• The organic packaged food and beverages market stood at US$885.2mn in 2021, ranking 12th globally. A relatively high per capita expenditure of US$34.49 indicates that the market is entering into maturity.
• Due to the high level of fragmentation of organic packaged food and beverages in Australia, the market leader China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd recorded a value share of 13.6% in 2021, followed by Lactalis Groupe and PZ Cussons Plc with value shares of 5.5% and 3.5% respectively.

• Organic packaged food and beverages recorded a market size of US$885.2mn in 2021, representing a 1.5% share of global demand.
• Organic packaged food and beverages are expected to grow on the back of rising health, environmental and sustainable production concerns, recording a value CAGR of 3.8% for the period 2021-2026.

• Organic packaged food and beverages witnessed strong growth of 3.7% in Australia, with a market value of US$885.2mn in 2021. Growth was driven in part by organic tea in beverages, which rose 15% to stand at US$49 million for the year. 
• Organic packaged food registered a current retail value growth of 1.7% to stand at sales of US$743.7 million in 2021.
• Organic beverages registered a current retail value growth of 15.3% and sales of US$141.5 million in 2021.

• Organic packaged food continued its positive growth trajectory in 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic reinforced consumers’ perception of organic food as healthy and clean at a time when food provenance was an increasingly important topic. Value growth was also boosted by the high prices of organic packaged food, with average unit price growth for the category exceeding that for health and wellness packaged food overall.
• Organic baby food, as the second-largest category in terms of retail value sales, just behind organic dairy, recorded a particularly strong performance during the pandemic, reversing the double-digit value decline of 2019. This was driven largely by the strength of organic milk formula and organic prepared baby food.
• All categories within organic beverages recorded stronger retail value and volume growth in 2020 compared to 2019. This was particularly driven by consumers purchasing more premium coffee beans, instant coffee and Nespresso-compatible coffee capsules during the peak of the Covid-19. The category benefited from the closure of foodservice outlets as consumers turned to everyday luxuries and sought to replicate their coffee from a restaurant or café at home. As such, both organic fresh and instant coffee recorded sharp rises in value growth.
• Organic dairy registered a 2.1% rise in sales during 2021, growing largely in line with overall organic packaged food. Milk and yoghurt are the dominant subcategories within organic dairy, each accounting for around 40% of category value. Organic yoghurt bolstered category growth in 2021, with sales climbing by 3.6% to hit US$92.2 million. In contrast, organic cheese made up less than 10% of organic dairy sales in 2021 and has shown comparatively weak growth dynamics in recent years.

• Producers of organic packaged food were successful in responding to consumers’ growing health concerns in 2020-21, notably in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many targeted new organic products at parents seeking healthier packaged food for their children. 
• Bellamy’s Australia Ltd remained the leader in organic packaged food in 2021 with 16.2% market share, although their share did decline slightly from the year prior, as smaller companies have eroded share from the top players. Bellamy’s dominates in the fast-growing organic baby food segment, with a 65% share.
• Brands Pukka and Republica continue to battle for the top spot in organic beverages. The two were even in 2020, though Pukka pulled ahead in 2021 with 11.4% market share versus Republica’s 10.4%.

• Organic packaged food is expected to record increasing retail value growth at across the forecast period of 2021-26. Organic baby food is set to offer the best prospects and is expected to overtake organic dairy to become the largest category by 2023.
• A driver of growth in organic packaged food is consumers’ increasing focus on sustainability. The organic label is commonly associated with clean practices and a drive to reduce waste. As such, a growing number of players are expected to launch organic ranges or versions across different categories as consumers demand more sustainable products.
• The majority of categories in organic beverages will be settling to fairly moderate growth from 2022 onwards. In a sharp reversal from 2020, sales of organic coffee are set to normalise over the coming years as increased at-home consumption witnessed during lockdowns, which helped to boost growth for organic coffee and tea in 2020, becomes less relevant amid the recovery of consumer foodservice channels.
• Private label players are expected to become a major threat to organic coffee brands as they focus on aspects including the aesthetics of their packaging, sustainability, and the provenance of coffee beans. Coles’ Urban Organic range already offers premium characteristics at an affordable price, setting a trend that is set to challenge the leading brands.

• Consumers’ drive to reduce the amount of sugar in their diets is expected to remain a key issue over the forecast period, with further reduced sugar products set to be launched, especially in RTD tea, cordial, and juice. In other areas, trends that emerged in response to the pandemic are expected to persist, such as increased demand for functional beverages. This will reflect consumers’ continuing interest in functional nutrition as many seek to better understand the role of products such as functional beverages in managing health conditions.
• Organic packaged food and beverages are both expected to become more mainstream over the forecast period as consumers focus more on sustainability, clean image and the provenance of ingredients and products. Continued focus on preventative health is also set to sustain demand for fortified/functional packaged food and beverages.

Economy:

• Following real growth of 4.7% in 2021, Australia’s economy is expected to expand by an average annual real rate of 2.3% over 2022-2040.
• Inflation in Australia is forecast to remain relatively unchanged at just under 3.0% in 2022.
• As Australia’s merchandise exports increased by 37.0% and imports rose by 21.6% during 2021, the country remained a net exporter of goods.
• As foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Australia decreased over 2020, FDI intensity reached 1.5% of GDP.
• Public debt in Australia rose to 61.1% of GDP in 2021 from 57.3% in 2020, pointing to a weakening of the country’s fiscal health.

Population demographics:

• Driven by strong, yet weakening, rates of net migration and natural increase, Australia's population will swell by 32.1% in 2019-2040. When its population reaches 33.6 million in 2040, it will be nearly six times larger than neighbouring New Zealand.  
• Net migration is set to remain strong up to 2040, accounting for over half of population growth. Foreign citizens will increase by 43.5% to make up over a fifth of the population by 2040, meaning that demand for international segments such as world food, travel and entertainment should grow.
• Births are set to rise every year up to 2040, supported by a stable fertility rate and rising numbers of women of childbearing age. Therefore, demand for child-related segments should escalate, even though the share of children in total population will drop slightly.

Income & expenditure:

• Per capita gross income in Australia is forecast to increase by 24.6% in real terms over 2021-2040.
• The New South Wales region is anticipated to remain the largest consumer market in Australia by 2040, accounting for 33.6% of total consumer expenditure.
• Over the 2020-2030 period, Australia is projected to drop by two positions and rank seventh out of 84 countries in Euromonitor International’s Wealth Index.
• The current day millennials are set to be the highest per capita income earners by 2040, increasing their importance as affluent consumers.

[1] Health and Wellness Definition: Health and wellness is the aggregation of organic packaged food and beverages, fortified/functional packaged food and beverages, naturally healthy packaged food and beverages, better for you packaged food and beverages and food intolerance products. The above definition and more can be referenced from the definitions table at the end of the report.

Top 5 Cities By Population

Top 5 Grocery Retailers By Sale

Top 5 Export Commodities To Australia

Note : Total organics is the sum of all exports in a particular year

Authorized Government Agency(s):

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment 

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

The Role of the ACCC

The ACCC is a statutory authority responsible for ensuring compliance to the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA). While it is not the ACCC's role to police the Australian Standard as it is a voluntary measure, the ACCC sees the standard as assisting it in two key areas of its enforcement activity.

The first is ensuring that where a representation is made about complying with a standard, this representation is not misleading and deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive.

The second area in which the ACCC may reference the standard is as an indicator of the requirements of organic production more broadly if, for instance, a claim is made that a product is ‘organic' without any reference to a specific standard.

Agency(s) Contact Information:

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment 

Telephone: 1800 900 090
Telephone (from outside Austrailia): 61 3 8318 6700 
Website

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Offices located Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, and Townsville.

Telephone: +61 2 6243 1305
Website

Name(s) of Regulation and/or Standard:

Australia's National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce provides Australia's main consumer regulatory authority the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with a platform for enhanced consumer protection of organic product using the existing Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA).

Date of Implementation: 2009; Updated: 2022

Regulation and/or Standard Scope:

The Australian Standard is a base or reference standard. This means that Certifiers can still keep their own standards or use Australia's National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce, which was initially developed for products exported from Australia.

The Australian Standard outlines the minimum requirements to be met by growers and manufacturers wishing to label their products 'organic' and 'biodynamic'. It establishes an agreed set of procedures to be followed for the production, preparation, transportation, marketing and labeling of organic and biodynamic products, including food and processed food.

Australia has an organic equivalence arrangement with Japan to export organic plant and plant products (excluding wine), organic livestock products and organic processed foods certified to the Australian National Organic Standard.  Taiwan and Australia have a bilateral organic equivalency arrangement for crops, livestock, aquatic plants and processed foods which, however, excludes bee products and organic agricultural products not produced or made in Australia.

Organic or bio‐dynamic produce which is imported into Australia can be labelled as meeting this Standard provided the produce satisfies the following requirements: 

• a competent authority and/or government approved certification organization has issued export documentation; stating the consignment has been produced under a system that is equivalent to this Standard; or 
• the certification organization is recognized by the importing country competent authority; and 
• was subject to a regular system of inspection by a competent authority approved certification organization; and 
• does not contain any substances not permitted by this Standard.

Imported organic or bio‐dynamic produce can be labelled as meeting this Standard provided that the operator (importer) is certified, and the imported products complies with above. 

An original export certificate issued by a competent authority or government approved certification body is required for each consignment. The export certificate must accompany the organic or bio‐dynamic consignment into Australia.

Imported Food Legislation

Certification:

The Department of Agriculture maintains list of certification bodies it has approved; more details about the approval process are available.

Accreditation Method:

Government

Accreditation:

Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment

International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ). Hyper-link for Joint Accreditation System.

Reference Standards:

On the third country list of the European Union.

Additional Information:

U.S. International Trade Administration

Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment's information about organic products, including links to food labeling requirements for all food products.

USDA's GAIN Report Exporter Guide (2023)
USDA's GAIN Report Retail Food Sector Report (2022)
USDA's GAIN Report Food Service Report (2022)
USDA's GAIN Report Food Processing Ingredients (2022)
USDA's GAIN Report Food Service - Hotel Restaurant Institutional (2021)
USDA's GAIN Report Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Annual Country Report (2023)
USDA's GAIN Report Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Export Certificate Report (2023)