December 07, 2023

What’s trending? How global trends are influencing Australia’s food and beverage sector

FaBA researchers have gained insights into key trends to develop the FaBA Global Food and Beverage Trends Report: Opportunities to unlock innovation in the Australian food and beverage sector.

The global pandemic, inflationary pressures, geo-political conflicts and a changing climate have impacted Australia’s food and beverage sector in ways unimaginable just five years ago. At the same time, new technology has changed the way food and beverages are produced and social shifts have impacted what we consume.

Researchers in FaBA’s Innovation Pathways Program systematically reviewed over 50 market and research reports from market research agencies, management consulting companies, food and beverage peak bodies, research centres and government agencies as well as industry reports. Authors Dr Edgar Brea, Professor Janet McColl-Kennedy, Professor Damian Hine and Ellen Derbyshire gained insights into key trends to develop the FaBA Global Food and Beverage Trends Report: Opportunities to unlock innovation in the Australian food and beverage sector.

Launched at the Inaugural FaBA Executives Dinner, the report provides a comprehensive roadmap for businesses wanting to get ahead of the curve.

Drawing on natural language processing techniques, and manual inspection, the researchers identified 10 major trends driving changes in consumption and production, organised into five distinct themes:

Sophisticated demand: consumers want more personalised, functional and convenient products without compromising health, and enhanced customer experiences
Healthier products: there’s growing demand for more natural and ‘fresh’ products, which align to healthier and more nutritional diets
Environmental concerns: sustainable production and consumption is seen as important, as consumers become more environmentally conscious about their choices
Techno-economic forces: there’s demand for increased transparency and technologies linking the producer and consumer
Business resilience: increasingly, there are concerns about the occurrence of adverse weather events, geo-political stability and economic turbulence.

In the recommendations, the researchers emphasise the need to:

Embrace a data-driven mindset
Collaborate nationally and internationally where appropriate to accelerate innovation
Practice customer-centric innovation
Re-think business models
Recognise the importance of establishing transparent customer and stakeholder relationships.

A data-driven mindset shifts decision making from hunches to more rational evidence-based decisions that consider market and consumer-based needs, wants and preferences. This approach also considers the existing marketplace, including the role of competitors. Just because a product can be made, doesn’t mean it should be made!

You can access the full report here.

Watch Professor Janet McColl-Kennedy discuss the Report findings on Sky News

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