Food waste and food safety trending in 2014

It’s official: food waste and consumer trust will be the top food and beverage trends in 2014. Innova Market Insights’ Top 10 Trends list for 2014 reveals that sustainability, food safety, provenance and health will be the buzzwords of the coming year.

Innova compiles the list based on ongoing analysis of trends and developments in new product launches across the globe. Its annual predictions tend to be on the money, the company says, with previous predictions such as “Sustainability Replaces Organic” (2007), “Go Natural” (2008) and “Boom for Protein” (2012) still impacting the global industry today.

The top five predictions for 2014 include “Waste Not Want Not”, “You Can Trust Us”, “Simpler Pleasures”, “Look Out for the Small Guy” and “Health is More Holistic”.

“Traceability is high on the agenda and manufacturers are actively marketing this to consumers. For example, global product launch activity featuring the word ‘origin’ for claims purposes increased by 45% for the first half of 2013 compared to the second half of 2012, with further growth anticipated,” says Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova Market Insights.

“Among the leading market subcategories responsible for this growth are cheese, chocolate and coffee.”

Recent food safety scares and scandals have crippled consumer confidence. Companies will have to battle to regain consumer trust, Innova says, and ingredient origin will become a marketing tool. Ultimately, consumers will benefit from this, as companies use higher quality foods that are easily traceable.

The focus on sustainability will change slightly in 2014, Innova predicts, with emphasis shifting to reducing food loss and waste - both during production and at the retailer/consumer end of the supply chain. Ingredients derived from the waste stream will also hold enormous potential, Innova says.

Financial pressure is forcing consumers to reassess their needs and go back to basics, with a move towards simpler food and home cooking. Where consumers shop has also been affected, Innova says, with the ‘hourglass model’ still in effect: the budget and premium sides are experiencing growth, but the centre ground is being squeezed.

Small companies are harnessing social media to drive trends, Innova says. Their high-quality but unique products may only give them small-scale appeal, but have big trend potential. Social media allows them to directly target niches both in their home market and abroad.

Preventive healthcare through nutrition has been identified as one answer to healthcare crises around the globe. Some big food manufacturers are looking to all areas of health for a more holistic approach in providing nutritious food and beverage solutions to consumers, Innova says. Clinical nutrition is being eyed as a highly profitable platform along with health alternatives, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Five other trends identified in Innova’s Top 10 Trends list are:

• ‘New’ Superfoods
• Rise of the Hybrid
• The Protein Horizon
• New Stealth Strategies
• Alternative Alternatives

Innova will present its trends at this year’s Fi Europe in Frankfurt on 19-21 November.