IBISWorld has revealed its health conscious index, which is an insight into the health of Australians and their diet and lifestyle over the next five years.
The health indicators used in this index include alcohol consumption, smoking rates, fruit and vegetable consumption, obesity levels, and participation in sports and physical recreation activities.
In terms of alcohol consumption, IBISWorld has said that it will decrease by 0.1 per cent during 2017-18, to a total of 9.72 litres per capita.
It further predicts that over the next five years that trend will continue, with an estimate that by 2023 per capita alcohol consumption in Australia will be 9.5 litres.
However, IBISWorld has also noted that while the consumption of beer, wine, spirits and RTDs has declined over the past five years, consumption of cider has surged and that growth is expected to continue.
“Cider sales have strongly grown as successful marketing campaigns have expanded the demographics of cider’s consumer base and new flavours have spurred renewed interest in cider products,” the company said.
IBISWorld industry analyst, Bao Vuong, added: “Consumer tastes are projected to continue shifting towards locally produced premium products from craft cider breweries over the next five years, contributing to solid growth in the cider production industry.”
Cider Australia President, Sam Reid, told TheShout that he “can’t argue” with IBISWorld’s findings and that he is also expecting to see cider continue on its strong growth path in Australia.
“Cider sales have surged over the past 5-10 years. The category growth is well and truly slowing now, however as IBISWorld are pointing out we expect to see the demand for locally grown and made cider that suits a more mature discerning palate to continue to show strong growth over the next five years,” Reid said.
“At this premium end of the market the category is very vibrant and we are continuing to see a focus on purpose grown cider fruit, which I predict to be the next big growth driver for the category after the expected growth from ciders made from 100 per cent Australian apples.”
The IBISWorld report also predicts that smoking rates will continue to decline over the next five years and while participation in sport will rise there will be a fall in the consumption of fruit and vegetables and an increase in obesity levels in Australia.