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Top food and beverage product trends 2018

Innova Market Insights reveals the trends most likely to impact the food and beverage industry in the next year.

By Debra Schug
Innova Market Insights
December 12, 2017

Every year analysts from Innova Market Insights put together a list of what new food and beverage products will be hitting big in the coming year.

In her presentation, Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation, says the market research company is focused on the food, beverage and ingredients industry and has one of the largest food industry databases, which they use in combination with other consumer data to put together the list. The following are predictions made informed by that data:

For more on the latest food trends, click here!

1. Mindful Choices: This trend comes out of the clean-label movement that has been gaining steam in the last decade and encompasses not only healthy food, but also food that is sustainable. “Consumers really have a more holistic idea of what they eat,” says Williams. “It’s peace of mind, but it’s also your body.”

2. Lighter Enjoyment: With the traditional “diet” concept out of favor these days, consumers instead are trying to lose weight by adopting lifestyles, such as paleo, low-sugar, low-alcohol, etc.

3. Positively Processed: Processing technologies are increasingly being used for marketing purposes. Claims, such as “cold-brewed” or “sprouted,” are appearing on labels to promote the products’ health benefits.

4. Going Full Circle: Ethical packaging and awareness around food waste is causing the industry to explain just how they are using their resources. More packaging is containing words like “biodegradable” or “upcycling” to communicate a company’s sustainability efforts.

5. Beyond the Coffeehouse: Over the past three years, there are more and more new coffee and tea product launches. Novelty and novel flavors in this category are important and provide endless ways to innovate. Also, coffee and tea versions of almost anything, such as cookies, spreads and even honey, have become very mainstream.

The other trends include:

6. Say It With Color

7. Dining Out, In

8. From Snacks to Mini Meals

9. Ocean Garden

10. Bountiful Choices  

For more information, please contact: Mira Ivanova at Innova Market Insights.

KEYWORDS: food and beverage industry trends

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Debra Schug was Editor-in-Chief of Food Engineering. She began her media career over a decade ago writing and producing broadcast news for both television and radio at the local and national level. She spent many years as the managing editor for two trade magazines in the oil industry and the research editor for an annual petroleum report. She has a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Iowa State University.

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