How Should The Grocery Basket Be Changed

The value of a typical basket of groceries has remained relatively flat, sitting at about $45. — The value of a typical basket of groceries has remained relatively apartment, sitting at about $45.

Have a peek inside Australia'south typical grocery basket and into the minds of the nation's shoppers. There will be plenty of fruit, more vitamins than tea or coffee, a humble loaf of staff of life and – compared with 10 years ago – far less lollies and chocolates.

In the past decade, fresh fruit has leapt 8 spots to go the second-all-time selling grocery category this year, based on frequency of purchase, leaving staples such every bit milk and chilled meats in its wake.

In that time, biscuits has been knocked off the top perch past bread, according to Nielsen's Homescan information, which tracks the purchases of x,000 households across the country.

The consumption of fresh berries is skyrocketing.Photo: Jennifer Soo

Chocolate has dropped out of the top 10, and other sugar confectionery has slipped three places to 17th.

"Shoppers are putting more fresh, healthy foods in their baskets, more often. It means the competition is gear up to get tougher equally consumers seek out organic, locally grown options in lieu of pre-packaged and candy foods," said Megan Treston, director of Nielsen's retail industry group.

The fresh food category, which includes fruit, vegetables and meat, represented a 5th of the $10.2 billion overall grocery growth from 2005 to 2015.

Australians are too now buying vitamins more than tea or coffee in supermarkets, upping the number of purchases by 50 per cent to 7.6 one thousand thousand times.

Milk, chilled meat and poultry, soft drink and cheese continue to boss grocery baskets, remaining in the peak 10 for the past decade.

Dietician Joanna McMillan said the trends were generally positive, but her most ideal basket would too be brimming with seafood and nuts and legumes.

She said consumers should ignore claims past some anti-saccharide campaigners, such as I Quit Sugar writer Sarah Wilson, that fruit intake be reduced every bit it is total of fructose.

"The sugars naturally present in fruit in fruit are bound up in the plant cell walls. Our bodies have to interruption these cells downwards to get to the sugars which can then exist absorbed. Well-nigh fruits therefore have a low glycaemic index," she said.

"Fruits are also fibre rich, which helps to dull the attack of our enzymes, plus vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals such every bit antioxidants. Whole fruits are more filling and satiating."

While bananas and apples dominate the fruit category, the Nielsen information shows fresh berries are fast moving upwardly the ranks, surprising growers, retailers and manufacture observers.

Jonathan Eccles from Raspberries and Blackberries Australia, which represents 200 growers, said production had tripled in the past v years.

He said new varieties, expansion of production areas and better storage technology had meant the industry could deliver fresh local berries all year circular, which in turn, sparked greater consumer demand.

"It'southward only going to get more popular, as people begin ownership them on a regular or semi-regular footing. It used to be a Christmas time matter, from the specialty greengrocers. Now they're in supermarkets 12 months of the year," he said.

Gary Mortimer, marketing expert at the Queensland University of Technology, said the growing focus on salubrious eating was driven past reality shows, such every bit The Biggest Loser, celebrity chefs, and government-led health campaigns.

He said Woolworths, "which banged on well-nigh beingness the fresh food people for 25 years", had dislocated shoppers with its price-centred "inexpensive cheap" campaign and lost traction.

Coles, on the other hand, was successfully clawing away these shoppers with its new "Coles Fresh" campaign.

"The supermarkets are responding to the wellness trend aggressively. Look at Aldi. Information technology's expanding its fresh food range considering it knows if information technology doesn't, information technology'll miss out," he said.

The Nielsen data also shows that despite the industry investing billions in advertising and many millions in targeted loyalty campaigns, grocery spending remained relatively flat.

In the past 5 years, the number of items in a typical basket has slightly reduced to 21.iii. The basket value has not kept stride with inflation, sitting at $45.37, with total market place inflation taken into business relationship.

However, the number of items in an Aldi handbasket has jumped from xvi to 21, reflecting the German-owned chain's rapid growth in the Australian market place.

Aldi has posted impressive double-digit growth in sales across most major vegetables, including 43 per cent for sweet potato and 37 per cent for celery.

Kurt Hermann, spokesperson for farmers antechamber Ausveg, said Aldi'due south results were "above and beyond" overall sales value growth for nigh vegetables in the past year.

"For fresh salads, for instance, Aldi posted growth of over 40 per cent in both value and volume sales. Coles also showed expansion in both categories, while Woolworths actually lost ground," he said.

"We're pleased to see that this growth is prepare confronting an overall increment in sales value for most tracked commodities. With a vegetable-rich diet existence a vital role of a healthy lifestyle, this indicates that Australians are making more of an investment in their health."