The Australian seasonings, dressings & sauces (SDS) sector is expected to grow from A$3,065.6m (US$2.1bn) in 2019 to A$3,781.5m (US$2.6bn) by 2024, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.3%, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report, ‘Australia Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces – Market Assessment and Forecasts to 2024’ reveals that ‘wet cooking sauces’ was the largest category with value sales of A$904.8m (US$0.6bn) in 2019. The category also led the sector in volume terms with sales of 88.6 million kg in the same year. The ‘wet cooking sauces’ will continue to remain the fastest growing category in the Australian SDS sector during 2019–2024.

Mohammed Masiuddin Shajie, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Increasing disposable income, busy lifestyle and growing popularity of international cuisines among consumers is driving the Australian SDS sector. Indian food products, particularly the sauces and spices, are becoming increasingly popular among the Australians. In line with this trend ‘Indian sauces’ remains one of the fastest growing segments in the sector.”

The report further reveals that the per capita consumption (PCC) of seasonings, dressings & sauces in Australia is significantly higher compared to global and regional averages. It stood at 10.5kg in 2019, compared 4kg in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and 4.8kg at global level. In Australia, wet cooking sauces recorded the highest PCC among the categories in 2019, followed by condiment sauces and herbs, spices & seasonings.

With strong retail presence, hypermarkets and supermarkets continue to dominate the Australian SDS sector. It accounted for the majority share of 76.9% in 2019. It also held the majority share across all categories in the same year.

Mars Incorporated, Unilever and Simplot Australia Pty Ltd are the leading companies in the Australian SDS sector. Master Foods, Leggo`s and Campbell`s remain the most popular brands in the country. Private labels held a 9% share of the overall SDS sales in 2019, with significant presence in dips, and ‘herbs, spices & seasonings’ categories.

With growing health awareness among the consumers, the demand for SDS products with health and wellness (H&W) claims is growing in Australia. The majority of the categories are forecast to witness higher demand for products with H&W attributes during 2019–2024.

Shajie concludes: “Dips, dry cooking sauces and ‘herbs, spices & seasonings’ are forecast to record significantly higher sales of products with H&W claims compared to other categories, during the next five years. The demand is likely to be particularly high for products with ‘gluten-free’ ‘reduced-fat’ and ‘all natural’ claims. ‘Reduced-salt’ and ‘reduced-sugar’ are the other attributes, which are gaining popularity among the consumers.”