Page 19 - Food&Drink Jan-Feb 2022 magazine

TECH TO TABLE
Intertwined with Trend 2 are
changing attitudes to the role
of technology in food creation. 3 IMI took a “very broad”
definition of technologies but
40 per cent of respondents
said they were more open to
new technologies now that they have seen how it has
brought plant-based products to the fore.
TRENDS F4ORECAST 2022
SHIFTING OCCASIONS
There is no doubt the pandemic has reshaped eating occasions, creating new ones while shifting consumer expectations when they do go out. IMI’s matrix also highlighted what it has seen change in eating at home.
Firstly, there was the increase in home delivery and an increase in restaurant branded products. Williams says there was a lot of scope for innovation here with 50 per cent of consumers saying they would try new delivery concepts.
Another shift was the increased level of brand collaboration. And in terms of eating out, consumers are looking for elevated eating experiences. Williams gives the example of a sushi restaurant that started hiring out a little conveyor belt for diners.
“Consumers are now expecting companies, brands, restaurants to enhance social interactions after being at home. And there’s lots of different ways to do that,” she says.
Chatime has explored different delivery methods in 2021 including drone, collaborations with delivery companies and a retail range.
GUT GLORY 6 A holistic approach to health and looking at the gut/brain axis is
a hot topic at the moment, with two in three consumers saying,
“Gut health is key to achieving holistic wellbeing”. When asked
what aspects of health were influenced by gut health, the top responses were improved immunity and mood.
Technology isn’t limited to the commercialisation of new types of products like cellular-based foods. Williams says it also encompasses ways people can track and measure what they eat for personalised nutrition as well as the way they shop.
“Tech has definitely become something that really drives food from conception but also to consumption,” Williams says.
Part of the trend is also a decline in the myths and miscommunication around technology as people hear and learn more about it. Williams says 50 per cent of consumers told IMI, “I believe that cell-based technologies can be the future of the food industry”.
Nestlé’s $1.77bn Regeneration Generation commits to massive change over five years.
Australian food tech start-up Eden Brew is making animal-free dairy milk by precision fermentation rather than cows.
VOICE OF THE CONSUMER
Three quarters of respondents said companies should listen to consumers more when they are developing products, flavours, and strategies.
“Food is just so on trend. People are very engaged in what’s happening in the food sector. It’s not about educating consumers anymore, it’s about a conversation. Companies are putting phone numbers or encouraging consumers to text them on the front of packaging,” she says.
It extends beyond flavours or new products. Williams uses Nestlé’s use of palm oil as an example with a questionnaire it created for consumers. “The company used that criticism as a conversation starter and explained that stopping its use was not easy or straightforward.
“Everybody thinks there’s a simple answer to everything. We see so much communication on social media that’s in sound bites. The news is in sound bites. A lot of it is very superficial.”
Williams highlighted that often discussions are reduced to listicles which do not consider important aspects of a product like the digestibility of protein or quality of protein. Returning to the Nestlé example, she says it is interesting and brave of the company to start a conversation and present some of the complexities to consumers.
Consumer familiarity with ingredients for gut health varies. 5 “We started hearing about gut health and prebiotics in 1994 for
the first time. It just takes a long time for consumers to really start to understand,” Williams says.
Consumers are very familiar with fibre and its effectiveness, followed by post and prebiotics. Williams says postbiotics is on
the watch list.
“We’re starting to see
some of the suppliers in the industry talk more about postbiotics, but again, consumers need to understand and there’s lots of tools and different ways to engage with consumers to do that,” she says.
Fermented beverage company MOJO’s Kombucha Soda has extra fibre to provide a prebiotic effect to support gut health.
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | January-February 2022 | Food&Drink business | 19