To bring to life the content within our 17 Years In Food & Beverage Trends E-Book, we're taking a month-by-month look at what's happened each month over the years. The first month we explore is the highlights from May over the years.
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 17 Years In Food & Beverage Trends E-Book. 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. So what highlights have we captured over the years in the month of May?
May 2008, the month that saw Gordon Ramsey open in Hollywood with his luxury dining concept that was proposed to be LA's next most sought after restaurant. It was the month in which the UN highlighted the growing global food crisis and called for immediate and long-term measures to rectify it. The global food bill rose by 57% from 2007 to 2008, while the price of rice was up by three quarters.
May 2009 saw Chinese food vying to become the UK's favourite cuisine, taking over the mantle from Indian - according to Mintel's "Ethnic Cuisine" report. Dan Barber won the Outstanding Chef Award at the James Beard Awards, whilst Waitrose signed a franchise deal with motorway services firm, Welcome Break, to open shops in two of its service stations.
May 2012 was when we saw Craft Beer really starting to take off as drinkers veered away from large commercial beer companies and onto smaller, charming suppliers that poured their life and soul into each brew. It was the month in which London's iconic building The Shard opened, the tallest building in Europe at the time. Whilst over in America, May 2012 saw the first Peruvian street food vendor hit the streets of New York - brothers Miguel and Fafael brought all their ingredients in from Peru and were to be found in Union Square West.
May 2013? That was the year of the Cronut - half croissant, half doughnut, lovingly created by pastry chef Dominique Ansel. The cronut launched on 10th May and became an instant success.
In May 2016 a study by UK diner's club, Gourmet Society, revealed that Yorkshire puddings were the British public's favourite regional dish, beating Eccles cakes, Lancashire hotpot, Cheddar cheese and jellied eels amongst others to the top. It was the month which saw Sadiq Khan elected as the new Mayor of London, while Jane Devonshire won that year's edition of Master Chef UK.
More recently, in May 2022, Burger King UK started trialling reusable and returnable packaging in partnership with global re-use platform Loop. A limited edition Pina Colada Hot Chocolate was launched by Whittard of Chelsea in celebration of summer, and founders of the cronut back in 2013, NYC's Dominique Ansel bakery launched a "Cronut" NFT collection in celebration of the iconic pastry's 9th birthday.
So much has happened in the month of May over the years - discover more in our 17 Years In Food & Beverage Trends E-Book. Find out how you can get your copy here.