Our seasonwatching Easter 2024 report is now live on TrendHub! This report looks at trends in chocolate eggs, sweet confectionary, desserts, pastries, hot cross buns, Easter menus, beverages, gifting, packaging and more. We analyse thousands of touch points across global menus, retail and social media to identify the big trends and future foresight.
The lead-up to Easter this year has been an exciting one in the world of food and drink, with restaurants, retailers and bars seizing the opportunity to both celebrate and re-imagine cherished traditions. In our deep dive of All Things Easter, we look at this year's trends in flavour, texture, visuals, packaging, meal occasions (both sweet and savoury!), health, gifting and more.
A few key take-outs from our report are:
1. HXB 2.0 - It's not easter without a hot cross bun (HXB) right! For the purists, we look at the evolution of the classic hot cross bun (HXB) with innovations in filling, glaze, butters etc… But for the more adventurous, we deep dive into the Hot Cross Bun 2.0 universe. Think XL oversized buns made for sharing, gelato filled hot cross buns, HXB lamingtons, cruffins filled with spiced HXB custard, savoury sandwich buns, hot cross 'mugs' filled with coffee… the list goes on!
2. Showstopping Eggs - Of course it wouldn't be easter without chocolate eggs! And though are plenty of subtle riffs on the classic choc egg, some retailers are getting super creative to stand apart from the crowd! Think oversized chocolate easter eggs filled with cheesecake, popcorn or ice cream… Boozy 'rum & raisin' eggs… Neon mini eggs with colourful paint splatters…Customisable eggs, complete with edible paint… And even supersized eggs that come in at a whopping 6kg!
3. All Day Easter - As consumers and retailers alike look to extend the celebrations, there is more attention being focused on different eating occasions and ways to enjoy Easter treats. At breakfast for instance, bunny-shaped crumpets are slathered in HXB spiced butter… For elevenses, meanwhile – why not have a crème egg croissant with an Easter marshmallow latte… And when you're all filled up with Easter lunch, time to kick back with a festive tipple. Hot cross bun Old Fashioned, anyone? Or how about a minty martini inside an edible choc rabbit? Go for it!
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TrendHub subscribers can access the full 121-page Easter 2024 seasonwatching report on the hub, here. If you're not yet subscribed, but are interested to find out more, please get in touch.