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OUR TREND REPORT 2015

OUR TREND REPORT 2015

Key trends that will affect industry, retail and consumers during the year 2015 and beyond.

The food market is in constant motion. Changing customer expectations, the progress of technology and new ideas in industry and among retailers cause more and more new trends that permanently affect what is happening on the market.

As our trend report shows, the year 2015 will see a series of interesting changes. According to the figures from our central market research platform, which has gathered data on food and drink products from more than 70 countries, there will be ten key trends in 2015. Some things will continue on from recent years while others will affect the food market for the first time.

Key trends 2015

Our study has identified the following key trends which will affect industry, retail and consumers during 2015 and beyond.

1. ‘From Clean Label to Clear Label’ → With the consumer demand for more transparency increase the requirements on food producers.

2. ‘Convenience for foodies and fresh foods’ → Good traditional fare is on the march. Foodies, a fast-growing group of people who are passionate about food, are very keen on fresh foods and are looking for things that help them with their home cooking.

3. ‘Address Millennials in the right way’ → Millennials (consumers aged 15 to 35 who are well informed and willing to try out new things) spend a lot of time online. They are a generation oriented around information and must therefore be addressed using suitable new methods.

4. ‘Snacks becoming more important’ → Snacks are continuing to become more important and in doing so are changing eating habits fundamentally.

5. ‘Avoid certain fats and carbohydrates and suffer less complaints’ → The image of carbohydrates and fats is improving constantly and consumers are placing clear emphasis on health as a ‘positive’ value.

6. ‘New ways of eating fruit’ → Consumers are looking for new products that offer daily fruit and vegetables and increase fruit consumption; real fruit in a product meets the trend towards natural health.

7. ‘Potential for protein’ → Suppliers of ingredients, food manufacturers and consumers are all looking for the next new source of protein: whey protein, pulse protein, algae protein and even insect protein.

8. ‘A new view of frozen products’ → Frozen products compete with long-life and fresh foods. A dormant category is awakening. Frozen products reduce food wastage, make portioning easy and are focused on freshness.

9. ‘Own-brands are on the rise’ → The proportion of newly launched products which are own-brands is increasing.

10. ‘Nutritious, soft and crispy’ → Texture is gaining well-deserved attention. It gives a product identity and taste.

Convenience and freshness for foodies

Despite the trend towards small, healthy snacks, many consumers are spending more and more time on homely, social cooking. Foodies especially, a fast-growing group of people who are passionate about and involved in food, are keen to cook using fresh products. They believe that a meal is healthier if they’ve made it using fresh ingredients.

The focus among cooking products in supermarkets in 2015 will therefore be on freshness. Product ranges will become more diverse and the emphasis will be on quality, declaration of origin and the re-emergence of ‘forgotten’ vegetable varieties. Consumers will also see the arrival of innovative, new types of fruit and vegetable. All in all it will be primarily fresh foods that satisfy an awareness of health which end up in customers’ shopping trolleys.

Snacks becoming more important

In addition to the enormous demand for transparency, consumers’ eating habits are changing. They are focusing much more on healthy, conscious eating than they did just a few years ago. One of the things this has led to is a departure from traditional eating structures, which means consumers no longer take three meals a day but instead consume several food items throughout the day. Single, small products that combine enjoyment with energy can even replace entire meals.

For this reason, snacks will grow increasingly important in 2015. We will find more and more quick-to-consume, healthier foods in the supermarket shelves such as yoghurts, shakes, purées and nuts, which satisfy customers’ new consuming behaviour. Foods containing dietary fibre, wholemeal and proteins will be especially popular as healthy snacks between meals.

Clear Label and transparency are top priority for consumers

Of the key trends, transparency and communication in the food market will play a key role in 2015. Consumers today want to know what is on their plates. This expectation has already led to more transparency in food labelling in recent years, something which will certainly continue in 2015. Customers will be placing more demands on the clarity of ingredients lists and ingredient labelling. They will be paying more and more attention to natural flavourings and colourings in products, and this will be a growing factor in whether they buy things.

FOR CONSUMERS

This trend is being driven by a series of manufacturers, retailers and companies in system catering who have decided that they want to be transparent in the way they procure ingredients and in their production process. Smaller, ethical brands have already begun to do this and we expect larger brands to follow suit.

The EU consumer information directive introduced at the end of 2014 demands that allergens be declared and helps consumers in their quest for more clarity on supermarket shelves and on their own kitchen tables. It will become obligatory to state nutritional information for processed foods from the end of 2016 onwards; this will be the next step towards further transparency.

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