Page 20 - Food&Drink Jan-Feb 2022 magazine

TRENDS FORECAST 2022
BACK TO THE ROOTS
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“All these things, if nothing else, they make your brand more interesting. And they certainly are a great way to grab some attention,” Williams says.
Magnum’s Destinations range provides comfort and a little taste of travel.
MY FOOD, MY BRAND
Each year Bega tells the story of the growers who produce the peanuts used in its peanut butter products.
AMPLIFIED EXPERIENCES
Consumers being hungry for new experiences around food is another trend driven by Covid, with 50 per cent of respondents saying, “I want to be a lot more adventurous with my food and beverage choices post Covid”.
C o n s u m e r s a r e 8a l s o k e e n t o t r y o u t n e w products if they are familiar with the brand. For example, Unilever has created Magnum variations that are reflect different parts of the world.
Covid has amplified consumers’ value on the freshness, functionality, and authenticity of local food. From 2020 to 2021, IMI saw noticeable increases in responses to the question, “If you have bought or sought more local produce in the past 12 months, to what extent do you expect to continue?”, but Williams points out there are lots of different ways to “do local” and talk about it.
Strategies can be around community, like the French who excel at promoting the region products come from or functional foods using ingredients grown locally or in a particular way. While for multinationals it may be difficult to do local at scale, “everything you do is local to somebody somewhere”.
9UPCYCLING REDEFINED
One third of consumers said, “A product that contains upcycled ingredients is more appealing to me than other products”. An example of this is coffee grounds being upcycled into other foods, beauty, and personal care products.
Food is now a reflection of your lifestyle and also your personal values, even more so for younger generations. When IMI asked, “How important do you think values are when it comes to your diet?”, 50 per cent of consumers agreed with humanitarian standards on inclusivity and diversity.
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“There should be some type of reflection around consumers’ beliefs and values to create that connection,” Williams says.
“This whole idea that we have to be perfect, it really does have to go away. I think it’ll take time, but hopefully it does go away. We don’t
Start-up I am have to be perfect. You don’t have to make your own baby food and get
Grounded was the
first Australian for most consumers, but we also are not perfect. It’s just about being
up in the morning to cook breakfast for your kids. It’s just not realistic
Williams said they have seen a 54 per cent growth in claims on packages that they are either dealing with food waste or upcycling.
When IMI asked consumers, “What makes it better if the product has upcycled ingredients?”, the top response was sustainability. “That makes a lot of sense,” says Williams.
“Number two was that there’s some type of health benefit in the by-product, and number three is freshness, which surprised me,” she says.
The opportunities here for companies is the dual benefit of sustainability targets as well as meeting consumer demand for nutritional products.
producing a range consumers feel. of functional
snack bars.
company to join yourself and loving yourself.”
the global As Williams says, this also ties in to
Upcycled Food brand values and them reflecting how Association,
Dhuwa Coffee is Australia’s first Indigenous owned, operated and controlled coffee company, determined to build a reconciliation ecosystem that will help end Indigenous disadvantage and intergenerational trauma.
20 | Food&Drink business | January-February 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au