Australian food exporters, particularly those selling ethical and free-from products, can still thrive in the UK despite the recession, government officials told just-food today (12 February).
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Kylie Hargreaves, senior trade commissioner at the Australian Trade Commission in London admitted some Australian firms had expressed concern at the downturn in the UK but she insisted companies from the market still had a role to play.
“Australia has always been a niche player and, whether it’s recessionary or boom time, niche players are still critical and that will always be our space,” Hargreaves said.
Speaking at the London launch of a report into the leading trends in innovation from the Australian food and drink sectors, Hargreaves said companies from the country are well-placed to meet growing demand for ethical and free-from products in the UK.
UK retailers had played a key role in “choice-editing” the products on offer and helping support demand for “green” products amid the downturn, she said.
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By GlobalData“The green area is certainly growing. There was some concern that under recessionary pressures that would go away. But, with choice-editing from retailers, while consumers may no longer make the choice themselves at the point of purchase, retailers are making that choice at the point of supply, so we have to play the green story and we play it very well,” Hargreaves explained.
Australia has a buoyant market for food and drink products promoting health and well-being with sales reaching A$12.52bn (US$8.11bn) in 2008, up 9.3% on the year before, according to industry analysts Euromonitor.
Forecasts from Euromonitor predict that sales of such products in Australia will reach A$13.51bn in 2009, with sales of food-intolerance lines growing by 7.8% to A$150.4m.
Free-from is a fledgling category in the UK, although some Australian firms, including Carman’s Fine Foods, have secured listings in the country. Other companies, like Kez’s Kitchen have recently struck import deals in a bid to win shelf space in the UK.
Hargreaves acknowledged that the free-from sector is more niche in the UK but insisted the market will grow in the years ahead.
“If you’re a coeliac, you’re a coeliac – you can’t change it. Retailers here are a little bit behind the Australia trend but if you look at the Australian trend, with a very small population, it has become a mainstream product. It will happen; it’s just over what time-frame will that happen,” Hargreaves said.”
The Austrends 2009 report highlights five areas in which Australian food and drink makers are launching products – “flavourful free-from; super-premium; real CSR: less talk, more action; enhanced convenience for convenience; and digestive health”.
