainability goals
Sugar and Sweeteners in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Unit price growth of sugar hinders volume sales in 2024
Sugar alternatives key for growth as consumers make healthier dietary choices
Steady performance expected for sugar and sweeteners as consumers still value flavour in their food
Potential sugar tax could impact market landscape and increase prices again
Vegetables in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Australians are eating fewer fresh vegetables amidst high cost of living
“Imperfect” vegetables gain attention as concerns over food waste increase
Positioning vegetables as a snack choice can boost consumption
Technological innovations to help keep Australian farmers competitive in local and global markets
The following categories and subcategories are included:
Fresh Food
- Eggs
-
- Crustaceans
- Fish
- Molluscs and Cephalopods
-
- Apples
- Banana
- Cherries
- Cranberries/Blueberries
- Grapefruit/Pomelo
- Grapes
- Kiwi Fruit
- Lemon and Limes
- Oranges, Tangerines and Mandarins
- Peaches/Nectarines
- Pears/Quinces
- Pineapple
- Plums/Sloes
- Strawberries
- Other Fruits
-
- Beef and Veal
- Lamb, Mutton and Goat
- Pork
- Poultry
- Other Meat
-
- Almonds
- Coconuts
- Peanuts (Groundnuts)
- Pistachio
- Walnuts
- Other Nuts
-
- Beans
- Peas
- Other Pulses
-
- Cassava
- Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes
- Other Roots
- Sugar and Sweeteners
-
- Cauliflowers and broccoli
- Maize
- Onion
- Tomatoes
- Other Vegetables
Fresh Food
Fresh Food refers only to fresh uncooked and unprocessed foods (packaged and unpackaged). Packaged sugar products and natural sweeteners (e.g. brown sugar, table sugar, molasses) are also included. For Fresh Food, we research total sales across distribution channels including retail, foodservice and institutions. For a selected 18 markets, we have a breakdown of total fresh food sales according to the following formats: • Retail • Foodservice sales • Institutional sales Retail Retail sales is defined as sales through all legal establishments primarily engaged in the sale of fresh, packaged and prepared foods for home preparation and consumption. Retail sales excludes sales to hotels, restaurants, cafés, duty free sales and institutional sales (canteens, prisons/jails, hospitals, army, etc). Our retail definition excludes the purchase of food products from foodservice outlets for consumption off-premises, eg grilled chicken/meat/fish bought from counters of cafés/bars. This falls under foodservice sales. For foodservice, we capture all sales to foodservice outlets, regardless of whether the products are eventually consumed on-premise or off-premise. We estimate sales through the following channels: Modern Grocery Retailers • Supermarkets • Hypermarkets • Discounters • Convenience stores • Forecourt retailers Traditional Grocery Retailers • Independent small grocers • Food/Drink/Tobacco Specialists • Other grocery retailers (morning/speciality/open/wet/farmers’ markets, stalls and kiosks, etc) Non-grocery retailers • Health and beauty specialist retailers • Other non-grocery retailers Non-store retailers • Homeshopping • Internet retailing • Vending • Direct selling Foodservice Foodservice sales are defined as sales TO consumer foodservice outlets that serve the general public in a non-captive environment. In other words, this means that the foodservice volumes track sales of all fresh food going into restaurant kitchens, regardless of what the restaurant actually does with that food. Foodservice outlets include cafés/bars, FSR (full-service restaurants), fast food, 100% home delivery/takeaway, self-service cafeterias and street stalls/kiosks. Sales to semi-captive foodservice outlets are also included. This describes outlets located in leisure, travel and retail environments. • Retail refers to foodservice units located in retail outlets such as department stores, shopping malls, shopping centres, super/hypermarkets etc. • Leisure refers to foodservice units located in leisure establishments such as museums, health clubs, cinemas, theatres, theme parks and sports stadiums. • Travel refers to foodservice units based in airports, rail stations, coach stations, motorway service stations offering gas facilities etc. Institutional sales Institutional sales is defined as sales to captive foodservice units that serve captive populations such as in hospitals, schools, prisons, military camps, hotels, hostels, nursing homes, homes for elderly people, religious houses, etc.
See all of our definitionsWhy buy this report?
- Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders
- Track key industry trends, opportunities and threats
- Inform your marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales and supply functions
This report originates from Passport, our Fresh Food research and analysis database.
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