With more consumers turning to organic food and beverages since the start of the pandemic, demand for organic products is booming. Fleur Michell takes a look at companies and trends to watch.
According to the latest market report from leading body Australian Organic Limited (AOL), more than half (56 per cent) of all Australian shoppers have purchased certified organic products in the last year.
This year, the Naturally Good Expo 2022 will feature a dedicated section called Organic Alley for Australian certified organic products and AOL members. The Expo is being held at Sydney’s ICC on 6-7 June.
“AOL has been a great partner for Naturally Good and has constantly championed the organic exhibitors which have always been a key feature at the show,” Naturally Good product manager Sinead Kavanagh says.
“Given the expo is the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest naturals B2B event, we recognised the need for a section that brings certified organic brands together for retailers and distributors to visit.”
The AOL report revealed that Australians are enthusiastic about the benefits of eating organic food, with 62 per cent of shoppers citing personal health as a motivator for their first organic purchase. For 45 per cent of respondents, environmental considerations were at the top of their list.
“Over the past year we’ve seen around nine million Australian households purchase organic food during this incredibly challenging time, which is encouraging,” says AOL CEO Niki Ford.
Kavanagh says it is a positive step that consumers are now looking for the AOL logo on packaging to seek out genuinely certified organic products.
“As we become more educated about the benefits of organic brands this will become as common as the Australian Made or Recycling logo.”
For Kavanagh, there are many organic brands to watch ranging from chickens to chocolate.
Stock market on the rise
Melbourne-based business San Elk has been a labour of love for founders Loredana and Arthur De Simone, starting while working full time and raising their three young boys.
The business was born in their kitchen, with Loredana – a keen home cook – making a range of stocks because of the family’s history of food allergies.
“My oldest son had bad reactions to MSG and I couldn’t find many preservative-free stocks, so I started making them instead,” De Simone says.
San Elk grew from there to a business now making more than 1000 containers of Australian Certified Organic stock powder a week with the range including chicken, beef, vegetable and low-FODMAP stocks.
Growing the business hasn’t been without its challenges, De Simone says.
“It’s difficult to find organic ingredients that have not been sprayed, but we’ve really persevered for the integrity of our brand.”
The impact of the global pandemic on consumer behaviour has been obvious for San Elk.
“As people are looking for cleaner options the feedback’s been fantastic. Customers love the honesty about the product and we’re now in 550 retailers throughout Australia and parts of New Zealand.
“Demand is growing all the time,” De Simone said.
The range also comes in reusable and recyclable cardboard packaging.
Spinning the coop
The poultry sector has had its fair share of market disruptions in recent years, with Covid, drought, and floods affecting local and export markets.
Fortunately for Inglewood Organic, the organic chicken consumer is resilient and willing to seek out their products, says national sales manager Greg Youngberry
The family-owned business produces fresh Australian Certified Organic chicken andvalue-added products including chicken sausages, rissoles, kebabs, marinades and schnitzels.
Youngberry says organic chicken is more expensive due to the extra costs that go into raising the chickens and production.
“The chickens are free range, and not fed medications or antibiotics, (next page) onlynaturalremedies.
“The feed is certified organic, and processing must be in line with organic standards.
“The end result is a healthy and tasty product that is sought after not just in Australia but overseas,” Youngberry says.
Inglewood also uses different processing methods. The company air chills its chickens rather than the more common spin chilling method. It means the meat does not absorb chlorinated water through the spinning process.
The brand is currently available in Coles and selected retailers, with Inglewood always looking to add to its stockist list.
The organic sauces OG
Ozganics was founded by long-time organics champion Anni Brownjohn in 1999. The NSW based business is known as Australia’s original organic sauce manufacturer.
Its latest range of dressings including Vegan Caesar, Mango and Chilli, and Creamy Ranch.
They are all gluten free, vegan, sugar free, and ACO Certified Organic.
“Post flood, we’re still in recovery, and have been so grateful for the support of the natural food business community,” says Brownjohn.
“While demand for organics is still strong, all organic producers including ourselves appreciate stockists carrying our range so we can get back on our feet.”
Good for your guts
Fodbods is Australia’s first FODMAP-certified snack bar.
Creator Vanessa Hutchinson, who devised the bars initially in her kitchen, after a life-long battle with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, says it was important that their snack bar products be free from anything that could disrupt gut flora.
“We only use clean, natural ingredients for our four flavoured bars, and try to source organic where possible, including organic pea and rice proteins, rice malt syrup and coconut,” Hutchinson said.
Organic cacao a hit for Nib and Noble
Inspired by a love for cacao, Nib and Noble’s organic drinking chocolate and chocolate spread are Certified Organic, dairy free and gluten free. It recently launched a granola and 65% Dark Drinking Chocolate.
“Our Organic Drinking Chocolate Sugar Free is currently our best seller as the vast majority of our customers are health conscious and want to reduce their sugar intake.
”We use only the finest organic and fairtrade ingredients, sourcing our raw cacao from South-East Mexico, and blending it with unrefined coconut sugar,” founder Joel Siwak says.
This article first appeared in the May 2022 edition of Food & Drink Business.
