By Cat Woods.
Never has our health mattered more than in the wake of a global health crisis, which continues, though less savagely, to affect individuals, communities and nations.
Before the pandemic, health foods had already been expanding within supermarket aisles, exploring space beyond purely the ‘organic’ or ‘health’ sections to promise physiological benefits, immune defence powers and weight-management advantages on product labels from the entry doors to checkouts.
The global market for health and wellness foods is predicted to reach US$1 trillion by 2026, according to Research and Markets, although the figure has been revised down slightly due to the cost-of-living crisis.
In 2019, the Australian industrial research agency CSIRO predicted that the health and sustainability market could be worth $25 billion to the national agribusiness sector by 2030.
The market was valued at $138 billion in 2019. At that point, before the pandemic and economic crisis, the agency predicted domestic demand would rise to $15 billion, with exports, primarily to Asia, valued at $10 billion.
The CSIRO’s research indicated that the four high-growth opportunities for Australian producers, manufacturers and retailers were fortified, functional foods with health-giving ingredients, natural and ‘free-from’ products inclusive of gluten and preservative-free ingredients, vitamins and supplements, and customised nutrition.
Read the article in full in the October issue of Convenience World.
