Food Trends for Recessionary Times
Consumers are turning to comfort food but lighter beverages.
By Mary Boltz Chapman, Editor-in-Chief -- Chain Leader, 5/1/2009
Chicago-based market research firm Mintel tracks food, flavor and dining trends. In April, it released a list of "recession proof" foods, those that are growing in sales despite--or because of--the economic downturn.
For example, bread. Mintel originally predicted bread items would grow 2.1 percent between 2008 and 2013. But the bread market actually grew 7 percent in 2008, and Mintel now predicts higher growth for bread through 2013.
The firm also expects popular bread topper peanut butter to grow in sales by 26 percent between 2008 and 2013.
More adults are making their coffee at home. Mintel says the retail coffee market grew 6 percent in 2008, a substantial jump from the company's original forecast of 2.4 percent.
GROWING BEVERAGES
While Mintel sees growth in comfort foods, Americans are switching from classic soft drinks to lighter beverages. The firm estimates that from 2003 to 2008, the regular carbonated soft drink market lost 15.6 million adult drinkers. Just 68 percent of respondents to a November 2008 survey said they drank regular soda in 2008, down from 76 percent in 2003. At the same time, the number of diet soda drinkers grew: 7.8 million more adults reported drinking diet soda in 2008 than in 2003.
Mintel has also seen rapid growth in the number of people who regularly drink non-soda options like bottled water (24 million more Americans drank bottled water in 2008 than in 2003); energy drinks (to 34.5 million from 17.4 million); and sports drinks (in the past five years, 11 million started drinking them).
Thirty-four percent of respondents said they're drinking more water and less carbonated beverages to manage weight or other health conditions; 16 percent worry about the health risks of high-fructose corn syrup; and 15 percent say they're drinking fewer artificially sweetened beverages because of possible risks. N
FRESH FLAVORS AND SCENTS |
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FLAVOR TRENDS 1. Persimmon: Viewed as a unique and exotic fruit, persimmon is poised to make a major splash in food and beverage, blended with more common fruits. 2. Starfruit: Another unusually shaped, distinctly flavored fruit, starfruit is catching on around the globe. 3. Lavender: Mintel expects lavender to move beyond the home and personal care categories and into food and beverage. 4. Cactus: Cactus is already a popular food flavor in Latin America. 5. Chimichurri: Another classic from Latin America, chimichurri is a sauce for grilled meats, recognized for its clean, clear flavor. 6. Peri-Peri: The African hot sauce is growing in popularity. 7. Masala: An extension of the curry trend, the next Indian-inspired flavor will be masala. SCENT TRENDS 1. Spicy & Woody: Echoing current trends in men's fragrances, Mintel expects spicy and woody scents to grow. 2. Savory: Though "meaty" and "salty" aren't words that spring to mind when thinking of fragrance, they conjure festive meals and salty snacks. 3. Food Flavors: Just as pomegranate moved quickly from a food and drink flavor to a fragrance, Mintel expects that tomorrow's scents will closely follow new flavor trends. |
Mintel identified seven flavors and three scents that will come into the limelight this year; the lists are quite similar.Related Content
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