The trend for plant-based proteins is expected to expand even more in 2020. More companies are widening their vegetarian and vegan options to attract flexitarian and other dieting consumers. This means traditional vegetarian options like the black bean burger are being joined by plant-based proteins made to look and taste like actual meat.
In 2020, plant-based innovation will continue to flourish as part of a broader consumer lifestyle trend towards cleaner living. The use of the term “plant-based” will advance more into the mainstream; “the industry and startup companies in particular, are taking up the challenge to deliver more clean label meat and dairy alternatives with improved nutritional profiles.” According to Innova Market Insights.
Plant-based products are in huge demand. Indicative of the ‘lifestyler’ consumers who are buying into the category out of choice, rather than necessity (such as allergies or health restrictions) – becoming more important than ever to free-from sales.
Today, half of those who buy into the market do so for their ‘general health’, a poll of 798 consumers for The Grocer by Streetbees has found. Thirty-seven per cent do so as a ‘lifestyle choice’.
In the UK, the number of people identifying as vegans has increased by 350% over the last decade. Veganism was Canada’s top search trend in 2017. And in China, the government’s newly released dietary guidelines call on the nation’s 1.3 billion people to reduce their meat consumption by 50%.
Health
There is no slowing down the trend towards natural and organic food; on the contrary, its popularity is increasing, and each year sets a new high. Historically, people -regardless of their socioeconomic status- have always paid attention to nutritional benefits. For example, the use of herbs with medicinal properties in the preparation of meals.
It has now been widely recognized that the risk of many diseases can be decreased and health can be preserved by adopting a correct diet and lifestyle; the concept of diet is more broadly linked to the improvement in people’s overall well-being. In fact, consumers increasingly pay attention to a healthy lifestyle, made up of healthy dietary choices, which also explains why in recent years Mediterranean diet has become the norm on healthy eating across the globe.
Well-being as a means to preserve physical health can be traced back to “functional” foods that, aside from nutritional effects, have a beneficial effect on one or more bodily functions. Across the Western World, consumers will also continue to reject products that contain too many additives, and instead embrace local natural ingredients, either fresh or traditionally processed.
No-sugar sugars
For those on the no sugar bandwagon, 2020 will see plenty of sweet alternatives to use for cooking, baking or even to stir into your tea. Syrup reductions from fruit like monk fruit, pomegranates, coconuts and dates will be great for concentrated sweetness, while those in the know will switch out honey or maple syrup for syrups made from sorghum or sweet potato.
Sustainability
The interest of consumers reaches much further than the end product nowadays: they’re looking for sustainability in the food industry as a whole. This is what we refer to as a “responsible” consumer; he takes food products’ environmental impacts into account, and specifically elements, such as pollution deriving from production plants, the quantity of energy used in production, a preference for recycled materials or those which use renewable resources, etc.
Additionally, a key concern is food waste, and with more than 50 million tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables discarded each year across Europe alone, for reasons no more than aesthetic, growers and producers need to ensure that any crop unsuitable for retail is pumped into industrial ingredient supply chain, thus avoiding unnecessary transport, packaging and storage costs, as well as waste.
From local to global
Growing mobility, improved logistics and new technologies have it possible the globalization of tastes rapidly changing the culinary landscape. Specifically, the exchange between food cultures is the characteristic feature of the trend identified as the globalization of flavors, which nurtures a feeling of curiosity for other peoples’ food and lifestyle customs.
At the same time, there is a trend towards local and regional eating, seen more as a relationship between food and territory. In this case, this relationship refers to the proximity of the place of production to the place a food is eaten, which is considered a guarantee of authenticity and freshness. This contributes to turning these types of foods into exclusive products: local and regional food is often a niche market, characterized by poor accessibility.
Blends Flavours & Colours offer a wide range of Natural Flavours suitable for vegetarian and vegans and also we can supply commodities ingredients such as Vegetable Glycerine, Sucralose, Aspartame, PG and many more that can be used in plant based diet.
Blends can help drive Food, Beverage and Eliquid business forward by offering bespoke Research & Development facilities, excellent customer service, confidential technical support and traceability management assistance for all business needs.
(Source: Global Food World Magazine; Mintel; Boston Magazine; Food Ingredients First)