Take a deep dive into how the month of April 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 April between 2006 and 2023.
April 2009 - The ongoing recession started to bite on the sales of organic foods, with research showing over 30% reduction in organic bread sales and more than 16% decrease in organic fruit sales too. This data was backed up by supermarket sales results too. In other trends, Social Listening was gaining traction as more and more brand and business entrepreneurs began to use social media tools likeTwitter to get to the heart of consumer want. Finally, this month saw El Bulli, Spain, voted as the World's Best Restaurant.
April 2013 - The trend for high-protein, no-fat egg whites found its way into the fast food industry. McDonald's debuted their egg-white McMuffin in the US, bringing them up to speed with competitors like Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks who already offered egg white breakfast sandwich options on their menus. In comfort foods, a new wave of pop tarts emerged, that kickstarted the Pop Tart Renaissance. Whilst in restaurants, El Celler De Can Roca, Spain, was voted the world's best.
April 2015 - Extreme ageing became popular as chefs wanted to eke out as much flavour as possible. Suddenly, in the seeming blink of an eye, the standard 28 days of ageing and hanging meat became... 35 days, 42, 60 or even 140 days. In health, Matcha was hitting the headlines with the health-restoring green tea drink from Japan was on everybody's lips. Finally, this was the month that saw a group of ageing thieves hit headlines when they stole £35 million of safety deposit boxes from London's Hatton Garden
April 2019 - Traceability in meat was also important this month, as US firm Tyson Foods began to use DNA technology to trace the origins of cuts in beef. This came in response to consumer demands for higher traceability. With ingredients, Physalis was having its moment in the spotlight, added to mueslis, frozen in handy cubes ready for cooking and dried for healthy snacking. Whilst in business, Microsoft became the third US firm to be valued at $1trn, after Amazon and Apple.
April 2020 - An after effect of the Pandemic, tinned foods were making a comeback. As the nation moved towards a pragmatic approach to cooking and sustaining themselves, tin cans returned to our kitchens with renewed vigour. In the face of uncertainty and fear of the new and terrifying virus (SARS-CoV-2), people did their best to prepare for the worst. This manifested in a range of different ways. Some stocked upon non-perishable food, others on medications and hand sanitiser, but some prioritised toilet paper. A positive effect of the pandemic, Nature.com announced Globally CO2 emissions dropped 8.3% in the first four months of 2020 compared to 2019.
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A lot has happened in the month of April over the years - discover more in our 18 Years In Food & Beverage Trends EBook. Find out how you can get your copy here.