More fruit, fewer lollies: how Australia's grocery basket has changed By Esther Han Take a peek inside Australia's typical grocery basket and into the minds of the nation's shoppers. 
There will plenty of fruit, more vitamins than tea or coffee, a humble loaf of bread and - compared with 10 years ago - far less lollies and chocolates.
In the past decade, fresh fruit has leapt eight spots to become the second-best selling grocery category this year, based on frequency of purchase, leaving staples such as milk and chilled meats in its wake.
In that time, biscuits has been knocked off the top perch by bread, according to Nielsen's Homescan data, which tracks the purchases of 10,000 households across the country.
Chocolate has dropped out of the top 10, and other sugar confectionery has slipped three places to 17th. "Shoppers are putting more fresh, healthy foods in their baskets, more often. It means the competition is set to get tougher as consumers seek out organic, locally grown options in lieu of pre- packaged and processed foods," said Megan Treston, director of Nielsen's retail industry group.
The fresh food category, which includes fruit, vegetables and meat, represented a fifth of the $10.2 billion overall grocery growth from 2005 to 2015.
Australians are also now buying vitamins more than tea or coffee in supermarkets, upping the number of purchases by 50 per cent to 7.6 million times.
Milk, chilled meat and poultry, soft drink and cheese continue to dominate grocery baskets, remaining in the top 10 for the past decade.
Dietician Joanna McMillan said the trends were generally positive, but her most ideal basket would also be brimming with seafood and nuts and legumes.
She said consumers should ignore claims by some anti-sugar campaigners, such as I Quit Sugar author Sarah Wilson, that fruit intake be reduced as it is full of fructose.
"The sugars naturally present in fruit in fruit are bound up in the plant cell walls," she said.
"Our bodies have to break these cells down to get to the sugars which can then be absorbed. Most fruits therefore have a low glycaemic index.
"Fruits are also fibre rich, which helps to slow the attack of our enzymes, plus vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals such as antioxidants.
Whole fruits are more filling and satiating."
Gary Mortimer, marketing expert at the Queensland University of Technology, said the growing focus on healthy eating was driven by reality shows, such as The Biggest Loser, celebrity chefs, and government-led health campaigns. "The supermarkets are responding to the health trend aggressively," he said.