Australia’s supermarket and grocery sector generated over $139 billion in revenue in 2023, dominated by Woolworths Group and Coles Group. Industry expert, Chelsea Ford, says emerging brands are being forced to shut up shop due to a lack of funding, making it nearly impossible to compete with the growing dominance of private-label products.
Private-label products account for 36 per cent of all grocery sales by value in Australia – a 4.8 per cent increase in market share from the previous year. This growing foothold, combined with the dominance of foreign-owned brands, is squeezing shelf space, stifling innovation and making it harder for small and emerging Australian brands to survive.
When small brands can’t scale, the entire sector suffers. Competition flatlines. Innovation dries up. And consumers are left with fewer choices, higher prices, and less creativity on the shelf. It’s not just a founder problem – it’s an industry-wide bottleneck throttling progress.
In 2024, equity funding in Australia’s food & beverage products sector plummeted by 73 per cent. The sharp decline raises questions about how emerging brands will secure the funding needed to scale and compete in an increasingly crowded market.
Founder of healthy family snack brand Isaac’s Snacks, Laura Allan, said competing in the Australian food and beverage space without funding is a near-impossible task, especially when you're up against the deep pockets of big food brands and supermarket private labels.
“But having investment opportunities would completely change the game for small brands like ours – giving us the resources to scale, innovate, and truly compete on a level playing field. With the right backing, we could challenge the status quo and bring fresh, creative options to consumers,” said Allan.
Foodpreneurs Festival
Consumer packaged goods (CPG) expert and long-time advocate for challenger brands, Chelsea Ford, said: “Big business goes unchallenged when small brands can’t scale. Consumers miss out on choice, quality, and creativity. It’s not just a business problem, it's an industry-wide constraint that's shrinking the future of food and drink.”
“While founder-led brands across food, drink, beauty, and pet care are bursting with innovation and consumer demand, access to the capital they need to grow remains one of the biggest barriers to growth. Funding is scarce, and without it, even the most promising brands struggle to secure shelf space or scale production.”
To address the sharp drop in funding and the lack of clear growth pathways, Ford has launched a CPG Investor Hub as part of the annual Foodpreneurs Festival, which is this year taking place in Melbourne from 22-23 May. The Investor Hub is designed to give small and emerging food and beverage brands better access to investors – helping them raise capital, gain visibility, and compete on a national stage.
“We’re watching incredible brands with serious potential get stuck – not because their products aren’t good enough, but because the system isn’t built to support them,” she said.
“If we want a food and drink industry in Australia that’s truly diverse, innovative, and competitive – not just one dominated by Big Food’s flavour-of-the-month rotations or ‘me-too’ private-label offerings – we need to start backing the brands working hard to build it. Unlike other global markets, particularly the UK and USA, Australia has been missing a dedicated investor pitch event tailored specifically to the CPG sector – until now.
“The CPG Investor Hub will bridge the gap between small-scale brands and the capital they need to scale, connecting high-potential businesses with investors who don’t just bring funding - but also strategic insight, industry know-how, and the networks to accelerate growth. Why? Because innovation isn’t the problem in Australia, access to capital is,” she said.
The Australian supermarket sector is highly concentrated, with Woolworths and Coles accounting for 67 per cent of supermarket retail sales nationally. This oligopolistic structure can limit opportunities for smaller CPG brands to secure shelf space and negotiate favourable terms, making it harder to attract investment.
Another barrier to growth for smaller, emerging CPG food and drink brands, is the rise in supermarket home brands, with continuing expansion of private label product lines and increases in sales.
In 2023 alone, Coles recorded an 11.4 per cent surge in private-label sales to $2.9 billion, while Woolworths posted a 9.1 per cent increase. The result? Even less room for emerging players, and even fewer opportunities for them to break through. Without investment, visibility, and backing, too many high-potential CPG brands are being forced to slow down, or shut down entirely.
Frederic Leforestier, a CPG Angel Investor and a key investor at this year’s Foodpreneurs Festival CPG Investor Hub, said: “Investing in emerging CPG brands is not just about securing growth capital; it's about extending a steady hand and unlocking potential.”
“This new CPG Investor Hub is a chance for small and emerging brands to benchmark against industry leaders and push boundaries – it’s a great opportunity to shape the future of consumer goods in Australia and beyond,” he said.
The Foodpreneurs Festival has also launched the BiteBack Awards for 2025, aiming to celebrate innovative challenger brands that are redefining the CPG food, drink and pet food industry. Entries are open until 4 May at foodpreneursfestival.com.
