We bring you the latest trends in the world of food & drink….
FOOD
– Flexitarians: The new omnivores – Plant-based products are becoming indistinguishable from meat, while small-scale meat producers increasingly market their wares to vegetarians. We are all “flexitarians” now.
– Delivery futures – Ordering takeaway on smartphones is old news—get ready for curated delivery, delivery-only restaurants and even zero-cost delivery by self-driving car. (Did you see our Supper feature?)
– Fat is back – Discourse around fat is changing. Far from being off the menu, it’s back and is being positively encouraged by brands and chefs in new products and ingredients. Pass the roast potatoes cooked in duck fat – yipppeeee!
– Food porn is the new norm – Awash in food imagery on social media, consumers are gravitating towards surprising and compelling images that aim more for the mind than the stomach. Guilty.
DRINK
– Cannabis connoisseurs – A wave of marijuana legalization in the US has freed beverage start-ups to experiment with THC infusions, as well as non-intoxicating hemp concoctions. The majority of consumers surveyed across Millennials, Gen X and Boomer generations agree that marijuana will be as socially acceptable as alcohol over the next decade. Move over Amsterdam.
– Health meets hedonism – Health-conscious Millennials are having their cake and eating it too when it comes to alcohol, gravitating toward healthier mixers and mashing up exercise with hedonism. Watermelon cocktail anyone?
– Not your mother’s “Tom Collins” – The cloying cocktails of the 1970s and 80s were long considered passé, but they are making a comeback as mixologists reinvent them for sophisticated, modern palates.
– Virtual sensoria – Experiential marketing for beverages is becoming more immersive as drink brands dip their toes into virtual reality storytelling.
Courtesy of ‘J. Walter Thompson’s Innovation Group’s Future of Food&Drink trend report 2015’.
Photography by David Sykes
