At the beginning of 2020 we started an exciting collaboration with Good Sense Research to create a monthly Future Food Trend Tracker which sets out to demonstrate the relationship between future trend predictions and customer acceptance, readiness and importantly how that manifests over time. The end product is a report each month which shares actionable trends and insights for you and your business.
Entering 2022, consumers eating mainly plant-based remains stable. There is a slight increase in those eating a meat-based diet, especially in restaurants, showing that this may be for special occasions/treats. Sustainability remains important for consumers when eating out, with factors such as 'menus with a climatarian diet', 'sourcing sustainably' and 'menus with more plant-based dishes' increasing in importance. Consumers are continuing to be more open to consuming all aspects of foods, such as meat and fish, to reduce food waste. Less well-known cuisines such as 'Modern Korean', 'Persian' and 'West African' are increasing in awareness, with more consumers trying the cuisine.
Detailed below are the 6 key insights from the Q1 2022 report:
1. Consumers appear to be consuming more meat based dishes, especially when eating in restaurants but also at home.
2. Despite the growth of meat as a treat, advanced flexitarian continues to show incremental growth and remains the largest share of eating preferences.
3. We've seen a minimal decline in the use of recyclable, reusable and package-free, although the overall importance of sustainability remains high among consumers, such as sourcing sustainably, seasonal ingredients and locally sourced products.
4. Going into 2022 consumers appear to be more open to the all aspects of meat and fish, due to increasing awareness of product wastage.
5. The use of cellular meat remains polarising among consumers, although those finding cellular meat appealing is consistent.
6. The appeal of part-prepared meal kits remains popular among consumers, this new more efficient way of cooking seems to be fitting in with consumers' lifestyles.
To receive the full report and find out more about Future Food this exciting collaboration between thefoodpeople and Good Sense Research click here.