As the saying goes, convenience is king! And the world of convenience foods is shifting to reflect changing eating and shopping habits.
Fast, agile and made for today's on-the-go lifestyles – the likes of packets, pouches, pods and protein fixes meet consumer demand for quick, multi-faceted options that feed adventurous palates while satisfying health, sustainability and budgeting goals to boot.
Here are three key take aways from our Convenience 2025 report:
- Use Your Noodle: Perennial student favourite – instant noodles, of course! – are back with a bang. Fuelled by a combined appetite for spicy flavours and the phenomenal success of Netflix's K-Pop Demon Hunters (its most streamed release ever, which led to a spike in sales of instant noodles), new noodles are being released in all shapes, sizes and flavours – from miniature pots to Korean carbonara, even crisps-inspired flavour mash-ups. Carb convenience with a kick of popular culture!
- Little & Often: Not just a mantra for mealtimes, the 'little and often' approach is now emerging as the future of convenience shopping – as the big out-of-town supermarkets shift their focus to ultra-local urban stores. In a move modelled on the Japanese 'konbini' concept, retailers are betting big on the "economy of laziness" to bring convenient, cost-effective groceries to within a few minutes' walk of city dwellers. For the truly time-strapped, groceries can be ordered by app for collection at the store via QR code, cutting out time-consuming human interaction entirely.
- Functional Health, Made Easy: As any adept multi-tasker knows, the best way to save time is to tick multiple boxes in one swift action. Which is why the contemporary time-poor consumer demands a choice of products that cater to more than just simple sustenance. Products that offer an added benefit – be that energy boosting, immunity supporting, cognition enhancing, even beauty bolstering – via fortifying ingredients, are launching to market in increasing numbers. These help consumers to navigate the demands of modern life in an easily accessible format. Vitamin-loaded collagen jelly hydration pouch, anyone?
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