Top 7 Food & Beverage Industry Predictions for 2018

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What can we expect for the year 2018? What do you think the food and beverage industry will bring to our dining tables this year? You may have a lot of questions, but one thing is for sure, delicious and healthy improvements are in the forecast. Concentric, a leading marketing and branding agency, curated the top seven food and beverage industry predictions for 2018. Let’s take a look!

1 – Instagrammable Food Packaging

Is it “Instagrammable?” If it is, then most likely the food or beverage product will be shared by thousands, if not millions, of people on social media. Free and instant exposure—and this makes it a good selling point for manufacturers. Concentric expects to see an upsurge of carefully organized breakfast bowls that may be too appealing to destroy. And of course, brands would delve into the heightened aesthetics of their packaging.

2 – Light Snacking

Small, frequent feedings have been a slogan of a lot of diets which has led to the rise in snacking. Shoppers’ search for light snacks has been in full swing for the past few years. This year will be a bit different with food manufacturers rolling out “light” snacks and drinks, instead of the outdated and overpowering flavors. Food and drink producers are now geared for lighter tasting options like floral enhanced waters, less sweetness, less alcohol, and lighter ABVs as a whole.

3 – Exotic Flavors

More and more US consumers are embracing various ethnic flavors. As the American palate becomes more and more accustomed to International dishes, newer flavors are being introduced in the market. Think in the lines of za’atar, harissa, tahini, falafel, and pita to name a few.

4 – Plant-Based Still Going Strong

While this trend is nothing new, the innovation and technology behind this growth are evolving. The direction of going plant-based is growing by leaps and bounds with introductions like plant-based egg substitutes and veggie burgers. Also, think of foods in the lines of jackfruit and zoodle pasta dishes.

5 – Natural Processing

 

A lot of diets debuted in the past few years totally eliminated processed foods in the diet. So, this may not be new but naturally-processed foods will be a big hit in 2018. We are slowly evolving into the mindset of “less is more.” And this is the niche where smaller companies can explore and seize opportunities by being able to deliver naturally-processed, no-preservative, and higher quality food.

6 – Sustainability and Sourcing

We’ve heard a lot of phrases like farm-to-fork, farm-to-plate, sustainable sourcing, local sourcing, fair coursing, etc.—all these means sourcing and sustainability practices. The food industry is reducing their footprint while making food fresher longer and saving money. It is seen that the food industry is looking into kelp and seaweed for a more nutrient rich and sustainable food option.

7 – Transparency

This has been an age-old fight between consumers and producers, but it is seen that in 2018 food manufacturers are more than ever going to strive harder for brand and food transparency or else risk losing their market. 2018’s consumer is more probing and meticulous when it comes to their food than ever.

Final Thoughts on Predictions

2018 is going to be an important year for the food and beverage industry. Many of the new products and reformulations have been in the works over the past 18 months and their launches will be critical. Be on the lookout for products utilizing multiple trends mentioned above to attract consumers. A variety of products with GrandFusion launching in 2018 will pair plant-based and light snacking trends together. These superfood snacks will pack a nutritional punch from GrandFusion’s plant-based vitamins without impacting the flavor or texture. Interested in learning more? Download our GrandFusion R&D Resource Kit.

M&A Strategies are Evolving in Small Brand Acquisitions

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Big CPG companies have been focusing on growth through acquisitions the past few years. They see small brands as an opportunity to tap into a growing customer segment that they currently have little access to. However, the transition from a small brand into the big company structure can lose the “craft,” and “authentic” feel that makes those brands so successful. 2018 is the year when mergers and acquisitions teams will evolve and apply tactics that ensure the small brand keeps its quality and authentic feel.

How are Mergers & Acquisitions Tactics Evolving?

 

M&A teams are finally noticing that some of the small brand’s most loyal consumers see these deals as the brand “selling out to the man.” These loyal customers matter, because are typically the people that helped the company grow so fast. It is important for big CPG companies to keep brands “local” and maintain the product’s integrity after an acquisition. M&A Teams are focused on the following to keep small brands authentic feel:

  • Keep the founder and initial innovator to maintain the appearance of a healthy marriage. This is important to building continued trust with loyal customers.
  • Basing the purchase price on post-sale performance as well as making small investments in multiple small brands.
  • Allow small brands to continue to operate independently by not buying them outright. Look at Mars’ recent investment in KIND.
  • As soon as the sale is complete, both companies should be working together to tell the future plans for the brand. Look at how General Mills and Annie’s accomplished this over the years.

These Relationships are About Maintaining the Look and Feel

Risks in M&A exist for both the buyers and sellers. The small brands fear that the large company will ignore their mission and vision in pursuit of profits, and big companies fear they will never recoup a return on their investment. The M&A teams are telling both parties to focus on maintaining the look and feel of the brand. Keep the price the same, keep the packaging the same, keep the ingredients the same, at least for a little while. The bottom line here is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Inspired by www.fooddive.com

CFI Finds Only 33% of Consumers Trust The Food System

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The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) released a new study, A Dangerous Food Disconnect: When Consumers Hold You Responsible  But Don’t Trust You, that looks at some damaging statistics on the food system. First and foremost, the study revealed that 33% of consumers do not trust the food system, which is down from 47% in 2017. This is alarming and further supports the movement by food companies to be more transparent and create products with simple ingredients.

Food Companies Placed Last on List of Most Trusted Information in the Food System

The new CFI study is important because it showcases the disconnect between what consumers think and what food companies across the industry are actively doing to ease their concerns. On the list of most trusted sources for food safety information, food companies ranked dead last with food regulators taking 8th on the list, and farmers ranking 3rd on the list. Surprisingly, family and physicians ranked as the most trusted sources of food safety information.

 

Roxi Beck, Director of the CFI, believes food companies have to further their mission of product transparency. She suggests inviting consumers to the farms and manufacturing facilities to build more trust. She also suggests large CPG companies be wary of touting their large size and global scale as it often viewed as a warning sign to consumers today. The small brands are taking advantage of this and winning big time.

Investing in Transparency Efforts and Technology

Multiple food companies and suppliers in the food system are looking at new blockchain technology to lead the transparency effort. Companies like Cargill have tested blockchain to allow consumers to trace their Thanksgiving Turkey back to the farm it was raised on. This is a step in the right direction.

Other companies are looking for ways to better tell their brand stories to lead transparency efforts. Marketing teams across food brands are selling this hard up the ladder because they know how important trust is to purchase decisions and long-term brand loyalty. The bottom line will grow as food companies and their brand focus on building more trust with consumers.

Inspired by www.fooddive.com

Tactile and Multisensory Foods Could Be Top Trend For Brands in 2018

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Tactile and multisensory experiences are all about feeling and hearing the connection. Phil Lempert, The Supermarket Guru, believes we have evolved, and 2018 is a particular year for brands to take advantage of the tactile approach. A multisensory food will appeal to more than consumer’s taste buds. Brands will look to add features and experiences that appeal to the hearing and visual senses.

Tactile Brands Will Be More Memorable

The clean label trend is here to stay, but Phil believes consumers are at peak food information overload. It’s time that foods move to a more intellectual connection with visual and auditory cues. Foods that enable sounds like chopping, stirring, chewing and crunching will give consumers a food euphoria every time.

Brands Already Implementing the Tactile Approach

The crunch of a crisp snack echoes in our brain, and we subconsciously resonate with it in the future. Also, think about the crisp taste of a beer, but enhancing that with virtual reality as Guinness recently did.

Sensory marketing is nothing new, but Phil makes an excellent point that this trend will gain steam after the focus on ingredients, clean labels, and more over the past few years. Sampling is one of the critical ways to implement a multisensory marketing approach at retail and food events. Costco has been using this technique for years to drive sales in specific products and categories.

Tactile and multisensory approaches will be food and beverage brands secret weapon in 2018. Watch and listen for more!

Inspired by www.supermarketguru.com

Premium Juice Brands Working on Lowering Sugar in Their Drinks

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Sugar has long been a battle for soda companies and shelf-stable juices, but premium juice brands are now facing the challenge of reducing sugar in their healthy drinks. Premium juice brands typically use fresher ingredients without any added sugars. However, adding some fruit juices and flavors can quickly increase the sugar content in their drinks. In response to the growing fight against sugar, juice brands are innovating the formulations, processing methods, and marketing to take sugar head on.

Not All Sugars Are Created Equal

It is no easy task to eliminate the sugar in these juice brands. CEO of Suja Juice, Jeff Church, says he has watched the market evolve in just the past five years. When Suja Juice started, it had roughly 25g of sugar per bottle, but after listening to consumers, they have decreased the sugar to 10 grams or less per bottle. Church believes that consumer demographics have played a considerable role in the lower sugar options in the market. Baby boomers are more tolerant of higher sugar content than millennials. However, both carry significant weight in sales. Church believes this has forced brands to take a broad focus on reducing sugar.

On the other hand, Ryne O’Donnell, CEO of Sol-ti, is taking a different approach. He believes consumers need to understand that not all sugars are created equal. He believes that adding beneficial fruits and vegetables that may be high in natural sugars outweighs the potential negatives.

Courtroom Controversy for Juice Brands

Some of the first juice brands have faced courtroom controversy from anti-sugar crusaders. Odwalla, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola, faced backlash and a class action lawsuit for the phrase “evaporated cane juice” on its ingredient label. The lawsuit was ultimately withdrawn, but the Odwalla was hit with another suit based on their “No Sugar Added” phrase on their packaging. They are currently in private mediation with no expected ruling or settlement until the middle of 2018.

 

Center for Science in the Public Trust also filed a lawsuit against Pepsi’s Naked Juice brand in 2017. CSI believed naked was mislead consumers through marketing products with the wrong fruits and vegetables on the packaging and use of phrases like “No Sugar Added.” Pepsi settled and agreed to update its packaging with more accurate ingredients and decrease the font size of “No Sugar Added.”

New Brands on the Block Looking to Capitalize

Edit Fruit Juice was founded in 2013 with the idea to solve the technical issue of eliminating natural sugars from fruit. The company’s patented process enables them to extract 90% of all natural sugars from the fruit so that their 100% fruit juice contains less than 1g of sugar per serving.

Other brands are adapting by adding natural sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit. However, some premium juice brands don’t like the idea of adulterating pure juice. It will be a battle of brands trying to create the most premium juices while decreasing sugar at the same time. They still have to taste delicious and make consumers feel like they are making a healthy choice.

Inspired by bevnet.com

 

Personalized Nutrition Is Trying to Reach The Masses

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Personalized nutrition is one of the newest ideas catching the eyes of consumers and the big food companies. In theory, it seems like the next big thing to overtake the healthy eating marketplace. However, there are a few hurdles that innovators are battling for this concept to reach the mainstream. Consumer knowledge about their personalized nutrition needs, food manufacturing, and distribution are going to need to change to make this a reality.

Habit: The Startup Company Leading Personalized Nutrition

Habit, a San Francisco-based company, is offering personalized nutrition through genetic testing. The big food company, Campbell’s Soup, has been following closely and recently invested in the startup.

Habit is structuring itself as a personalized nutrition meal delivery startup. They take information gathered from an at-home test kit to create specific meals to meet customers’ needs. At the moment, Habit’s business model is a little expensive for the average consumer. It costs $249 to receive the personalized test kit, results, and advice from nutrition coaches. On top of the $249, each meal will cost you $8.99 for breakfast and $13.50 for lunch and dinner meals. Without a significant technological change to food development and distribution, personalized nutrition appears to be a luxury in the short term.

3-D Food Printing Could Be The Solution

As mentioned earlier, consumer knowledge on food development and distribution would need to change in a significant way for personalized nutrition to reach the masses. 3-D food printing could be the groundbreaking technology to make it possible. If 3-D printers could become as regular as microwaves, they could completely change the way consumers prepare food at home.

Big food companies like PepsiCo are already testing 3D printing to create prototypes of different shaped and colored chips. Other firms like Barilla have used 3-D food printing to make pasta that is shaped like a rose. The number of obstacles facing the industry are still there, but the future looks bright for personalized nutrition.

Inspired by www.fooddive.com

Bizarre Food Trends to Watch in 2018

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The food and beverage space has been rapidly changing over the past five years and 2018 looks to be no different. In this post, we will look at some of the Daily Mail’s bizarre food trends to watch in 2018.

Meat Like Veggie Burgers

Veggie burgers have come a long way in the past few years. Anyone with experience eating veggie burgers knows that they have often been dry and bland. Companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have developed juicy veggie burgers that mimic the texture and taste of real meat burgers. Impossible Foods’ burger even bleeds! Watch out for these burgers near all your genuine beef products in 2018.

It’s 2018, and we are Drinking Mushroom Lattes

Mushrooms have been getting a lot of hype in 2017, and that looks to continue in 2018. New mushroom enhanced coffee is focused on giving you the caffeine kick without the jitters. Four Sigmatic is selling arabica coffee blended with fungi including Lion’s Mane and Chaga. Be on the lookout for coffee bars and mushroom lattes next year!

Bizarre Veggie Bread

Companies are looking for ways to make products healthier especially bread manufacturers. Over the past five years, bread manufacturers in the U.K. have seen sales decline by 12%. They have developed a high protein, low carb veggie bread to lure customers back. These loaves of bread are being made out of beetroot, courgette, and red pepper.

Sweet and Sour Super Fruit

Superfoods and more specifically superfruits have been buzzing for years now. Jackfruit is the latest superfood to pick up steam and demand. In 2018, you can eat it raw, so it tastes sweet like a mango or cook it for a sour taste. The jackfruit is full of calcium and iron.

High Protein Ice Cream

Yes, ice cream is trying to be better for you! Brands are hopping on the protein train and packing it into every spoonful. Be on the lookout for new products from Breyers to compete with protein-infused ice cream originator, Enlightened.

Inspired by www.dailymail.co.uk

Natural Ingredients Driving Innovation for Energy Drink Brands

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Food Business News recently published a story on how energy drink brands are developing new energy drinks with natural and sustainably-sourced ingredients. Even as bottled water has taken over as the nation’s leading beverage, there are still people who prefer a drink with a little taste and energy. However, they are paying closer attention to ingredients and as a result, energy drink brands are having to find ways to create clean label products.

Energy Drink Brands Look to Natural Herbs

Companies are finding natural ingredients with energy-related properties in natural herbs. A great example is FutureCeuticals’ organic Coffeeberry brand. The ingredient contains whole coffee cherries and no chemical solvents. Another growing company is HiBall Energy, and they use guarana and ginseng to enhance the energy experience of their beverages.

Mintel pointed out earlier this year that green tea is one of the ingredients on the rise in energy drink brands. A number of companies have taken notes and as a result, seen growth over the past few years.

Shift in Target Market Fueling New Growth

The millennial market is maturing and moving out of college into the real world. They are learning the hard lessons of the real world and need a pick me up! Natural energy drinks are perfect for their needs and wants. Energy drink brands need to focus on bold and edgy flavors to compete with teas and flavored waters as the beverage market heats up.

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