Page 20 - Food & Drink Business Jan-Feb 2020

TRENDS REPORT 2020 7 HELLO HYBRIDS
LEFT: Mixing flavours is all about making options for consumers, even if questionable and controversial.
Adventurous consumers are highly receptive to hybrid products that are blending ingredients, combining food types and mixing flavour profiles. “There are lots of opportunities for hybrids. They allow a company to find the perfect occasion and target market, so those consumers find the perfect product for them,” Williams says. She gave Coca-Cola as an example with its product range spreading from its original range to energy drinks, fruit flavours and experimenting in the alcohol space.
Hybrids also play to adventurous consumers, with seven in 10 US consumers liking products that mix flavours, such as sweet and salty, dairy and plant blends. “This is mass customisation but the angle is helping consumers find the product that meets their needs,” she said.
BELOW: Tapping the gut 9 health trend, Made By Cow
EAT PRETTY
“Beauty starts from within” has been given a whole new meaning as the food and beverage market experiences a growing number of launches that border on the cosmeceutical. This is another trend where social media is playing a major part as well as the population ageing and the rise of the wellness mindset, Williams says.
Innova found one in three consumers increasingly consumed food and drinks that supported their physical appearance. While the Chinese had been using collagen for a long time, it was spreading to European markets, following and
benefiting from the protein trend. 8 Expect to see more food and cosmetic crossover, with
developed a probiotic, cold pressed, raw milk kefir yoghurt range.
A STAR IS BORN
Consumer familiarity and acceptance
are crucial for mainstreaming unusual
the holistic approach to sustainability, health and appearance filtering through, she says.
This also impacts packaging, with shapes, colours, fonts and designs being either inspired by beauty or food.
RIGHT: Products from The Healthy Chef cater to those concerned about beauty, weight management and gut health.
RIGHT: Westward
ingredients such as allulose and
ashwagandha, as well as for key Whiskey launched an BRAND UNLIMITED
Australian-only limited
disruptors like CBD. edition this year. From using pop culture references and small-batch
“Ingredients have become the star. ingredients to making personalisation possible in But you have to build familiarity and limited-time releases, brands are engaging acceptance if you want a product to 10 consumers like never before.
become mainstream. Pre and Innova found there had been 36 per cent annual probiotics have high familiarity and growth in food and beverage launches with a acceptance. CBD products have high “limited batch” claim.
familiarity and are gaining more acceptance. Ashwagandha, [known as the “king of ayurvedic herbs” and is said to reduce stress and anxiety] will take a lot more education to move into the mainstream,” Williams says.
Gut health and the biome have the potential to be a “game changing trend”. From 2017 to 2018 there was a 20 per cent growth in food and beverage launches in the category. Nootropics (cognitive enhancers) also have “huge potential”.
20 | Food&Drink business | January-February 2020 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
“This transformation age means you can do anything – pop-up shops, limited editions, or a seasonal special,” Williams said.
Nestlé’s KitKat Chocolatory in Melbourne offers consumers unique flavour ranges not available in supermarkets and other outlets. It also lets consumers design their own flavour combinations and customised packaging.
Williams emphasises that all these profiled trends go together.
“They build on each other from previous years but it is just about the most exciting time to be in food because there is so much happening.”