Energy drinks surge as Australia’s grocery basket shifts

Australia’s shopping baskets are looking a little different, with new data showing vegetables and chocolate losing ground while energy drinks power ahead.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs data shows vegetable purchases fell 1.7% in 2024-25 to about 181 grams per person per day, the lowest level recorded in the seven-year series. Fruit moved in the opposite direction, rising 1.4%.

The changing grocery basket comes as more recent CommBank data points to households becoming increasingly careful about their spending.

The latest CommBank Household Spending Insights data, published in September showed overall household spending rose just 0.1% in August, with food and beverage goods among the categories recording the biggest monthly falls. Spending on essentials was 4.8% higher over the year, compared with 3.3% growth in discretionary spending.

“Spending indicators have been choppy in recent months and seasonal factors have been strong, but nevertheless, we are seeing that household spending is tracking softer at this time of year compared to previous years,” CommBank Head of Australian Economics Belinda Allen said.

Vegetables fall to a seven-year low

The fall in vegetables extends a longer-running decline.

Australians bought about 181 grams of vegetables per person per day in 2024-25, down from 184 grams the previous year.

Some of the biggest falls over the latest year were in avocado, down 12%, pumpkin, down 8%, and peas and beans, down 7%.

“Fruit consumption increased by 1.4 per cent, driven mainly by oranges, kiwifruit and grapes, while vegetable consumption fell by 1.7 per cent,” ABS Head of Health and Disability Statistics Julie Watkinson said.

Fruit purchases increased by about two grams per person per day, partly reversing falls recorded in recent years.

Energy drinks power ahead

One of the clearest changes has taken place in the drinks aisle.

Energy drink purchases jumped 18% in 2024-25 to about 16mL per person per day.

Since 2018-19, energy drink volumes have risen by more than 80%.

Bottled water also increased, up 5% in the latest year to 148mL per person per day.

The longer-term shift is also showing up in the amount of energy Australians get from discretionary foods and drinks. Electrolyte and energy drinks increased their share of discretionary dietary energy from 0.6% in 2018-19 to 1.1% in 2024-25.

Australians ease back on chocolate

Australia’s appetite for chocolate also appears to have cooled after several years of growth.

Chocolate purchases fell 1.8% in 2024-25 to 16.4 grams per person per day, the second consecutive annual decline.

That leaves chocolate purchases 6.3% below their 2022-23 peak of 17.5 grams per person per day. Even after the recent falls, however, Australians are still buying 4.5% more chocolate than they were in 2018-19.

Chocolate also remains the biggest single contributor to dietary energy from discretionary foods sold through food retailers, accounting for 10.8% of the total.

Other changes in the grocery basket

The ABS data points to shifts elsewhere in the supermarket trolley.

Regular bread and bread roll purchases fell 4.2% over the latest year, while sausages and processed meats dropped 6.7%.

Snack foods fell 2.5%, while seed and nut products recorded one of the strongest increases among major food groups.

Despite the movements within individual categories, discretionary foods still accounted for 37.5% of all dietary energy available through food retailers in 2024-25, little changed from 37.6% a year earlier.

What does ‘apparent consumption’ mean?

The figures don’t measure exactly what individual Australians eat.

The ABS describes them as “apparent consumption” because they measure food and non-alcoholic drinks bought through supermarkets and other food retailers, including convenience stores, butchers, bakeries and fresh food markets.

They exclude much of the food bought from restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets, along with food that is home grown or sourced in other ways. They also don’t account for food that is bought but later thrown away.

The data is a snapshot of how Australia’s retail food basket is changing over time, rather than a complete measure of what Australians eat.