13 Jan 15 Food Trend Tracker 2015
The end/start of a year always brings voluminous trend insights and predictions — from research companies, newspapers, chefs, flavour-makers, food companies, bloggers… Here are a multitude of great stories and links on what 2015 may hold for the wonderful world of food and drinks.
Get ready for 2015: Top four food trends that will impact the food industry
Quality Assurance Magazine – Consumer food preferences and trends drive the manufacturing industry and impact all facets from supply chain management to in-plant processes and distribution. So what trends are we seeing for 2015? To come up with our Top Trends list, we reviewed and compiled predictions from some of the top forecasters, including Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert, working with ConAgra Foods; Sterling-Rice Group (SRG), a brand-development company; Technomic, a food research and consulting firm; Mintel, a market-research firm; and our own recent Trend Impact presentations. Following are the results… Read more
Five global food trends for 2015
“[The] food movement is now in phase 3 of the famous 4-phased change cycle — first they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they debate you, then you win.”
Commentary by Wayne Roberts, author: The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food, at Warabble.ca – I have no idea whether cauliflower will send kale back to the farm leagues this year, or if Greek yoghurt is doomed to eat the dust of customers rushing away to kefir, or whether harissa will redefine cool and sriracha will be yesterday’s hot sauce. But I can see some clear trends arising from deep-going changes within our global food system. We are in a moment of greater shift disturbing than any since the modern food movement emerged full-blown from distinct social, cultural, spiritual, ecological and public health organizations during the 1990s. My list of ten themes that are reaching breakthrough proportions this year suggests a tipping point. We have now crossed the divide to a place where food practices are never taken for granted, where contesting dominant practices is the norm, and where it assumed that a lot of things have to change. Read more
Toast is a taste: Food developments to observe in 2015
Toast, seaweed, incredibly dark chocolate—these are the flavours to watch this year in the grocery store aisle. 
USA Today – Toast is popping up all above. It is really a single of the incredibly hot new tastes of 2015, alongside with seaweed and chocolate dark enough to resemble a black gap. All were on show at this year’s Winter season Extravagant Food Present in San Francisco, wherever a lot more than 19,000 customers from supermarkets, delis and specialty marketplaces roamed the aisles hunting for what’s new, exciting and salable in foodstuff ….. Toast was one of the most stunning flavours. Not toasted, as in toasted pumpkin oil or toasted hemp seeds, even though each were there. This was toast as in the flavour of roasted bread, dripping with melted butter and potentially with a light-weight dusting of sugar and cinnamon. Read more
Futurist: “Here are the only six food trends you need to know for 2015”
Commentary by Josh Schonwald, author of The Taste of Tomorrow: Dispatches from the Future of Food, via Time.com – With all due respect to sports geeks, music freaks, stock jocks, and teenage girls, there is no group more obsessed with ‘The Next Big Thing’ conversation than food people. …with so many predictions — from so many chefs, flavour-makers, food companies, bloggers— it’s hard to make sense of it all. So this year, to cut through the tsunami of food punditry, I submit a highly abridged list. Read more
Food Trends 2015: Understanding the things we eat
LancasterOnline – After continuing our love affair with bacon in 2014, it looks as though 2015 might be a year of making up for past dietary sins. When it comes to food, experts who develop recipes and stock the shelves at local stores predict consumers this year will demand more whole foods, premium ingredients and nutritional bang for the buck. “People want to know the health benefits of the foods they’re eating,” says Michelle Rondinelli, co-owner and president of Kitchen Kettle Foods. “Being able to convey those is important.” Expect to see more labels that explain the science behind healthy foods, as well as more products with short ingredient lists. But don’t worry: There’s still room for dessert (and craft beer). Read more
Five packaging trends for 2015
Packaging Digest – The top 2015 food and beverage packaging trends include options that are compact and lightweight, digitally savvy, earth-friendly, simplified and sport a personality. With consumers of every age and ilk—including presidents, celebrities and even the pope—documenting their opinions and the daily details of their existence with selfies, tweets and posts, retailers are selling much more than products: lifestyle is a major consideration, according to Michela Vallalta, Tetra Pak’s director of consumer intelligence. That puts today’s food and beverage companies under crucible-level pressure to connect with modern consumers’ self-images, and still fit functionality, sustainability and with style into their products. Read more