Key trends from Mintel
Mintel, the world’s leading market intelligence agency, has announced five key trends set to impact the global food and drink market over the coming year.
Click here to read the full article from Mintel.
So what can we expect to see?
In 2018, expect to see transparency and traceability for all, regardless of their income. Also, self-care has become a priority for many and one that includes choosing food and drink that will address perceived nutritional, physical, and emotional needs.
Opportunities also will be plentiful for natural, tantalising, and unexpected textures from chewy beverages to cookies with popping candy inside.
1. FULL DISCLOSURE
Consumers wants complete and total transparency from food and drink companies.
There is more pressure on manufacturers to offer thorough and honest disclosures about how, where, when, and by whom food and drink is grown, harvested, made, and/or sold. The need for reassurance about the safety and trustworthiness of food and drink has led to increased use of natural as well as ethical and environmental claims in global food and drink launches.
2. SELF-CARE
As more consumers find modern life to be hectic and stressful, flexible and balanced diets will become integral elements of self-care routines.
Many people who feel overwhelmed are focusing on ‘self-care,’ or prioritising time and efforts dedicated to themselves. More consumers will be looking for ingredients, products, and combinations of food and drink that provide nutrition, physical, or emotional benefits that advance their priorities for self-care.
3. NEW SENSATIONS
Texture is the latest tool to engage the senses and deliver share-worthy experiences.
Texture is the next facet of formulation that can be leveraged to provide consumers with interactive—and documentation-worthy—experiences. The quest for experiences will provide opportunities for multisensory food and drink that uses unexpected texture to provide consumers, especially the teens and young adults, with tangible connections to the real world, as well as moments worth sharing either in-person or online.
4. PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT
A new era in personalisation is dawning due to the expansion of online and mobile food shopping.
Companies should leverage technology to establish new levels of efficiency, such as customised recommendations, cross-category pairings, and resourceful solutions that save consumers time, effort, and energy.
5. SCIENTIFICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD AND DRINK
Technology is being used to engineer solutions for our stretched global food supply.
In 2018, technology will begin to disrupt the traditional food chain as enterprising manufacturers aim to replace farms and factories with laboratories. While lab-grown, cultured, or synthetic food and drink is only just emerging, technology could eventually be used to design food and drink that is inherently more nutritious.
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If you are looking for new inspirations and innovative products to add to your menu contact us at hello@pelicanprocurement.co.uk
