What major trends should we expect to see on shelf this coming year? According to trend forecaster WGSN, they all reflect consumer focus on sustainability – which remains ‘top of mind’.
“Serious consumer concerns are driving the 2022 top trends, including global warming and sustainability impacts on our food supply, and an urgent need for more diversity, inclusivity and respect in the food world,” said Kara Nielsen, WGSN’s Director of Food & Drink.
“Food makers and product developers need to address these issues while also realising how savvy eaters are about the benefits food ingredients like koji and prebiotics bring to the table.”
Scroll through the photo gallery for WGSN’s top six retailer predictions for 2022 and beyond.
GettyImages/CharlieAJA
What major trends should we expect to see on shelf this coming year? According to trend forecaster WGSN, they all reflect consumer focus on sustainability – which remains ‘top of mind’.
“Serious consumer concerns are driving the 2022 top trends, including global warming and sustainability impacts on our food supply, and an urgent need for more diversity, inclusivity and respect in the food world,” said Kara Nielsen, WGSN’s Director of Food & Drink.
“Food makers and product developers need to address these issues while also realising how savvy eaters are about the benefits food ingredients like koji and prebiotics bring to the table.”
Scroll through the photo gallery for WGSN’s top six retailer predictions for 2022 and beyond.
GettyImages/CharlieAJA
According to the WGSN Food & Drink social media influencer map, 'kelp' is the top ingredient associated with 'regenerative agriculture’. A fast-growing seaweed with versatile applications and an excellent nutritional profile, kelp is also a sustainability superfood that permanently removes carbon dioxide from the environment.
“Kelp is a real superfood, both environmentally and nutritionally," Jennifer Creevy, Head of Food & Drink at WGSN told FoodNavigator.
"While it has been used in some regions for some time, it is now gaining traction globally as a versatile ingredient and one of a roster of growing climate-hero ingredients. We’re seeing innovations including kelp burgers, noodles and popcorn, and there’s much more to come.”
GettyImages/Tammy616
Arabica beans dominate the specialty coffee market, but the future is shaping up to be less reliant on the species – a fortuitous shift, as climate change threatens the bean consumers favour. Now, thanks to the cultivation of new wild and rediscovered heirloom species, coffee outside the Arabica norm will become more widely available.
”Innovators are exploring a range of heirloom coffee species and their varietals to help ease the plight of the climate-threatened Arabica," said Tom Gatehouse, Food & Drink Strategist at WGSN. "Robusta is a particularly strong candidate, with the high caffeine bean making waves as part of the blossoming Vietnamese coffee scene in the US. Specialty and single-origin iterations are continuing to emerge, as well as globally inspired Robusta formats to pique customer interest.”
GettyImages/Jonathan Knowles
Black entrepreneurs, chefs and restaurateurs are bringing forth the overlooked and erased influence of Black and African foodways on the global food system. In 2022, expect jollof rice, the flavour-packed West African staple to make its way around the world in new packaged goods including frozen meals, seasoning kits and grain sides.
“Consumers around the world are eating an increasingly global range of dishes and cuisines, driven by a hunger for discovery and newness," Claire Lancaster, Senior Food & Drink Strategist at WGSN told this publication. "As Black and African innovators increasingly move into the spotlight, expect long overlooked ingredients, flavours and classic dishes like West African jollof rice to move into the mainstream.”
GettyImages/Osarieme Eweke
In 2022, Chinese baijiu is poised to become a universally available spirit to delight drinkers across the globe. Driving this trend are influencers of Chinese heritage excited to boost baijiu to the same international status as other regional spirits like tequila, as well as imbibers curious to experience a storied sip.
“Already we’re seeing excitement for baijiu bubbling up in some of the world’s top bars that are always on the cutting edge of offering new drinking experiences," according to Rachel Tan, Food & Drink Analyst at WGSN. "What baijiu brings to the table is a full and complex range of aromatic styles, an incredibly rich provenance and versatility for drinkers seeking authenticity and newness."
GettyImages/zhikun sun
Japan's 'national fungus’, will step into the spotlight in 2022 bringing delicious taste to a host of food and drink. The versatile ingredient has been favoured by global chefs for years; now it’s playing a starring role, appearing in plant-based meats and historic Japanese whisky. Koji brings forth the 'craveable' fifth taste, umami, and will pop up in new places in 2022.
“Koji is a remarkable ingredient with wide-ranging applications. The rice-based mould is able to impart huge umami boosts, tenderise or even act as a salt replacer, and we’re really starting to see it emerge across food and drink, from high-end innovations through to value-based products," said Tom Gatehouse, Food & Drink Strategist at WGSN. "It’s a developer’s dream and, with further culinary uses still being discovered, its influence will only increase in the years to come.”
GettyImages/flyingv43
Functional prebiotic boosts are appearing in more styles of foods, and nowhere more so than in next-gen sodas, brimming with natural flavours, clean labels and a healthy dose of carbs to feed good bacteria in the gut. These soda pops presage a significant increase in prebiotic ingredients being added to all kinds of food, in part to support the immune system linked to a healthy gut.
“The advantage of sodas having prebiotic fortification is that these are beverages people drink regularly, allowing them to continually support their gut health each time they enjoy a can. Watch for more prebiotics in food and drink typically consumed daily," Kara Nielsen, Food & Drink Director at WGSN told FoodNavigator.
GettyImages/Kanawa_Soda
