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HEALTHY LIVING FROM PAGE 41 the mission to put gut “loving ferments” into Australian fridges. Since then, the company has grown from a little stall at Melbourne’s Coburg Farmers’ Market to supplying independent grocers, supermarkets and health food shops around Australia. Gaga’s now produces a range of fermented food products, including sauerkraut, kimchi, apple cider vinegar, coconut mylk kefir and fermented beetroot slices. “We’ve \\\\\\\[also\\\\\\\] just launched our new Soul Tonic – an organic immune boosting elixir crafted specially to fight the winter blues,” Mr Bourke said. “To produce this little beast, we infused our very own organic apple cider vinegar with a range of spices (including garlic, ginger, turmeric, onion, carrot, cabbage and black pepper) and a fresh chilli for an additional kick.” Growing plant-based benefits One in three surveyed Australians are “actively reducing” their meat intake, while a further one in 10 are already following a meat-free diet (Life Health Foods and Food Frontier, Hungry for Plant-Based 2019). “Therefore, it’s no surprise that that major retailers are seeing growth in their plant-based categories,” Life Health Foods International Marketing Manager Mark Roper said. The chilled vegetarian categories in Coles and Woolworths are now worth a combined $99.65 million a year (Dollar Sales Current MAT to 4/8/20, Woolworths Chilled Vegetarian AU, Quantium; Dollar Sales Current MAT to 4/8/20, Coles Chilled Vegetarian AU, IRI Unify, supplied by Life Health Foods). This is up 44 per cent in value growth since the same time last year (Dollar sales % change vs YA MAT to 4/8/20, Woolworths Chilled Vegetarian AU, Quantium; Dollar sales % change vs YA MAT to 4/8/20, Coles Chilled Vegetarian AU, IRI Unify, supplied by Life Health Foods). Playing in this category is Bean Supreme, a Life Health Foods brand of plant-based products since the 1980s. “We focus on making real food in a kitchen (not a lab) using ingredients you recognise,” Mr Roper said. “We don’t pretend to be meat, or use palm oil in our products. Bean Supreme offers a range of wholefood plant-based burgers and sausages. Our products are made in New Zealand and sold across Australia.” In 2019, Life Health Foods commissioned nationally representative market research in Australia with Food Frontier, to delve further into plant-based eating in this country. “The research \\\\\\\[‘Hungry for Plant- Based 2019’\\\\\\\] revealed that millions of Australians are eating less meat,” Mr Roper said. “While animal welfare and environmental reasons ranked in the top three motivations, neither is the top influence. Overall, health is the number one reason that Australians were choosing to eat less meat. Needless to say, consumer desire for wholefood plant-based products is currently a key influence on the category. Plant-based eating is just as much about reducing meat consumption as it is about eating more plants.” Life Health Foods, says Mr Roper, believes that insights into consumer motivations, needs and desires are invaluable, especially during the growth stage of plant-based retail categories. “We have and will continue to invest in nationally representative consumer research that helps us and our retailers to understand the drivers and barriers for shoppers considering plant-based foods,” he said. “This includes where best to place plant-based product in-store, clear signage to help shoppers find available range, and ensuring packaging has clear labelling of key benefits and drives appeal and purchase.” On this note, Mr Roper says Life Health Foods’ consumer research found that the biggest barriers to plant-based eating are availability, nutritional concerns and taste/texture. “Retailers should aim to stock products and ranges that address these key consumer barriers,” he said. “Partnering with the right brands that can consistently deliver to local consumer needs is key to success.” Earlier this year, Bean Supreme launched its Hemp Burger, which is claimed to be “packed with the goodness” of hemp seeds, hemp protein, chickpeas, and green peas. Made with flexitarians in mind, the burger is “seasoned to perfection” with cumin, salt, paprika, garlic, black pepper, and “a dash of lemon”. The brand is now “on the hunt” for the “newest and tastiest” superfood ingredients. “We love innovating and we’re not scared to play around with flavour,” Mr Roper said. “Thankfully, our consumers are just as interested in trying new things as we are.” No waning in no-alcohol wining The changing lifestyles of Australians, and a growing global focus on health and wellness have largely influenced awareness of the non-alcoholic category in the domestic market, says Edenvale National Business Manager Paul Andrade. “This trend shows no sign of waning,” he said. “If anything, it continues to gain momentum. “The Covid-19 pandemic appears to have added fuel to this growth, as consumers have become more concerned about keeping themselves and their loved ones healthy and safe. As a result, many are making healthy lifestyle changes, and these include the choice to moderate alcohol consumption. “As more non-alcoholic beverage brands join the market, and consumer conversations about the benefits of mindful drinking increase, the category will continue to rise and receive further consumer attention.” But at store level, says Mr Andrade, there is lack of retail linear footage available to develop the category of non-alcoholic beverages. “To compound this issue, we’re also seeing an increase in imported non- alcoholic branded wines stocked in the liquor and convenience channel,” he said. “These take up valuable shelf space from our locally produced wines.” On the topic of Edenvale’s locally produced wines, Mr Andrade says the range has expanded to include the Classic Range with eight SKUs, the Premium Reserve Range with three SKUs, and the Fronti sparkling grape juice range. “Edenvale strives to provide an 42 RETAIL WORLD OCT, 2020