1. Cutting food waste-reducing food loss and waste
2. Improving consumer trust- recent scares and scandals have created a need for more trust
3. Back to basics, trends towards simpler foods-home cooking foods
4. Small scale innovators- developing high quality and distinct products with small scale appeal but big trend potential
5. Renewed interest in natures superfoods (fruits, vegetables, and grains)- quinoa and chia seeds have been two of the big superfoods renewed in the past few years
6. More holistic approach in providing nutritious food and beverages
7. Hybrids, product categorization-cross branding and unique flavor combinations
8. Protein to be featured in new products launches particularly in dairy- Greek yogurt
9. New stealth strategies- reducing salt, sugar, fat
10. New competition for alternative products such as soy- coconut milk, nut milks, gluten free flours
Popular diets predicted to increase this year are paleo and gluten free while low fat will begin to disappear. Flours such as peanut, oat, coconut, etc. will be seen more frequently in grocery stores. Ancient grains will continue to be popular, quinoa was a huge hit in the past couple years and farro and buckwheat may also be emerging as trends. I’ve also read two of the hot trends for 2014 will be gourmet donuts replacing the fancy gourmet cupcakes, and cauliflower will replace kale as the supreme veggie! I adore cauliflower so this is a trend I can get on board with! I can’t wait to see unique creations popping up in grocery stores, restaurants, and recipes! Do you have any awesome cauliflower recipes?? Have you seen these trends emerging already in the area you live?? What about the food predictions??