Drivers of growth

Jun 8, 2020, 5:19 PM

Growing public awareness of the importance of healthy eating has led to growth in the range of products offered by the food manufacturing and food service industries.

The market for intrinsically healthy foods has experienced remarkable growth and consumer interest in recent years. Companies are increasingly focusing on everyday foodstuffs, particularly whole fruit and fruit juices, which carry the ‘naturally healthy’ message.

Australians are becoming increasingly health conscious and interested in functional foods as a way of managing health concerns such as weight and high cholesterol. Australia has an ageing population, which is contributing to the rising interest in functional foods.

Functional foods are any foods that provide inherent health benefits as well as those fortified with concentrated ingredients, modified in a way that aims to promote health and wellbeing, grown chemical-free, improve performance or reduce the risk of disease.

Operators have introduced a range of healthier choices due to health trends, and special dietary needs where gluten-free, vegan and non-dairy prepared meal options are projected to become more popular.

A growing preference for premium goods has also helped boost the appeal of industry products. Given the fascination with cooking pop-culture in recent times, uninspired meals won’t do for the modern time-poor but food-savvy individuals.