1. Exploring new flavours
The food and beverage industry is focusing more and more on the adventurous consumer. Food is becoming a way for people to leave their comfort zones to explore bolder and less familiar flavours. Seeking multisensory food experiences does not just relate to taste of a product but involves visual and emotional aspects. This means a break from the purely functional experiences, that many health foods offer.
2. Plant-based foods in the mainstream
The market for plant-based products shows no sign of slowing down. As a result, companies and brands increasingly “green up” their portfolios with plant-based options to attract mainstream consumers who want to lower their consumption of meat. For the mainstream consumer, going plant-based is not about moving away from eating meat completely, but about achieving a balanced diet between animal and plant-based products.
3. Definitive snacking
For most consumers, snacking is part of their daily routine and always has been. What’s different today, is the way people think about snacking and what is seen as a snack. Snacking is no longer something optional that we decide to do or not, but it has become definitive, crucial to our daily lives. It is a central focus of innovation across all food and beverage categories, with 10 percent average annual growth of global food and beverage launches tracked with a snacking claim over the past five years (CAGR, 2013-2017).