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and community support. Read more about this initiative on page 8. Regaining trust in soft drinks The ‘naturally sugar free’ category is going from strength to strength, according to Nexba co-founder and co-CEO Drew Bilbe. “\\\\\\\[Nexba\\\\\\\] was seeing accelerated growth in this space pre-Covid as consumers were becoming increasingly aware of the significant negative health impacts of high-sugar and high-artificial- ingredient products, especially when it comes to the traditional soft drinks category,” he said. “Covid times have only accelerated this consumer behaviour ... as shoppers continue to prioritise health more and more in their purchase decisions.” Mr Bilbe says Nexba has also noted the return of “lots of lapsed customers” who had left the drinks category they had once strongly supported. This was due to lack of options outside of the traditional high-sugar and high-artificial- ingredient offerings. “It’s really great to see brands like Nexba win back consumers’ trust in the soft drinks category, so they can enjoy a great-tasting drink that still fits in with their healthy lifestyle,” he said. “Our classic soft drinks range is growing at 64.51 per cent versus YA, yet the total soft drinks category is only growing in single-digit figures, up 6.12 per cent \\\\\\\[Coles IRI Total Australia MAT to 18/8/20\\\\\\\].” Mr Bilbe says Nexba has recognised the rise of gut health as a major concern for Australians. “The latest studies show half of all Australians experience some form of gut health problem \\\\\\\[CSIRO Gut Health & Weightloss Study, January 2019\\\\\\\],” he said. “And studies from the US show that 75 per cent of \\\\\\\[surveyed\\\\\\\] parents reported interest in, or active purchasing of, probiotics. Arguably, gut health is one of the fastest growing trends the food and beverage space has seen in a long time. “Our functional beverages in the gut-health space continue to see huge growth, too. Our kombucha range in particular has seen phenomenal growth recently. Nexba kombucha is growing at 812 per cent in a category growing at 52.67 per cent \\\\\\\[Nielsen ScanTrack, MAT to 1/3/20\\\\\\\].” Mr Bilbe says Nexba recently launched its Probiotic Soda and Probiotic Water range, a “first-to-market Australian innovation” that blends “traditional indulgent” soda and sparkling water flavours with “our patented naturally sugar free sweetener blend and a billion probiotics in every can”. But interestingly, he says, Nexba is also noting trends across the whole food and beverage space towards indulgence, including new flavours being tried, with consumer demand for “social- media worthy, over-the-top” flavours, combinations, and product innovations. Mr Bilbe quoted the recent ‘Mintel Snack Attack’ report, which he said “summed this up really well”: ‘Both the super-healthy snack and the over-the- top treat are winning, while everyday, plainer fare is likely to struggle’. “This is why we’re so dedicated at Nexba to innovating on both epic taste and naturally sugar free at the same time. We firmly believe that health benefits should never get in the way of taste.” As a claimed leader in the naturally sugar free movement, Mr Bilbe says Nexba has a responsibility to help educate consumers in navigating this space, alongside its retailer partners. “There’s a lot of education that we need to collaboratively achieve, as consumers over recent years have been unable to trust the likes of ‘no sugar, diet, zero sugar, etc’ products that have created a better-for-you perception, with the facts revealing the opposite,” he said. “It can be confusing, and it’s great to see retailers and disruptor brands like Nexba working together to help break this down for consumers.” Keep it Cleaner keeps it rolling Tom Paton, CEO of Metro Food Co, says its brand Keep it Cleaner’s competitive edge comes from open dialogue with its customers daily, with the team constantly researching category and industry performance to ensure it is leading the way in category and channel growth. He adds that this is “while launching products that customers actually want, as opposed to simply launching products that are convenient for the brand”. “This is evident in recent retailer CAGR data,” Mr Paton said, “which showed health food growth of 4.1 per cent in dollar sales and 6.1 per cent in volume for the period from 2015 to 2019, while Keep it Cleaner grew at 320 per cent in dollar sales and 340 per cent in volume for the same period.” The major challenge faced in the supply chain and at store level, he says, is “fluctuating demand” as a result of Covid-19. “Australian retailers have managed the second spike in Covid very well, with improved inventory levels across the board and stronger communication to consumers about panic buying,” he said. “On top of supply chain challenges, changes in buying behaviour as a result of Covid will force retailers to look at new trading formats, including strong focus on ecommerce, bulk consumer goods, and weekly meal planners for delivery.” According to Mr Paton, Keep it Cleaner continues to work with retailers to present its range appealingly in-store, consistently looking at new packaging formats to support sustainability, dollar sales return on shelf per centimetre, and packaging design. “As a business, we recently updated our fermented vegetable range from PET to glass jar, resulting in an uplift of 109 per cent in sales, attributing the success to a combination of sustainable improvements and packaging premiumisation, all achieved while holding price for the customer,” he said. “Our extensive packaging analysis pre-launch allows us to display key TO PAGE 38 HEALTHY LIVING OCT, 2020 RETAIL WORLD 37