2020 was a year unlike any other, to put it lightly, and its effects will assuredly still
be felt in 2021. That's particularly true when it comes to what and how people eat.
From boxed wine to ghost restaurants, expect to see these food trends gain popularity in
2021.
In October 2020, Whole Foods published a report predicting the trends that'd be taking over
the world of food in 2021. One of the trends the company suggested is a rise in popularity
for a range of new oils among at-home chefs. These include walnut and pumpkin seed oils.
According to Healthline, walnut seed oil has a number of health benefits: it's good for
your skin, helps lower blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, and may even have anti-cancer
effects. Pumpkin seed oil can have a positive effect on your skin, heart, and prostate;
is said to ward off depression; and may even relieve some of the symptoms of menopause.
It won't all be fancy alternative oils in 2021, though. According to Food Business News,
2021 will also see olive oil reach news heights of popularity. Food trend forecaster Elizabeth
Moskow said elenolide, a component in olive oil with anti-hypertensive and anti-inflammatory
properties, as well as tyrosol], a compound that protects against neurodegenerative diseases,
are particularly attractive to health-conscious eaters.
Upcycled food also made it onto Whole Foods' list of 2021 food trends, and it's been on
the rise for a while. In 2019, Forbes reported that the upcycled food industry was worth
$46.7 billion. And in May 2020, the term "upcycled food" was officially defined by the academics
and nonprofit organization representatives that make up the Upcycled Food Association.
The Association defines upcycled food as
"[Using] ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured
and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment."
While you may not have come across much upcycled food in your grocery store just yet, there
are a number of products that meet this definition. White Moustache, a Brooklyn-based yogurt company,
uses surplus fruit and whey for its products. WTRMLN WTR makes flavored waters from what
the food industry refers to as "discarded" melons. RISE Products makes flour from spent
grains. And Toast Ale makes beer brewed from surplus bread. More and more companies are
making the most of whatever they can get their hands on.
Hard kombucha is fermented tea that, unlike regular kombucha, has a significant alcohol
content. Kombucha has become one of the trendiest drinks over the last few years, thanks in
part to its perceived health effects. So it was inevitable that there'd be an alcoholic
version of a drink as popular as kombucha, and 2020 saw alcoholic kombucha hit the scene
big.
"How's business?"
"Can't make enough."
"Can't make enough? Really?"
"Yeah."
According to Kombucha Brewers International, sales of hard kombucha grew from $1.7 million
in 2017 to more than $12 million in 2019. JuneShine Hard Kombucha was on track to triple
its sales that year, and AfterGlow Hard Kombucha expanded nationwide.
The trend is so clear beer brewers are worried. Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers
Association, told Kombucha Brewers International,
"If [people] are drinking more of one thing, they're drinking less of another. You're not
going to add to the drinking, you're just going to have to take from someone."
The Guardian reports that a 2019 study suggested that, by 2040, 60 percent of meat consumed
by people will be either, quote, "grown in vats" or "replaced by plant-based products
that look and taste like meat."
Thanks to the pandemic, 2020 in particular saw a whole new level of consumer interest
in meat-free meat, with sales up 264 percent in U.S. grocery stores in the spring. The
industry is making new innovations and putting out fresh products, too, with many companies,
such as Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat, solidifying their leading positions in the
market.
According to Tasting the Future, sales of meat alternatives are projected to reach $480.43
billion by 2024. An increased focus on the sustainability and health benefits of plant-based
meats; a "renewed focus on taste and texture;" and new plant-based foods such as fish, cheese,
milk, and chicken, will all help the meatless meat market meet those expectations. And if
you're still not convinced, McDonald's will finally offer its own plant-based burgers
in 2021.
Between plant-based burgers, consumers increasingly find themselves turning to what, in 2020,
Entrepreneur called the "sustainable snack of the future."
Jerky has always been a hugely popular snack food. It's tough, hardy, non-perishable, and
it's packed full of protein. But as the plant-based food market has grown, so too has the public's
hunger for a healthier, more environmentally friendly alternative. Food startups are experimenting
with a range of protein alternatives, including mushrooms and soybeans, with one of them,
Leaf Jerky, using recycled packaging, too.
Upton's Naturals is launching a wheat protein jerky, while another brand, Savory Wild, is
infusing its mushroom jerky with flavors such as sweet balsamic and golden fig, roasted
garlic and black pepper, and ginger and Korean chili. This stuff is far fancier than your
average store-bought beef jerky.
It's also pretty easy to make your own plant jerky at home, and you can use pretty much
any vegetable you like. Jackfruit, cauliflower, and eggplant, for example, have all been cited
as great starting points.
According to Star Tribune, boxed wine became a, quote, "pandemic staple" after consumers
started bulk-buying inexpensive wines during the first rounds of lockdowns. In the 15-week
period ending June 13, boxed wine sales jumped 36 percent compared to the same period in
2019. Anissa Gurstel, a wine buyer for Lunds & Byerlys, told the paper that
"We have seen an astronomical rise in boxed-wine sales. [Boxed wines] are very 'of the moment.'"
"Whether or not people are drinking this wine in faster… in faster measures, I don't know.
Or whether they're just buying it because it lasts longer."
And it sure looks like this trend will carry on into the new year. That's partially thanks
to the fact that boxed wines have risen in quality, thanks to improving growing and winemaking
techniques, as well as an increase in wine imports. And these same companies are marketing
to young people for the first time ever. Guy Willenbacher of Blue Ventures Wine Marketing
told Star Tribune:
"Instead of being a badge of poor taste, boxed wine has even become a popular quarantine
prop for Instagram photos."
Now that the stigma has vanished, the quality has improved, and whole new demographics have
emerged, it's becoming increasingly clear that, far from being a flash-in-the-pan pandemic
fad, boxed wine really is here to stay.
Copaiba is an essential oil that, according to Food Business News, shares a number of
properties with cannabidiol. It comes from the resin of the Copaifera tree, and is said
to have an "earthy, woodsy flavor." Like CBD, it has a number of health effects, and can
be used to treat inflammation, chronic pain, and anxiety. It can also help reduce blemishes
or even be used as an aromatic compound to help create a calm and relaxing environment.
According to Scott Johnson, Director of Education and Training at doTERRA:
"When used daily, Copaiba helps you live a longer and healthier life with greater periods
of homeostasis."
And like CBD, it's totally legal. Food trend expert Elizabeth Moskow told Food Business
News,
"We think we'll see copaiba as a competitor to CBD in food and beverage products."
This seems doubly likely since it has a number of advantages over CBD, including being far
less expensive. There's also no risk of finding trace amounts of THC in the oil if drug tests
are a worry. Copaiba oil isn't known to have any side effects, either.
No, ghost kitchens aren't what they sound like. There's nothing spooky in sight here;
just an innovative new way of bringing you food.
Also known as "dark kitchens," ghost kitchens are delivery-only cooking establishments,
often featuring food from more than one restaurant brand. They've got cooking facilities, chefs,
and a wide range of recipes, but nowhere whatsoever for diners to sit, order, or eat. Instead,
the customer takes to a platform such as UberEats or Grubhub, chooses what they want, and gets
it delivered to their door. And because they make use of a range of brands and styles,
customers can get a mix of cuisines in one order.
These places have numerous advantages over traditional dine-in restaurants. For one,
they're cheap and easy to set up, since you don't need to build a brick-and-mortar restaurant.
All you need is a kitchen. They're also low-risk, with less overhead and fewer permits and inspections,
plus likely lower rent payments. With a tragic number of independent restaurants having to
shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there's every chance many will reopen as ghost
kitchens in the year to come.
One other way customers have coped in the changing landscape of the pandemic is buying
meal kits. You've probably seen them advertised: It's a box full of ingredients and instructions
for particular recipes which are left to the customer to cook. Some companies offer subscription
services while others are available as one-offs.
Meal kits have become more popular in the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Brian Irwin,
VP of marketing for the meal-kit service Home Chef,
"Sales have increased materially since the start of the pandemic and have remained high
week after week. We have had greater sales both from existing customers as well as new
customers. Customers continue to buy more meals per delivery, and order more often."
Meanwhile, companies such as HelloFresh have seen their revenues increase by upwards of
50 percent in 2020, and are continuing to pour money into technology, infrastructure,
and marketing, with the aim of enticing newer customers into the fold.
It's yet to be seen whether this growth will continue at such a pace once the pandemic
comes to an end, but with meal kit companies becoming more steadfast in their efforts to
seize the market, as well as top restaurants offering meal kits as takeout alternatives,
it seems likely we'll be seeing these become even more commonplace.
Foods that promote gut health have been in vogue for a few years now, but general awareness
of the gut microbiome and how to keep it healthy have increased greatly in the last year. That's
thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from food processing giant ADM's consumer
insights platform indicate that rising gut health awareness counts as one of the significant
behavioral changes during the pandemic.
"You change your gut, you can change your life, and now we're learning about how this
plays such a huge role."
Going into 2021, the company says,
"The gut microbiome's role in weight, mental health, and immunity will become a global
trend."
ADM also predicts a few other, similar trends to occur over the next year, noting,
"Consumers are gravitating towards food and beverages with bright and exciting colors
that indicate citrus flavors with their naturally occurring Vitamin C, as well as products with
familiar, nostalgic flavors during these stressful times.".
Put simply: expect lots of colorful, flavorful, locally sourced, and gut-friendly food and
drinks to hit grocery store shelves in 2021.
As a result of that hugely terrible thing that has happened to all of us this year,
it appears that people are ready to live healthier lives. In October 2020, Forbes reported that
one of the primary trends we're going to see in 2021 is a move towards healthy, sustainable,
and environmentally friendly eating. COVID-19 caused many Americans to take a deeper look
at the food they eat and how it affects their stamina, immunity and overall health.
To that end, shoppers are now choosing foods more carefully, reading labels, learning about
ingredients, and making decisions based on where their foods come from. The International
Food Information Council's 2020 Food & Health Survey found that 54 percent of all customers
care more about the healthfulness of their food and beverage choices in 2020 than in
2010. Active dieting has increased, 18 percent of Americans are using health monitoring apps
and devices, and 28 percent of Americans are eating more proteins made from plants.
Even when the pandemic ends, it's not hard to imagine that people will remain more aware
of how their eating habits affect them.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Mashed videos about food trends
are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.