Take a deep dive into how the month of March has shaped up over the years with research from our 18 Years In Food & Beverage Trends EBook.
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 various months of March between 2006 and 2023.
March 2010 - A study of 3,000 people in Britain by Sharwood's in honour of the Chinese New Year weekend found that 39% of people preferred "Oriental" flavours, like sweet and sour and chow mein to Indian sauces like tikka masala. In other foods, the humble meatball became a mini trend in New York after The Meatball Shop opened up, led by childhood friends Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow. The duo introduced a menu solely focused on meatballs in many forms and soon proved a hit. And in bigger news, 2010 was the year we saw Iceland's ash cloud following the eruption of a volcano that had laid dormant for years, causing travel chaos for thousands around the world.
March 2011 - This year saw the emergence of beer cocktails following the surge in popularity for cocktails, with the drinks falling into three categories: beer blends; beer mixed with spirits or juice and beer as an ingredient to flavour a cocktail. On the food side, Mexican flavours and cuisine, both authentic and modern, were trending. Whilst elsewhere, Legendary Chef Paul Bocuse was named Chef of the Century by The Culinary Institute of America.
March 2014 - Japanese fusion was hot on everyone's lips this month. From Japan meets Peruvian, Brazilian, American and even Jewish cuisine. We saw Japanese-American chef Keizo Shimamoto launch the Ramen Burger at a food fair in New York in late 2013 and the trend has continued growing since. In drinks, Californian company Free Flow Wines developed premium wine in kegs, despite opposition from industry veterans. Finally, this March saw the Fat Duck announce that it was temporarily closing and moving to Australia.
March 2017 - Roast in London's Borough Market created the unsurpassable hybrid – The Ultimate Roast Burger, with a full roast beef dinner in a burger. Moving away from meat, the growing demand for all things vegan spurred on the popularity of 'aquafaba' as an ingredient which is the by-product of draining a tin of chickpeas or the water they're cooked in. Its popular uses include replacing egg in baking, dairy-free butter, soy-free vegan cheese and more. Finally, in political news, the UK triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to leave the EU.
March 2020 - This month saw an exciting Nigerian tapas restaurant open in London - Chuku's, which took a bricks and mortar location in Tottenham having run a series of successful pop-ups around in the capital. The trend for everything pineapple carried on unabated and entered the drinks sphere. Gin was no stranger to the limelight, but in a bid to keep this popular spirit from growing stale, bars and gin manufacturers were turning to pineapple. And finally we saw the cashier-less checkout continuing to gain traction this month as 7-Eleven trialled their own version at their Texan HQ in the US.
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A lot has happened in the month of March over the years - discover more in our 18 Years In Food & Beverage Trends EBook. Find out how you can get your copy here.