For any industry, as the consumer's taste and concerns change so do the products itself. For the the food industry itself, there are a few shift in what the consumers look for and what they prefer when purchasing goods/foods.
Just within the past 2 decades, the food trend and concerns has always been changing. We have seen low fat products during the early 90s and protein has been pushed over the past 10 years.
To mention a few, here are some of the top food trends:
- Plant based foods - Innova reports that 68% average annual growth has been shown in the past five years.
- More fruits and veggies - Consumers are looking to intake more fruits & veggies in their diet according to FoodNavigator
- On the Go healthy snacks - The snack market has had a tremendous growth in the past few years and there is a wide variety of healthy bars and snacks that have never been seen before.
- Vegan & non-GMO - People are concerned whether it is vegan and non-GMO
- Sustainability - The new gen are much more concerned about sustainability
These food trend is not only regarding the food itself, but now consumers are concerned about where the food is sourced and how it is being prepared. There are consumers that care if the produce/veggies is being sourced locally or whether it is non-GMO. These concerns are something that is quite recent and new labeling and information have been placed on products.
These same type of concerns can or will be seen in the restaurant/food service industry as well. Customers will be concerned on the sanitation in the kitchen/employee and how the food is being prepared. Just how gloves and hairnets are a standard hygienic practice, there will be a new concern on the the germs that the workers breathe. Therefore, masks or mouth shields may be a new standard practice in the near future.