Page 18 - Food&Drink Jan-Feb 2022 magazine

TRENDS FORECAST 2022
Trending in 2022
A major consumer shift, evolution, and interconnectedness are the standout themes in this year’s Top 10 Trends report from Innova Market Insights. Kim Berry takes a look at what consumers want.
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Pure Foods Tasmania’s brand Cashew Creamery is one of Australia’s first plant-based ice creams to use a nut base.
PLANT-BASED:
THE CANVAS FOR INNOVATION
SHARED PLANET
When Innova Market Insights (IMI) asks consumers what global issues concern them the most, personal health has always topped the list. For the first time ever, respondents put the health of the planet above their own.
Sustainability has been a trend since 2008, but IMI co-founder, director, and trends expert Lu Ann Williams says now it is much more influential on purchasing behaviour.
The challenge for companies is how to communicate what they
are doing, be transparent in their operations, and build trust with
consumers. “Trust and transparency are key,” Williams says.
Key focuses for companies wanting to meet consumer expectations are carbon reduction, packaging commitments, and targets relating to food waste reduction, the circular economy, and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
mal products but developing options that stand on their own merits. According to
Williams points out there is a real need for businesses to develop universally
accepted certification systems as well as public faith in the transparency of their actions. “This requires quick, clear, tangible and trusted information combined with a product life story that truly stands up to scrutiny,” she says.
Pplant-based meat company Veef developed the world’s first carbon neutral plant-based mince.
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Plant-based is no longer about mimicking ani
IMI, in the year to August 2021 there was a 59 per cent increase in launches of new plant-based products.
When asked why they would consider plant-based foods, the most popular response was, “It’s healthier, it’s better for the planet, it adds variety to my diet, and it also represents my values and beliefs”.
Williams points out that taste isn’t mentioned, which represents real opportunity as well as indicating it is not the number one purchase driver for every consumer. A third of consumers say they would not consider buying 100 per cent plant-based alternatives because of poor taste and texture.
“This is a global trend. Consumers are aspirational so products might be priced out of the market for some consumers now, but the aspiration will be there, and it will trickle down in many different ways.”
18 | Food&Drink business | January-February 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
Williams says we are also seeing rapid growth in plant-based products that have a premium or indulgent claim like desserts and more indulgent ice cream types of products.