The curtain has closed on 2019 and the crowd are currently waiting in anticipation to see what the 2020 show will be like. For those in the Food Industry in Ireland a few topics are top of mind today as we ring in the new year: resolutions and new opportunities, hangover prevention, and our favourite – what are the trends in new product development for the next decade. I spend a lot of time researching what is happening in the food industry globally and trawling through market research reports to get a good bit of intelligence on where the food industry is going for my consultancy clients globally.
Here are my six food trends everyone will be buzzing about and we will see more of these hitting our supermarket shelves soon.
1. Plant based meat alternatives
The second half of the last decade has seen a slow but steady rise in the popularity of plant-based foods. This trend will continue but the alternative meat market will skyrocket over the coming years.
2019 was certainly the year that vegan meat alternatives—specifically Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger—expanded in the US, with a similar trend in Ireland with Eden and Strong Roots. While this is exciting news for those who don’t eat meat (but still crave the taste, texture of meat) there has been very little incorporation of these products into prepared meals or own brand products. 2020 will bring an upsurge in new product development with the use of meat alternatives in own branded ready meals and foods on the go where plant-based alternatives of our favourite meals will come on the market.
2. Mushrooms
Love them or loathe them, mushrooms are here to stay. People are starting to understand and hear about the health and nutritional benefits of mushrooms. Some of these benefits are:
- Satiety ie keeping you fuller for longer aiding healthy weight management
- Vitamin D: Some brand of mushrooms including Monaghan Mushrooms and Hughes Mushrooms in Ireland have worked on a method to significantly increase the levels of vitamin D in Mushrooms. Interesting Fact! Mushrooms make Vitamin D naturally in a similar way to our skin. When exposed to light mushrooms will produce vitamin D. Companies have developed a method to get mushrooms to provide you with 100% of your daily requirement for Vitamin D. I must disclose though that I was involved in this new product development work and it is an area I know a lot about from a production and food claims perspective.
- Now that the food authorities are a bit more familiar with mushrooms after the vitamin D novel foods claims it opens the doors to potential other validated health claims for mushrooms like Vitamin B Complexes, Vitamin B12 etc
- Mushrooms are great to blend in with meat products particularly in processed meat products like burgers, sausages, puddings etc. They can help to reduce the fat levels significantly, particularly saturated fats, help to bring out the flavour of the meat through the umami effect and the satiety of the product is not reduced and it helps us eat less meat which is a big drive at the moment. This work was initially done with The Mushroom Council in the US and the Australian Mushroom Growers Association in Australia. Aldi were the first to launch a blend minced meat on the market in Ireland, but we will see more of this in the coming years but more so in processed products like burgers etc.
- Finally, we will see the introduction of exotic mushrooms like Agaricus blazei and Reishi on the market as people are looking for health benefits from their food and not just nutrition. Both A. blazei and Reishi are known for their immunity enhancing properties and can be eaten both fresh in other dishes or dried as a tea or to add to other products.
3. “Healthy for Longer” Food Products
There has been a drive in the recession to reduce the cost of food and this has resulted in a poorer quality product on our shelves. This is now turning around where people are demanding products that are not filled with salt and sugar. This makes it one of the top areas for new product development.
The over 50’s population has more than doubled since ‘96 and there are estimated to be over 2bn citizens globally over 50 by 2025. In Ireland alone there are currently 1.5m consumers over 50 and this is expected to rise by 15% over the next 5 years. This trend is evident all across Europe (MCCP).
Financially, seniors are doing well. Seniors have a greater disposable income than previous generations. 1 in 8 boomers have greater than €1K per week disposable income. ¼ of boomers have given a cash gift to their children and 50% of boomers are not saving at all (The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) 2011). These figures are significant as they show that the current boomer market have the ability and want to spend money on good quality, nutrient dense foods.
Attitudes of the 50+ Consumer
Pre-seniors (40-49 yo) are currently healthy and active. Young seniors (50-60 yo) are aware that they are getting older. Middle seniors (60-70 yo) are managing at least one illness, seniors (70-80 yo) exhibit health issues and acute illness and great seniors (80+ yo) show a loss of independence and severe health issues.
Seniors want to be impervious to aging. 1 in 4 65-74 yo still earn a wage. Of 7.3M people aged 55-64 5.3M are in full time employment and 2M in part time employment (Aviva Real Retirement Report GB, 2012). 23% of 65-74 cites wages as an income source and seniors strive to retain independence and are worried about becoming a burden.
Health Concerns
Seniors are mentally and physically more active than ever before but also healthy life years are now a necessity where the focus has shifted from quantity of years to quality of years. Seniors are aging physiologically faster. U.S. baby boomers have higher rates of chronic disease, more disability and lower self-rated health than members of the previous generation at the same age (Huffington Post 2013).
Malnourishment is becoming the norm. 5-15% of the EU population suffer from some form. This rises to 40% among those admitted to hospital and to 60% for those in residential nursing homes (MCCP). It is more cost effective to keep people at home & healthier (Furman 2006).
Social isolation is a key driver for malnutrition where many seniors are not able to comply with balanced nutrition and regularly skip meals. Compliance is an issue because of a disinterest in food, difficulty in accessing through packaging, portion size is too large and limited access to shops.
Elderly nutrition is the next big golden seam in the Irish food industry. The main areas that need to be addressed to keep an aging population going are bone health, heart health, mental health and diabetes.
4. “Good-For-You” Sweet Treats
It is hard to deny or to avoid the plethora of high protein “healthy” products out on the market at the moment! We particularly see this increase in the protein bar market with companies like Fulfill making that crossover from sports nutrition into the general snack market. Protein products can be found in nearly every food category in the supermarket from breads, breakfast cereals, bottled water, snacks, crisps, dairy, frozen meals, yogurts and has taken over the confectionery market!
But with so many high protein products on the market how do we know what is good for us and what is high quality to warrant the higher prices they command? There are a lot out there saying “high protein” but are full of fats and sugars or they are full of ingredients that you cannot pronounce so much so you would nearly need a PhD to understand the label!
With diabetes being so prevalent in Irish society and heart disease and cholesterol being serious problems, consumers are looking for truly healthy alternatives to give them the sweet hit they need while also providing a protein hit. Consumers want products that help them manage their lifestyle related illness and want to see it across all food categories including desserts, snacks and confectionary. Only two more new product development trends left!
5. Ketogenic Foods
The ketogenic, or “keto,” diet has seen a surge in popularity over the last few years. As more people turn towards the low-carb way of eating, keto diet foods are increasing in popularity as well. According to Mordor Intelligence, the global ketogenic diet food market is projected to grow by 5.3% between the years 2019 and 2024.
6. Sustainable Packaging-Our final New Product Development area
Whatever your food product it is now a necessity to package it in an environmental way. I’m amazed with the understanding and concern of consumers about the environmental footprint of the packaging used on products when I’m in stores, doing tastings or talking to consumers about new products, The packaging used need to be recyclable or ideally compostable made from natural materials. So, if you can develop a competitive advantage through the packaging you use make sure you highlight it on pack.
So that’s it. These are the 6 key new product development trends we will see in the Irish Food Industry over the next decade. Dr John Collier has significant experience consulting in all these areas for clients in Ireland and around the world so if you are looking for a partner to develop products with you, to modify current products to meet the new directions of the market or seeking intelligence in these areas to support a strategy feel free to contact me.
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