Food trends impacting the CPG innovation

The world we are living in is heavily influenced by what is “trending”. It older times, it would be known as “peer pressure” and would somewhat be construed in a negative way. Today, with Gen Z embracing this term wholeheartedly, it no longer has any negative connotation attached to it. Infact, if you’re not on trend, you are out- no pun intended.

Interestingly, this word or concept is not limited to a particular industry. Sure it is dependent on mediums like social networking sites, but the application of it is more offline than online. Take for example the “Korean” culture influence. It started with a couple of popular music bands, then some popular streaming shows, then moved on to everyday stuff like food, spices, skin care routines.

Now, it is one of the biggest macro trends that has really influenced the world in one or another. This trend would have started online, but it definitely became more “viral” offline. Look at the grocery store aisles for Korean inspired beauty products, look at the restaurants around us offering “hot pot”, a popular Korean street food.

Speaking of which, food is one thing that has always been heavily impacted by “trends”. Initially it came to us in the form of cuisines, that progressed to “fusion” with the increasing impact of globalization. Now we are in the midst of borderless food trends that are really shaping the innovations in this industry especially in the world of CPG.

5 Trends that are really bubbling up in the west will definitely hit the food industry in a big way. It will also majorly impact the CPG companies related to food because it is less about the ingredients but more of an evolution of prepping, consuming and relating to food. The trends are:

1. Glorified Street Food: There has always been a clear distinction of why street food is street food. It is because its cheap and tasty. Fulfilling and basic. Noone can deny though that every culture has its significant street food that is definitely unmissable. Take street tacos from Mexico, most fusion restaurants around the world, from fine dining to casual and fast food are now having a go at Tacos. Our very own Pani Puri, now available as “Spicy water balls” are now found in some of the most sophisticated restaurants. So, id say, to all the innovators, lets embrace this fully and see how can we add this twist into our consumers’ lives
2. Sharing is the new black!: its funny how sharing has always been restricted to macroeconomic conditions of a country. Not anymore! Sharing is not only the new trend but platters encouraging the concept also induce a sense of celebration and getting together. Take game day platters in the US for example. Buying a single serving is not only rude but heavily discouraged. Perfect opportunity for CPG experts to offer shareable packs and promos that encourage the behaviour of getting together.
3. Sensory surprise: This trend was always limited to food influencers or experts since it required some guts to create and try out bold flavour combos. Guess what?! Its becoming more mainstream than imagined. Have you ever thought of chilli and honey? Well, Mike’s hot honey is minting money with the concept. Something i never thought would become so popular is Mole, a sauce combo made of spice, fruits and chocolate served over meat. If someone gave me this a couple of years ago i would be disgusted by just the thought of it. Not anymore. Infact, the wilder the flavor combo, the more traction it will get.
4. Its getting “Saucy”: This is really not a new trend but somehow it keeps making its way up amongst the top ones since quite a few years. The insurgence of sauces proves that there will always be demand for sauce combos. Every food, no matter what cuisine, relies on amplification with some kind of sauce. The kind of unique, mainstream and even rare sauce combos coming up are mind boggling. Safe to say that people will probably never get enough of it. Hence all the people in the CPG industry, bring out those sauce innovations!
5. Old ways, new tricks: we’ve all heard those fab stories of traditional ways of making, storing and preserving food. Thanks to the boom in the appliances industry, we never really had to understand the process. Turns out, old way really was the best way. Technological advancements though have made the process simpler. It is no surprise that techniques like fermenting, drying and picking is on the rise. It adds that oomph to your food. Modern ways encourage different ways and of applying the same old logic but in a better environment and with better and sophisticated products. Burger joints in the west for example are pickling almost everything in house and on their own. It is not just giving them an edge over others but really bringing out the best of the taste.

It is no surprise that most of these trends are emerging in the restaurant industry and making their way into people’s homes. No matter what the sequence of events is, these trends are really here to stay.