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HEALTHY OPTIONS FROM PAGE 42 “Foodservice Australia exhibitor Bickford’s has a wide range of offerings to suit customer requirements, including the Spritz fruit-infused sparkling water. Exhibitor Nectar Cold Pressed offers a range of no-added-sugar juices, which use the cold pressed method with HPP \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[high-pressure processing\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] technology that extracts the maximum amount of nutrients and enzymes, to create a range of great-tasting, cold-pressed juices.” With “consumer expectations for healthy options in stores here to stay”, Ms Shaw says convenience store owners that want to improve their healthy options offerings in store “should be looking for new food and beverage items to stock”. “Foodservice Australia will showcase over 450 suppliers to the convenience market and is a great place to expand your offering and find new products to help your business,” Ms Shaw said. “Free trade entry is available for anyone over the age of 16 working in the convenience and foodservice sectors.” For more information about Foodservice Australia and to register, visit foodserviceaustralia.com.au. Making healthy choices? Naturally! Lynn Ormiston is Commercial and Digital Innovation Manager at Diversified Communications, whose portfolio includes the Naturally Good event – formerly known as the Naturally Good Expo – which will take place this year from 30-31 May at the ICC Sydney. She says her role is “to ensure that the Naturally Good brand is continually supporting the natural and organic products retail industry through our live event offering as well as year-round product directory”. “\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[The event\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] will focus on helping exhibitors and visitors build and find their natural advantage through the booming and organic products sector,” Ms Ormiston said. “The live event will look and feel different to previous years as the attendee experience \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[has been\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] reshaped to better suit the current climate, ensuring the event is a safe and controlled environment to do business.” Ms Ormiston agrees that “the healthy options category in the convenience space has been growing steadily over the past five years”. “IBISWorld reports that snack foods have become increasingly popular, driven by rising health consciousness and changing consumer preferences,” she said. “Recent research from Roy Morgan reveals that nearly 90 per cent of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[surveyed\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] Australian adults consume packaged snack food in an average week. They also report that compared with 10 years ago, there have been increases in the proportion of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[surveyed\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] Australians consuming healthy snacks (3.2 per cent).” Ms Ormiston cites the study’s finding that the most popular packaged items are savoury snacks, eaten by 66 per cent of surveyed Australians, followed by health snacks (54.7 per cent), chocolates (48.1 per cent), yoghurt (44.8 per cent), sweet biscuits (41.2 per cent), ice cream (39 per cent), lollies/gum (30.2 per cent), dips (22.4 per cent) and frozen/dairy desserts (11.5 per cent). “Consumers are shopping with an ever-expanding perspective on overall health and wellbeing ... seeking clear labelling, affordability, food safety, taste and transparency and quick convenience,” she said. While people have “become increasingly time poor” and “wanting quick, energy sustaining pick-me-ups”, she says they’re looking for healthy options to fill this void – something that the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated. “During the pandemic, consumers have also shown increased interest in immunity-boosting foods that help prevent illness,” Ms Ormiston said. “As a result, dietitians and pharmacists are being increasingly consulted throughout product development. Probiotics, extra vitamins and fibre are being added to products, such as Purabon’s probiotic protein balls, as additional nutritional benefits.” She adds that “extra demand for speciality convenience foods” is evident with people “opting for gluten free, dairy free and plant-based food items”. “Additionally, new patterns of eating have emerged,” she said. “Flexitarianism, which encourages people to go meat- free several times during the week, is influencing how much meat consumers eat, with plant-based convenience meals rising in popularity. The keto/reduced- carbs movement is also weighing into this space, having grown rapidly in the last few years with products such as Sweet Treatz low-carb keto desserts.” To make healthy options offerings a success in convenience, Ms Ormiston advises that “store owners need to educate themselves on current trends”. “Reading trade material on the latest news and attending trade fairs such as Naturally Good are great starting points,” she said. “At Naturally Good, store owners can also quiz producers themselves on how well the products have done in the marketplace, taste test, and learn about consumer feedback and sales figures.” Upskilling on the healthy options trends is important, Ms Ormiston says, with demand for healthy snacks to continue to escalate. “It’s predicted that low-sugar, natural- sugar and freeze-dried options will be even more popular,” she said. “Nutrient dense snacks that deliver while being quick to consume will also be popular. “Technological innovations should bring price points down for consumers, and brands might start replacing traditional ingredients such as corn syrup with cane sugar, or GMO corn with organic corn as technology improves.” 44 CONVENIENCE WORLD MAR/APR, 2021