F&B forecasts for 2019

Whole Foods Market narrows down the leading trends to 10 flavours, products and culinary influences that will make a major impact in food and beverage in 2019. Forecast by the company’s global buyers and experts, the list includes:

Pacific Rim Flavours Interest and curiosity attract consumers to products from Asia, Oceania and the western coasts of North and South America, that now permeate grocery stores and restaurants. Ingredients like longganisa (a Filipino pork sausage), dried shrimp, cuttlefish and shrimp paste are appearing on restaurant and home menus for breakfast to dinner.  

Guava, dragon fruit and passionfruit are now among choices for smoothie bowls and cocktails. The texture of jackfruit has made it a meat alternative for barbecue pulled pork, while an extract of monk fruit, an ultra-sweet-tasting fruit also known as luo han guo, can be used as a sweetener replacing added sugars. As these foods become popular, Whole Foods Market and 365 Everyday Value brands will launch a limited collection of refreshingly sweet products inspired by Pacific Rim fruits like guava tropical vinaigrette, pineapple passionfruit sparkling mineral water, mango pudding mix and passionfruit coconut frozen fruit bars.

 Influences from Asia, Oceania, and the Americas gain interest among consumers.

Shelf-Stable Probiotics Probiotics are not going out of style anytime. New strains of probiotics such as Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 and Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 are making more shelf-stable applications possible.  Expect them in products like granola, oatmeal, nut butters, soups and nutrition bars. Outsiede food, probiotics will also be found in Counter Culture Probiotic Cleaning Tonic, an all-purpose cleaner that utilizes probiotic cultures and essential oils. Even beauty brands are including pre- and probiotic-based ingredients through sunscreen and other topical body care.

Phat Fats

Modern diets are welcoming fats. Keto, paleo, grain-free and even “pegan” (paleo + vegan) diets, plus a general shifting consumer mindset, make fats a starring ingredient in creative, convenient foods. Higher protein and lower-carb combos will also continue to trend across simple and easy snacking categories. The latest fat infused products are keto-friendly nutrition bars crafted with MCT oil powder, coconut butter–filled chocolates, snacks affectionately called “fat bombs” and a ready-to-drink vegan coffee beverages inspired by butter coffees. Add to that popcorn made with grass-fed ghee, different ghee flavours, plus variations on traditional meaty snacks like chicken chips and thin, crisped beef jerky.

Next Level Hemp A new interest in the potential benefits stemming from other parts of hemp plants has many brands looking to explore the cannabis biz. While CBD oil is still technically taboo (prohibited in food, body care and dietary supplements under federal law), retailers, culinary experts and consumers can’t miss the cannabis craze when visiting food industry trade shows, food innovators conferences or even local farmers markets. But there’s more to this trend than CBD. Andalou Naturals has introduced hemp plant stem cells in their CannaCell body care collection. Non-cannabis-derived sources from the endocannabinoid system (which are named after the cannabis plant that inspired their discovery), like phytocannabinoids that exist in nature, are also becoming more visible and prevalent due to the growing trend. It’s clear that hemp-derived products are going mainstream, if not by wide distribution, then by word of mouth!

Faux Meat Snacks More people are interested in plant-based snacking as their palates crave adventure, want a break from meat or seek more ways to add savoury umami flavors into snacks and meals. Mushrooms like king trumpet add flavour and texture to jerky, “pork” rinds and “bacon” snacks. Beyond these reinvented veggies and plant-based products, vegetarians can indulge in Quevos Egg White Chips for even more snacking.

Eco-Conscious Packaging There is a conscious effort to protect environment among a growing number of brands. Brands in the OSC2 Compostable Packaging Collaborative have pooled their efforts to make important advances in flexible product pouches, and some companies will ban straws. Others like Whole Foods Market are setting up regional pilots to test recyclable strawless, sipper lids made from PET, without increasing the plastic content of a lid/straw combination. Emphasis will be in “reusing”, with more produce departments going “BYOVB” (bring your own vegetable bag) and traditionally single-use packages going multi-use, like multi-use (and compostable!) food wraps made from beeswax, as well as waxed canvas or silicone alternatives to the usual plastic storage bags that can be used for sandwiches and snacks. Some movements start as trends, then become necessities. This is one of them.

Packaging is just as important as the product in terms of sustainability.

Trailblazing Frozen Treats Ice cream flavours include avocado, hummus, tahini and coconut water as bases. Plant-based frozen desserts like CocoWhip Soft Serve and ice creams with savoury swirls of artisanal cheese are on trend as are low calorie, high protein products. Globally-inspired frozen desserts are taking the stage — possibly sparked by 2018’s mochi ice cream obsession and a Thai rolled ice cream craze — with icy indulgences like airy Taiwanese snow ice and Mexican nieves de garrafa, and stretchy, chewy, Turkish ice creams that get their unique texture from mastic and other unique sources. Popsicles and gelatos will have boozier infusions as well.

Marine Munchies, Beyond Seaweed There will be more to seaweed than seaweed snacks. Whole Foods experts say more ocean influence in the grocery aisles in the year to come. Sea greens are showing up in dishes like seaweed butter and kelp noodles while consumers are exploring new depths of ocean flavours with superfood properties like unique varietals of algae and kelp. Puffed snacks made from water lily seeds, plant-based tuna alternatives with algae ingredients, crispy snackable salmon skins with omega-3s and kelp jerkies are just a few testing the waters. A salty sea fennel and olive blend will debut on Whole Foods Market olive bars in 2019, and brands like Ocean’s Halo include kelp as an ingredient in all their miso and ramen broths, condiments and sauces.

More sea greens like kelp, and water lily seeds will be used in products like condiments and healthy, innovative snacks. 

Snack Time, Upgraded Snacking takes over main meals, and as it does, the options for snackers are foods like charcuterie or cheese boards, one-ounce portions of Cypress Grove cheeses paired with demi-baguettes as desk snacks and more mini meals. Portable snack packages will feature bites like prosciutto and aged mozzarella, and artisanal versions of classic snacks like cheese or peanut butter cracker sandwiches. Ingredient-conscious snack and treat makers are creating new packaged snacks that take us back to our treat-loving childhoods but with higher quality ingredients, some of which are updated to accommodate special diets. Upgraded retro treats will star on 2019’s shelves — candy-coated Project 7 Organic Chewies burst with intense fruit flavor and are gluten free; Smashmallow’s marshmallow and puffed rice treats are gluten free and made with organic sugar; Little Secrets Crispy Wafers are long crunchy rectangles dipped in fair trade chocolate.

Purchases that Empower In 2019, thoughtful consideration behind purchases moves beyond (but doesn’t exclude!) environmental stewardship and animal welfare, and becomes more people-focused. Greyston Bakery practices an open hiring model — no questions asked — to practice what they call “radical inclusion,” which includes anyone who has faced barriers to employment. Kuli Kuli produces moringa powder which is often grown and processed by women, and has provided more than $1.5 million in income to women-led farming cooperatives, nonprofits and family farmers around the world through their organic moringa supply chain. Whole Planet Foundation partners with suppliers such as Chobani, Frontier Co-op, Naked Juice, Wallaby Organic, Papyrus-Recycled Greetings and more to alleviate poverty through microcredit loans for the world’s poorest people — mostly women — who become empowered microentrepreneurs lifting themselves and their families out of poverty. Media outlets like Cherry Bombe Magazine make it easy to find and support women-owned businesses and female chefs in your community, while inspiring discussions on how to move the industry forward together. Contributing toward social movements via purchasing goods and services with missions you believe in can make for big changes that extend far beyond the world of retail.

These predictions came from Whole Foods Market’s culinary experts and industry leaders who source items and lead trend-spotting initiatives across the retailer’s more than 490 stores. The in-house specialists combine their expertise from all departments including cheese, specialty, grocery, meat, seafood, prepared foods, produce and body care, when preparing the forward-looking trends report.