Spotlighting the trends and events that have occurred over the years in the month of December, as featured in our new 18 Years In Food & Beverage Trends EBook. Check out five highlights from between 2006 and 2023.
thefoodpeople was established in 2005 rooted in our purpose to shift the future of food and drink by inspiring and informing people, business and institutions to harness the power of trends and foresight. Why do we do what we do? Well, we believe that food & drink connects us all, by working with our community, industry and our collaborators, positive impact in food & drink can shape a better future for all.
Since then a lot has changed across the food and beverage landscape, change that we've looked to capture in our latest edition of the EBook, 18 Years In Food & Beverage Trends. We look at what events, people, culture, regulations, technologies, and products defined these years, as well as the changes and impact on these for the future.
Here are some of the highlights captured from month of December between 2006 and 2023.
2010 - French fast food chain Quick launched a limited-edition foie gras burger, with the duck or goose liver delicacy a favourite at Christmas in France. The burger which was imaginatively called the "Supreme Foie Gras Burger" sold for €5 or €7.50 with fries and a drink. GrubHub, a forward thinker in the online restaurant delivery arena, announced the release of their new Android app that allowed users to order food on-the-go and access reviews for over 4,000 venues in 13 cities. Whilst a rare six-litre bottle of 1947 French Cheval-Blanc went under the hammer at Christies in Geneva for a world-record amount of £192,000.
2013 - This year we saw peanut butter starting to trend. Its high protein and low carb make-up made it ideally placed to capitalise on the growing movement for savoury, protein-rich snacks. Innovations in peanut butters included: Grab-n-go offerings from Jiff; nut-free alternatives including PB2 powders, New Sun Lite and Don't Go Nuts; peanut butter ice cream and desserts from Marks & Spencer, Kellogg's and Ben & Jerry's. Elsewhere, Boomf appeared in our lives and made our photographs edible. Boomf transformed Instagram snaps into little gooey, squidgy and sticky pillows of marshmallow.
2016 - Gojima in Sydney launched the first rice burger bar. It was the creative endeavour of Chase Kojima, who after conquering ramen with his pop-up in 2015, became the latest to open a burger bar. The twist - each bun was made from rice. Hygge, the Danish concept of "cosiness" became a full-blown trend in the UK and (to a lesser degree) the US. Then, Noma confirmed their next (& supposedly final) stop was Mexico. They announced plans to take 90 staff to Tulum, to collaborate with Rosio Sanchez, former pastry chef who operated a taqueria in Copenhagen.
2018 - The Highball was our December tipple of choice. In its purest form, a highball is made with just two ingredients, a base spirit topped with a non-alcoholic beverage, normally carbonated - but people were sprucing things up. Cannabis, or more specifically CBD or cannabidiol, soared in popularity. Despite it being extracted from the cannabis plant, it has no psychoactive components. And finally, UK supermarket Aldi launched triple pigs in blankets, aspart of their Christmas range.
2021 - Trader Joe's got in the festive spirit with the launch of their new cocoa bombs, Hot Cocoa Ornaments, which looked just like the holiday ornaments you might put on your Christmas tree. Suntory Group, in collaboration with eco tech company Anellotech, announced they had developed a new prototype bottle made from 100% plant-based materials (excluding the cap and label). Whilst a new superfood brand dedicated to the over-50s market was launched by Nutrisure (UK) – SuperAge, a range of powdered bends designed to be added to shakes, smoothies, etc.
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A lot has happened in the month of December over the years - discover more in our 18 Years In Food & Beverage Trends EBook. Find out how you can get your copy here.