Global food trends for 2018

WATCHING developments in food and beverage market year after year, Innova Market Insights has summed up the global trends for 2018, with Director for Innovation Lu Ann Williams emphasising the way consumers are being “mindful” about their choices. This characteristic according to Williams, will impact companies’ production, packaging and product labeling. It’s safe to say that this year’s  trends are a continuation or offshoot of previous trends, say of clean labeling, health and wellness, transparency, and sustainabiilty.

1. Mindful Choices. Consumers are more conscious about making responsible food choices, and increasingly want to know what is in their food and how it is produced. Innova Market Insights research data indicates that 1 in 2 US, UK and German consumers read ingredient labels often and that 7 out of 10 US and UK consumers want to know and understand ingredient lists. At the same time, rising levels of interest in ethical issues have resulted in the use of ethical claims for food and drink NPD soaring in recent years, with a CAGR of 44% over the 2011-2016 period.

2. Lighter Enjoyment. As consumers continue to look for ways to eat and drink more healthily, lightness in terms of alcohol content, sweetness, flavor, texture or even portion size is increasing its appeal, although definitely not at the expense of a familiar, high quality and indulgent taste profile.

3. Positively Processed. As consumers become more concerned about naturalness and minimal processing techniques, the industry is reviving traditional processes such as fermented foods and cold brew tea and coffee, alongside the development of new ones.

4. Going Full Circle. The notion of closing the circle is increasingly taking hold, with greater consumer expectation that companies and brands will be more resource-smart via developments such as tip-to-tail eating, innovative uses for food waste and more biodegradable and renewable packaging.

5. Beyond the Coffeehouse. While coffee is clearly trending among Millennial and Generation Z consumers, tea is also seeking to reinvent itself among the younger generations. With the taste and experiential associations of coffee and the healthy image of tea, the industry is increasingly using coffee and tea as ingredients and flavors outside the hot drinks and iced tea and coffee sub-categories across a wide variety of products as varied as energy bars, yogurt and jam.

6. “Instagrammable” food is becoming more and more vital to millennials, so the time for foods with vibrant colors has arrived.

“People do fantastic Pinterest pages, for example, all color-coded or highlighting really interesting things like this,” says Williams. “We know that around 10 percent of consumers in the Netherlands, Australia, Spain and the US are really influenced by social media when it comes to purchasing foods and beverage, but in some countries – like China – it’s double that.”

While social media appears to be playing a huge part in the trend, natural food colors are also opening up the opportunity to deliver products that connect bright colors and health. Williams gives the example of Innocent’s red, almost monochromatic presentation of its Raspberry & Cherry Super Juice to highlight the goji berries that are meant to tackle tiredness, along with the bright yellow color of Suja’s Drinking Vinegar with turmeric and ginger.

7. Dining Out, In The lines between foodservice and grocery are being blurred, and this is opening up new opportunities for food experiences at home. As consumers look for restaurant-quality experiences, more innovation in consumer-packaged products is tapping into this need.

“We can eat or drink anywhere. So the whole idea of where you eat and how you eat is changing as well,” Williams observes, adding, “We know that younger consumers are willing to pay more for quality meals. We can see that older consumers are more worried about cost and younger consumers are less worried about it.”

Thanks to this trend, dining formats such as bowls are trending up, fresh meal kits are on the rise and signature dishes are becoming more prevalent.

8. From Snacks to Mini Meals. Busy lifestyles mean that meal times and occasions are becoming less prevalent and people are seeking quick and convenient, yet healthy, solutions.

Snacks are becoming not only healthier, but also more wholesome, satisfying, sustaining and nutritious. This is creating more and more opportunities for snacks to take on the role of mini meals.

“The other thing that we see happening in the snacking area is fruits and vegetables with a snack claim,” comments Williams. “There are lots and lots of them and we’ve seen a 25 percent increase in fruits and vegetables with a snack claim over the period of 2012 to 2016.”

9. Ocean Garden. Nutrient-dense vegetables from the sea, like kelp and spirulina, have long been established in the supplements sector. Now they are finding their way into a wider variety of new food and beverage products due to their ability to provide nutritional fortification, act as a natural source of color and deliver unique flavors, with umami being a particularly strong example.

Continuing to trend in the restaurant sector, Innova Market Insights expects sea greens to offer further opportunities for innovation. “We’re seeing them being used across a lot of different categories, such as snack and beverages, as well as seasonings,” Williams remarks. “This is something that would have been absolutely confined to the natural channel, but now these things are moving more and more mainstream.”

10. Bountiful Choice. Brands are always looking to connect more closely with consumers in terms of their specific needs and tastes. “It goes back to that whole idea of consumers’ interest in novelty and variety,” Williams notes. “They always expect something new; they expect to be able to have everything all the time.”

The factors of demand diversification and fierce market competition are driving a segmentation of the market that targets more specific dimensions. Therefore, Innova Market Insights is seeing more creative use of positioning and flavor to differentiate and distinguish products in order to bring novelty and excitement. From peanut butter to ketchup and tea, some of the more staid food and drink categories are being reinvigorated.

“Around 10% of consumers in every category usually say they’re attracted to novelty and variety,” Williams observes. “I think this is where some of the declines are coming in big food companies, and there’s growth for these small niche products that are meeting this consumer need and interest in novelty.”