Talking Trends in Australia

Kara Nielsen, VP, Trends & Marketing, addressed a group of 1000 IGA grocery store owners and suppliers at the Metcash Supermarkets & Convenience Expo and IGA National Conference 2018 held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia in early July. She described ways that food and beverage trends could be leveraged at the grocery store level, discussing several of CCD Innovation’s trend analysis methodologies and illustrating her talk with trend examples drawn from plant-based foods, Korean flavors and Paleo diets.  

During Kara’s visit to Australia, she sampled savory pies with flaky crusts, tried out a new gelato-inspired line of Arnott’s Tim Tams and got an up-close look at new foods soon to be on the shelves at IGA grocery stores. Her findings will be published in an upcoming Trends On the Move newsletter; in the meantime, some trend tidbits:

  • Beetroot, Australian for beets, is a popular flavor in savory dips, prepared foods and even lattes!

  • Espresso machines rule the coffee occasion with flat whites, long blacks and lattes readily available. And we mean readily! Espresso machines are found not only in coffee shops but in clothing stores, grocery stores, malls and at the beach. Sadly, for filtered coffee drinkers…well, that animal is rare indeed.

  • Gluten-free and vegan foods are on many menus, clearly labeled and sometimes the de facto choice, especially for baked goods. FODMAP-friendly packaged foods line shelves in the health food sections of shops and there is even a Fodmapper lifestyle magazine.

  • Global flavors lean towards Southeast Asian and Indian, but Mexican meal kits, both shelf-stable and prepared are an emerging trend. Way to go, Old El Paso!

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