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Saving Money and the Environment: A look at consumer-driven food & beverage trends

Saving Money and the Environment: A look at consumer-driven food & beverage trends

Saving Money and the Environment: A Look at Consumer-Driven Food & Beverage Trends

Saving Money and the Environment: A Look at Consumer-Driven Food & Beverage Trends

Saving Money and the Environment: A Look at Consumer-Driven Food & Beverage Trends(RestaurantNews.com) For more than a decade, QuenchForecasting food and beverage trends has been our specialty. Since 2011, our teams have spent hundreds of hours in primary and second research.

Quenchs 2022 Food + Beverage TrendsThe report examines seven trends brands should be aware of so they can adjust their marketing and send relevant messages to consumers. These trends include regenerative agriculture, upcycled diets and flexitarian children. They also reflect the themes of saving the environment and money.

Upcycling.This practice makes use ingredients that would otherwise not have been available for human consumption. It is a good option for preserving juicing pulp, edible leaves, and other fruit and vegetables that are damaged or bruised. Although the waste-not, desire-not movement is not new, its popularity is growing and so is the demand from consumers.

  • Around 30% of all food worldwide is wasted annually, or 1.3 billion tonnes.
  • Only 10% of consumers are familiar with upcycled food products – but after a bit of education, 80% say they would be likely to seek them out.
  • Future Market’s report reveals that the market for upcycled foods is worth $46.7 billion.

The Upcycled Certification Standard was ratified in early 2020. This led to the creation a certified upcycle label. The new label will be applied only to products that meet their standards. This will help consumers make informed choices.

Regenerative agriculture. This system of farming and grazing practices aims to reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic material. Healthy soil results in nutrient-dense food and a better environment for the land it is grown on.

  • Conversion of natural land into farmland is a process that not only removes important nutrients but also reduces the amount held in the soil by 50% to 75%.
  • The current industrial food system is responsible 44%-57% for all global greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Regenerative agriculture is a way to increase soil biodiversity and organic matter. This results in soils that are more resilient and can withstand climate change impacts like flooding or drought.

Flexitarian kids. The flexitarian movement is made up of non-vegetarians who eat mostly vegetables, with occasional meat, eggs, and milk. While the trend is primarily focused on adults, it is now becoming popular with children due to forward-thinking caregivers and parents. Brands large and small are noticing and offering plant-based snacks and meals, or hybrids of plant-and-meat to satisfy parents’ desire to diversify their children’s diets.

  • Blue Horizon Corporation and Boston Consulting Group predict that alternative proteins will account 11% of total protein market by 2035 according to a 2021 report.
  • 67% of households report eating more fruits and vegetables as snacks in their children’s diets.
  • 60% of kid-based families are adding plant-based alternatives to their meals, and more that 80% are offering these options to their children.

Beyond carbon neutral. Consumers are the main force driving carbon negative (also called climate positive) behavior. Consumers continue to be affected by eco anxiety. This is driving brands to reduce carbon emissions and remove more carbon than they emit. Brands who join this trend will invest in new ways for their carbon footprint to be reduced through closed-loop design, new manufacturing processes, and other innovative methods.

  • The Center for Sustainable Systems discovered that 83% of all greenhouse gases are produced by food.
  • More than 70% of carbon emissions are caused by the 100 largest companies in the world.

Frankenmeat. In vitroFrankenmeat (or meat) has been in development for many years. A combination of scientific advances and increasing consumer acceptance of meat replacements could make lab-grown proteins a mainstream option in 2022. Food scientists devised a method to in vitro grow meat cells. This allows for protein that is both biologically and nutritionally identical with meat from traditionally raised and killed animals. However, it does not involve animal farming nor animal slaughter. It is literally meat grown in the laboratory and could change the future of agriculture.

  • According to Kearny, 35% will be lab-grown meat by 2040 according to global consulting firm Kearny
  • A study by Oxford University suggests that lab-grown meat could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 96% and water consumption by 82%-96%.
  • Eighty companies have been backed by more $800 million in investment and are racing to develop meat products that can be grown in a lab.
  • The first lab-grown beefburger was created in 2013 using 20,000 muscle strands from labs. It would have sold for around $333,000. A similar patty is available for $10 today, with prices expected decrease in 2022.

Adaptogenic mushrooms. Mushrooms such as maitake, chaga and lions-mane were once valued primarily for their taste and flavor. Today, they are cherished for the health benefits they offer. Cordyceps, which are found on the head a caterpillar in Tibet’s high plateau, have been used in China for thousands years by royalty and elite families as a tonic and support for a healthy immune system. It is now a trend that has been around two millennia.

  • The global adaptogenic mushrooms market generates $8 billion in annual sales and is expected to grow up to $19 billion by 2030.
  • There are approximately 2,000 types of mushrooms that can be eaten, but only 15 are recognized as having functional benefits.
  • Some wellness influencers have started adding functional mushrooms to smoothies, coffees, and other recipes with powders or tinctures.

Buzz-free spirits. This pandemic-fueled trend started with sober-curious people who began to consider the negative health effects of alcohol. Gallup data has shown that Americans are drinking less overall over the past 20 years than at different times in the past.

Happy hour drinkers can now mix a variety alcohol-free spirits to avoid hangovers and calories.

  • Many younger millennials are sober-curious and still drink alcohol. However, they are conscious of the negative effects that alcohol consumption has on their physical and mental health.
  • NielsenIQ reports that sales of non-alcoholic beverages increased 33.2% over the past year with total sales of $331 million. Non-alcoholic spirits were the main driver of this increase, growing 113%.

In summary, these big ideas are shaping the food and beverage industry – and by extension, ad-marketing industries – for the foreseeable future. Brands, publishers, and agencies would be well served to join the fray.

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