This November we held our 8th Annual Food & Beverage Trend Summit, connecting thousands of industry influencers from across the globe with a host of insightful guest speakers and keynotes to inspire and 'make sense' of the future food and beverage trends horizon for 2022/23.
To give you a feel for each of the discussions on the day we've pulled together key takeouts from each speaker.
Charles Banks - thefoodpeople
Charles took us through the top 10 influencing trends which help scope the 2022/23 trend framework, developed by analysing where these trend manifestations were in 2021 and applying our understanding of the wider societal, cultural and political landscapes and their likely influence on food and drink over the coming years.
These top 10 trends include 'Carbon Truths', based around the fact that consumers are now wanting to buy from and consume foods from more responsible brands and those that have less of a carbon footprint; Sea Farms as a growing alternative in the push for a more sustainable food solution; Same But Healthier, as we continue to look for healthier alternatives thanks to more education around what we're eating and also more inquisitiveness from the consumer; and Sensory Exploration, which has seen chefs go big and bold with flavours and tastes, driven by the well-documented side effect of COVID, a loss of taste and smell.
Shokofeh Hejazi - thefoodpeople
Senior Editor at thefoodpeople, Shokofeh Hejazi guides us through the overarching themes in the current culinary and gastronomy landscape, exploring how chefs are using techniques and ingredients to bring flavours and food to life right now.
We have newfound appreciation for our ability to taste and smell, so chefs are exploring bigger & bolder profiles – and breaking down the key taste sensations (savoury/umami, sweet, sour, salty and bitter) to extract maximum impact from each. Umami exploration is particularly exciting, as chefs find ways to create deeper Umami 2.0; arguably the 'it' umami ingredient right now is Garum - a salty, savoury flavour bomb. Chefs get equally bold and creative with sour and tangy profiles – with the help of pickling and fermentation aplenty. Keep an eye out for Yuzu Kosho, a citrusy/chilli/salt condiment and one of the (many) trending ingredients from Japan at the moment.
Meanwhile in the world of sweet, chefs redefine formats and application – further blurring the lines between sweet and savoury. Indeed, salt is finding its way into more and more sweet dishes too – one of many ways that the salt profile is being redefined. And last but not least, don't forget about bitter! Historically misunderstood, now chefs are celebrating bitter as a profile – celebrating bitter ingredients like green tea and radish, and using techniques like charring to draw out subtle bitter notes to balance dishes.
Amelia Boothman - 1HQ
1HQ Brand Agency's Amelia Boothman shone a light on the forces and cultural drivers behind the 2022/23 trend framework, taking a deep dive into the overarching theme of Conscious Control. This theme is driven by a movement of wanting to treat the planet and people on it with more respect, as well as to reign in the excesses of those who refuse to change, to make life palatable for all.
The four macro trends associated with Conscious Control, Food Democracy, Make Me Stronger, The Green Life and Blissful Escape add context to the cultural drivers.