Market Trends
Here is a quick peek at some trends in the food industry
Health, Convenience, Value, and Taste are key drivers
Health
Healthy convenience market fast growing segment.
Probiotics is getting bigger and bigger.
Bakery products are going nutraceutical: where ingredients are added to make them more nutritious.
Nuts and seeds add value and enhance bakery goods. They come in different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. With the spin on how nuts and seeds provide health benefits, bakers are finding more ways to incorporate pecans, pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts, flaxseeds, etc., into more applications.
Foods and beverages for before, during, and after pregnancy.
Healthy snacks and foods for babies to teenage years.
Free: as in gluten-free, lactose-free, trans-free.
Organic beverage sales have grown 97% since 2001.
Raisins will be used in less traditional applications. This is driven by: raisins offer cleaner labels and enhanced shelf life.
Convenience
Drinkable yogurt and fresh soups were the fastest growing global food categories
in 2006.
Movement to dining in more often than going out.
Taking a step out of food preparation such as frozen meal starters.
Snacks and mini-meals predicted to be fasted growing segment in 2007.
Value
More sophisticated consumers desire everyday indulgences in foods. This can be real or perceived, such as a special glaze or sauce added to a known product, making it seem more exotic.
Consumers like to know the source of their food and drink; they want to have a sense of place: this runs the gamut from local to regional to global.
Taking a comfort food such as chicken broth and tweaking it for unusual and more exotic flavors.
Beverages move to the next level: energy, healthier, more gourmet.
Taste
More consumers are “foodies”: they walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Television’s Food Channel rivals many other genres in popularity.
Mediterranean is the most popular cuisine; Latin American is a close second; Pan Asian, Brazilian/Argentinean, and Thai are very close behind. Spanish, Thai, Jamaican, Indian, and Moroccan were the fastest growing ethnic cuisines on menus in 2006. Cuban cuisine will rise in popularity. This is perhaps the most “pure” Caribbean cuisine since it has been more isolated from the outside world.
Movement towards crispness, crunch, and texture.
Foods that are local, artisan, seasonal, house-made, hand-made, natural, and organic.
Retro, eco-conscious, and global fusion are driving creative concepts.
Shiso is a novel flavor; smoked and paprika are up and coming.
Fruit flavors will be used in more applications, followed in popularity by lemon, then cheese.
Consumers demand more authentic flavors/Americanized ethnic flavoring profiles.
