Consumer trends lean ever more to healthy, sustainable and organic food due to increased health awareness. The trend is driven by younger consumers as they have more concerns overall on how food is produced, sourced and what their ingredients are.
Short shelf lives and the high cost of organic produce is a hindering factor in the growth of this market. But continuous investment into this market and its products is making it more and more viable to a wider range of consumers.
Stricter regulations, and clearer labelling is also making it easier for consumers to differentiate between products and their nutrition.
Many companies that historically produce drinks with generally high sugar contents like Coca Cola Company and PepsiCo are expanding their healthier product ranges and offerings to make up for the declining market share of their core products. The shift shows a movement from carbonated soft drinks to healthier options such as tea and water.
The market in South Africa is still very much underrepresented in the overall product offerings available in health foods. It has been slowly growing in the last few years but still have plenty of room to grow into.