The demand for alternative foods to replace meat, milk and carbohydrates is growing. After vegan meat, the first Camembert-type cheeses (produced by two brands Boursin and Nurishh) and the salmon and seafood steaks created in the laboratory (by the American BlueNalu) and yellow worm proteins (by the French Micronutris) emerge. The prospect of cell-based meat and protein (lab-grown or cultured meat) for human consumption has indeed moved beyond the realms of science fiction with the first lab-grown hamburger in 2013 and with the approval for sale in the restaurants of the lab grown chicken in Singapore. In 2020, global sales of meat alternatives doubled for the first time in over a decade. Hand in hand, in the same year,supermarkets have added healthy products tailored to the diets of the moment, that is ketogenic and low carb. Consumers' sensitivity towards their own health and respect for the environment has grown by 64% in the last year and the push is correlated with the arrival of the pandemic.
The adepts of low-carb, ketogenic, high-protein diets and the choice of foods that strengthen the immune system and intestinal health increase
. Food industries are busy and multiplying snacks for ketogenic diets, such as the tortilla chips of the giant PepsiCo created with the Hilo Life incubator. Anticipates the decisive trends in the food sector around the world Euromonitor, a global market research and strategic intelligence agency, in the new report "Trends Shaping the Future of the Food and Nutrition Industry".
Three main themes
Conscious eating and food as medicine
The distinction between food and supplements blurs as features, such as immune support or gut health, become a priority for consumers. Euromonitor estimates that requests for immune support in
yogurt and sour milk products grew 24% globally in 2020
.
Plant-based nutrition and alternative proteins
: Plant-based products accelerated last year due to the demand for healthy food options during the pandemic. In 2020, global sales of meat alternatives experienced double digital growth for the first time in over a decade, according to Euromonitor.
From producer to consumer: food technology, origins and safety:
the demand for supply transparency combined with unprecedented investments in technology is improving the ability to trace food from production to consumption. 60% of professionals expect supply chain traceability to have the greatest impact on their business, according to Euromonitor's Voice of the Industry: Digital Survey.
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The interest in laboratory-grown products is certainly high on meat and, according to the report, start-ups are born all over the world for
'cultivated' foods
of another kind with US-based BlueNalu leading the development of lab-grown seafood, along with lab-grown dairy, fat, honey and caviar. The giant Thai Union's, one of the largest tuna retailers, has also created a venture fund to develop alternative proteins.
Will the tables full of delicacies that do not affect the environment and are healthy be more and more frequent? “As plant-based alternatives have grown and developed, the core ingredients have also diversified. This is the case
with fermentation proteins
that they are offering a new wave of high quality and tasty plant-based products, - the study reads. - Insect proteins are also becoming more and more popular. Boasting better sustainability, they have many advantages over animal farming and surprising protein profiles ”. In January of this year, the French company Micronutris, which breeds insects, received the go-ahead from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for some yellow worms suitable for human consumption.
The feared risk of animal contagion from the Covid virus clearly contributes to the change, according to the survey, and the populations reduce the consumption of meat at the table in the name of choices of
'healing' foods, vegan proteins and traceability of entire supply chain
.
Hand in hand with vegan foods and healthy diets, attention is growing to
know the entire supply chain
that exists behind the products displayed on supermarket shelves. “The demand for healthier options and the need to disrupt the meat supply chain have accelerated this trend. Combined with global news on the potential role of animals and wet markets in the spread of Covid-19 among zoonotic diseases, foods of animal origin are now even more in the spotlight. analysts. - Food supply has become an important priority for consumers, producers themselves and governments. The attention is increasing not only for foods of animal origin, but along the entire supply chain.The request for
greater transparency on the origins of food
, together with an acceleration of unprecedented investments in food technology, e-commerce and deliveries are creating new opportunities in tracing the path of food and clarifying all the steps from where it is produced to the end ".
Among healthy foods, analysts also report a growing interest in
immune system booster foods and beverages
that drive innovation in the food sector.
Commercials for this type of product, such as yoghurt and sour milk products, have increased by 24% in the last year, followed by probiotics which have grown by 9% globally.
At the same time, attention is being paid to 0 km products, grown close to one's own city or region.
The phenomenon affects 62% of the sample interviewed by Euromonitor all over the world.