Top Trends in Food – How to Stay Relevant in the Cost of Living Crisis

Top Trends in Food Report Overview

The top trends for the food industry are evidenced by the growth of each sector, and those showing the largest growth rates are reflective of innovation, consumer interest, and manufacturing demand. With economic instability, geopolitical uncertainty, and supply chain shortages, it is evident that consumers are gravitating towards products in sectors with longer shelf lives, such as dried foods, soups, and frozen foods. All these categories show strong growth through 2022, indicating a COVID-19 push that has translated into consumer preferences during the cost-of-living crisis.

The “Top Trends in Food” market report investigates the trends that are shaping consumer purchasing behavior through economic instability and financial insecurity. The report also covers the strategies adopted by brands to stay relevant in the cost-of-living crisis.

Top Trends in Food Industry Segmentation by Category

The key categories analyzed in the report are meat substitutes, oils and fats, pasta and noodles, savory snacks, syrups & spread, prepared meals, and ice cream, among others. The meat substitutes sector shows the highest growth between 2017 and 2022 in terms of both value and volume, indicating the growth in the plant-based market and vegan lifestyles.

Top Trends in Food Industry Analysis by Category 2017-2022 (%)

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Top Trends in the Food Industry

Pack Size Matters: Considering the cost-of-living crisis, consumers are looking for the most affordable purchasing decision, which often equates to smaller pack sizes at lower price points. Consumers are planning their meals carefully to only purchase exactly what they need in store, which also reduces waste and unnecessary surplus of stock. This behavior is more common in middle-aged consumers, with younger consumers being the most likely to do this more frequently, highlighting a potential demographic difference in financial awareness.

Ingredient Priorities: Despite having tighter budgets, consumers are still willing to align purchases with their needs and values, especially regarding dietary preferences. Consumers are actively looking for products that contain ingredients that are good for their physical and mental health, natural, authentic, and simple, implying that consumers will be more willing to pay a higher price point for these goods. The highest proportions of consumers deem immunity-boosting ingredients to be essential, followed by free-from artificial ingredients and free-from GMOs, making it important for brands to incorporate these ingredients and claims into new product development in the future.

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Top Trends in the Food Industry – Brand Analysis

Brands must acknowledge the influence of megatrends on consumer behavior and innovate accordingly with ingredients to suit these preferences. For example, moderation & avoidance’ is one of the important trend factor, indicating that consumers deem ingredients free from artificial ingredients and GMOs to be essential.

A few of the brands in the food industry taking initiatives to stay relevant despite the cost-of-living crisis are Milkybar, Kerry Group, Vitl, Uncle Tobys Plus, and Singha Masita among others.

For instance, in Thailand, a Singha Masita branded Korean Topping Seaweed has been launched in Original and Korean Spicy variants that are said to be free from added MSG. Stated to be “sprinkled with hot steamed rice or snacks,” this Korean rice topping is in line with the ‘moderation & avoidance’ trend that sees consumers avoid or abstain from consumption of products with certain ingredients that are considered as bad for health.

In line with the demand for increased digitalization in the consumer shopping journey, Milkybar launched a new campaign in India that allows consumers to scan a QR code to generate quirky filters, which also give consumers more information about the product before they purchase, such as ingredients and supply chain transparency.

Key Brands Leveraging the Top Trends in the Food Industry

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Scope

• The cost-of-living crisis has propelled pandemic-derived consumer behavior further into consumer preferences.

• This has significantly impacted channel choice and created a new, preferred way of grocery shopping, as well as demand for long lasting and functional goods.

• Consumers are proactively choosing how to best spend their budgets on groceries, by opting for products that are more sustainable and beneficial in the long term.

Key Highlights

• The cost-of-living crisis has propelled pandemic-derived consumer behavior further into consumer preferences.
• This has significantly impacted channel choice and created a new, preferred way of grocery shopping, as well as demand for long-lasting and functional goods.
• Consumers are proactively choosing how to best spend their budgets on groceries, by opting for products that are more sustainable and beneficial in the long term.

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Reasons to Buy

• Understand consumer behavior and company responses to tap into what is impacting the industry.
• Gain a broader appreciation of the fast-moving consumer goods industry by gaining insights from both within and outside of your sector.
• Access valuable strategic take-outs to help direct future decision-making and inform new product development.