Advent calendars are back! Night-Food craving? Grab your snack! Menu: put the rainbow on your plate!
On the spotlightÂ
đ Advent Calendars: what are the current trends ?Â
One month before the end of the year celebrations, Advent calendars have taken over the top shelves and other delicatessens. A relatively recent product, the craze has adapted to an exponential demand, by offering a wider variety of products. Around the world, Google searches for âadvent calendarâ went from 673K in November 2015 to 1.8M in November 2020. The most sought-after calendars are those with toys, beauty products or food / drink surprises.
Within the last category, chocolates remain the most popular, with multiple luxury varieties now available. Amongst them, a warm favourite being âhot chocolateâ calendars that include varieties that you can sprinkle or melt, or vegan chocolate calendars, that are in high demand and saw their popularity multiply six-fold between 2019 and 2020. But beyond chocolate, there are other food themed calendars available that are filling a niche in this profitable and tempting market.
Alcohol or alcohol free? With 110K searches in November 2020 - a figure identical to that of November 2019 - the âBeer Advent Calendarâ is definitely on tap! But for how long? Taking a closer look, demand for beer-based calendars have stagnated. Ditto for wine-based calendars, down to 165K searches in November 2020 compared to nearly double that in 2018. Is there an explanation for this? Perhaps theyâve lost their novelty? But it could also be down to the boom in non-alcoholic alternatives and so-called âfunctionalâ drinks which are healthier options. But theyâre also more of a sensible alternative, before the end of the year celebrations, which are often associated with excessive consumption.
Tea or coffee? In November 2020, searches for coffee-based calendars nearly tripled compared to the previous year. Capsules, coffee grains or raw beans: retailers have increased their efforts to attract coffee addicts. Itâs the same story for tea-based versions, which saw their main demand double over the same period. At a time when mushroom based formulas begin to flourish, the sector may continue to accelerate ...
A little bit of jam? According to several studies, the Covid crisis had a huge impact on how we regard our âwell-beingâ, with consumers dedicating more time to looking after themselves. Working from home, brought breakfast back as an important meal of the day. This explains, perhaps, the increase of jam-based calendars whose searches went from 2.4K in November 2019 to 6K in November 2020. More specifically, there was a visible rise in searches, such as âBonne Maman Advent Calendarâ which, with more than 40.5K searches in November 2020, had almost quadrupled compared to 2019. And for the more adventurous epicureans, there was an increase in searches for more exotic flavours, such as are pineapple, tomato or chilli jams.
What is the future of advent calendars? If we go by current trends, Advent Calendars could rapidly have a wide range of products offering more vegan varieties and, more original products. For example, expect to see calendars emerging with a CBD theme, or mushroom varieties, healthy snacks, spices and sauces. Other possibilities may take a more eco-responsible approach. With the demand over the last year for re-usable versions, wooden calendars, and fill-your-own becoming increasingly popular.Â
đ Rainbow Food
On the one hand, there are the health gurus that encourage consumers to add colour to their plates. On the other hand, âfood influencingâ encourages food lovers to share dishes on social media that attract the eye and, of course, the likes. Together, they have created the "rainbow" diet, which involves using the colours of different food, promoting their health benefits and endorse them as sources of micronutrients.
Red = the heart. Packed with a pigment called lycopene, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and the like are thought to play a key role in cardiac health and lowering the risk of cancer. Rich in vitamin C, folates and flavonoids, red-coloured foods have antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.
Blue, boosts blood circulation. Blackberries, blueberries ... The darker the food, the more phytochemicals it contains, which in particular help fight inflammation and boost immunity.
Green, energizing and detoxifying. Cabbage, avocado, broccoli⌠Green foods are known for their high vitamin, mineral and phytochemicals content, such as indoles and saponins.
Orange, for the complexion and the skin. Carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, oranges⌠Carotenoids are powerful weapons against free radicals responsible for damaging cells.
Colour is great but so is black. In recent years - and more specifically in 2021 - we have seen the rise in âblack foodsâ. We can draw parallels between the increased popularity for these food products and the rise of esoteric cuisine, the hashtag #kitchenwitch has garnered more than 96.1M views on Tiktok. Multiple chefs have fallen for the trend and have integrated black foods into their cuisine, such as Nagraj Bhat from London Taxi, or Paul Kinny from Shizusan Shophouse. Among the most popular ingredients are charcoal â consumed by infusing in water for its detoxifying properties or used to make bread or pizza doughs - or even black sesame, rich in calcium, copper, iron, vitamin E, fatty acids, unsaturated fats and fibre. Not to mention black garlic, its anti-viral and anti-fungal properties have attracted the interest of a lot of Internet users with no less than 110K Google searches in September 2021 alone around the world for "black garlic".
What we can take away from this is: plain or multi-coloured menus, targeted or holistic approaches, links with culinary therapy - Chromo-food has a future!
đŚ¸ââď¸ ChloĂŠ Rutzerveld : a visionary Food Futurist.
We have already presented Hanni RĂźtzler and Morgaine Gayeâs predictions, now weâre going to take a look at ChloĂŠ Rutzerveldâs work who creates new ways of making our food more efficient, healthier and more sustainable with the help of design and science.
Through interactive installations, exhibitions and workshops, Food Futurists use food as a medium to make new technologies and food issues accessible to the general public.
Future Formula 2.0, for example, is a collaborative project where consumers grow vegetables using tech-driven âgrowth recipesâ. Researchers have in fact taken into account a series of factors - humidity, air flow, light spectrums, CO2 concentration, soil pH⌠- which can be simulated and modified separately to create ideal combinations, for each crop type. ChloĂŠ Rutzerveld extrapolates this research by imagining other possibilities: âImagine an era in which we cook with recipes for growth instead of ingredients! Purple or orange? Sweet or spicy? Very light or super dense? With more vitamin C? Personalized growth recipes turn your veg fantasies into reality. â
What will the supermarket of the future look like? This is the title of a collaborative exhibition which ChloĂŠ Rutzerveld took part in last September during Dutch Design Week. Visitors were able to discover a unique supermarket, featuring the food of tomorrow through seven themes: education, technology, non-food, packaging, health, food waste and protein transition. For example, she imagines Fusilli pasta could one day be sold like flat noodles, that curl up when cooked, resembling "Morphing Pasta" developed by the Morphing Matter Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. Her goal is to reduce packaging and the space occupied by products in transport and shelves. âMaybe in 2050, there will be no more supermarkets as we know them today,â says ChloĂŠ Rutzerveld, citing the rise of online shopping. âMaybe the supermarket is intended to become a place where we can taste, learn and influence the food we eat. Maybe soon we will be able to help grow our own cultures, or decide for ourselves what cells are used to make our meat. "
ChloĂŠ Rutzerveld documents her activities on her personal website and on Instagram. Heads up for her âFuture Food Dinnerâ where restaurants and chefs collaborate on future food âexperiencesâ, such as a meal built around eight raw vegan dishes, highlighting the different flavours, textures and experiences that new processing techniques and 3D printing can offer.
Strong Signals.
đŚđŞ When midnight feasts wake-up...
The global insomnia market could be worth $ 5,488 million within two years with a CAGR of + 4.2% over the period of 2017-2023. This includes both pharmacological solutions and alternative therapies: hypnotherapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy etc... In short, the sector is far from sleeping on its laurels and could still gain in popularity with the rise of functional foods.
Judge for yourself: âinsomniaâ and âanxietyâ each count for around 1.5M searches per month on Google, a figure that has doubled in just five years. While Covid-19 had an impact on the mental health and sleep of consumers, the latter increasingly seeing food as a solution to this problem, with 30K searches related to the subject on Google since the beginning of the year. Bearing this in mind, these searches fall into two categories, helping to fall asleep and the ability to cope with hunger pangs during the night.
In this sector, the most famous brand is probably the aptly named âNight Foodâ. Its concept? Healthy ice cream designed for night-time cravings: less sweet, less fatty, without additives and without preservatives, they are enriched with enzymes, probiotics and ingredients recognized for their relaxing properties such as tryptophan, magnesium, or vitamin B6. The brand stands out with its relaxed approach and has a marketing strategy that promotes healthy living - "more sport, less screens!" - as THE âsine qua nonâ for good sleep.
Other brands in this sector include Goodnight Food (US) and Effinâ Good Snacks (US) which revisit your favourite childhood cookies by replacing sugar and carbohydrates with protein and a blend of sweeteners based on allulose and monk fruit.
There is also a âdreamâ water that exists. Itâs enriched with tryptophan and melatonin and takes the form of gummy candies, and even yogurts from the Ene brand. Chocolate, rarely outdone in terms of trends, also offers its âsleepâ variations even if, as Professor Patrick Lemoine, author of the book âSleeping without drugs⌠or almostâ reminds us, some of its natural ingredients, theobromine and theine make it a pretty bad overnight companion. Be careful not to let yourself be put to sleep by over-convincing marketing ...
Whatâs next? This sector will probably be around in the long term. In addition to formulas based on tryptophan and melatonin, other molecules - especially those derived from herbal medicines such as rhodiola, ashwagandha, CBD, etc. - could perform well in the months to come.
đŤ Vegan, functional or laboratory made : chocolate reinvents itself.
In France, under the impetus - among others - of Covid, sales of chocolate and other confectionery in supermarkets climbed 14.2% between 2019 and 2020, according to the Kantar World panel research institute. The same dynamic for artisanal confection, while the Confederation of Chocolate Makers and Confectioners of France mentions a growth in consumption of around 10% over the same period. âComfort foodâ par excellence, chocolate has no shortage of ideas for reinventing itself on three major axes:
Vegan chocolate, a niche market? Far from it! While chocolate has been around a long time, vegan, milk and many other varieties have not. Spurred on by health and ethical awareness, the vegan chocolate market is expected to weigh in at $ 1 billion within six years. Something to inspire major manufacturers such as Ritter, Galaxy and Kit-Kat who are planning to launch vegan chocolate bars.Â
More niche brands, such Endangered Species (USA) and Happi (UK) have chosen to replace cow's milk with oat milk, while Fellow Creatures (UK) relies on coconut cream. Other variants based on pumpkin milk, macadamia nuts or even potatoes could soon be emergent. Some brands create new targeting selling points: Okono, for example, presents itself as a brand thatâs vegan and compatible with the keto diet.
The Functional Chocolate Boom. Not surprisingly, the trend is part of the general movement towards healthier eating. The Functional Company (US) makes chocolate that helps deal with multiple health related problems, from libido to stress, including painful periods, menopause and fatigue. Other examples of this are Addictive Wellness (UK) and its raw chocolates boosted with adaptogens and medicinal herbs, The Wizard Magic (UK) and its âmagicâ chocolates based on CBD. The brand also offers a version intended to promote immunity thanks to the addition of coenzyme Q10, vitamin K2 and D3 as well as an antimicrobial version thanks to manuka honey.Â
Chocolate In-vitro. After meat, foie-gras, honey and eggs, the laboratory cultivated chocolate is gaining ground. As the trend emerges, three start-ups are already positioning themselves in the niche. Voyage Foods (US) have developed a technology that can recreate any non-fibre food, including chocolate without cocoa, coffee without beans and peanut butter without peanuts. In the same vein, QOA (GER) manufactures 100% cocoa-free and entirely vegetable chocolate in Munich: the ingredients are fermented and then re-assembled in brewing tanks before being roasted and dried like normal cocoa. The start-up has set itself the goal of "doing for chocolate what Oatly did for milk" while claiming that its chocolate is ten times more sustainable and 20% cheaper to produce than a conventional bar. Finally, California Cultured (US) is developing a version that would be less bitter and require less sugar to be palatable.
Other trends to watch out for, and already increasingly used in Pet Food because chocolate can be dangerous for dogs, are carob-based alternatives, which are gaining ground in human foods too. Other products focus on unused parts of the cocoa bean. Created by the Snack Futures innovation hub of Mondelez International, the CaPao brand has been certified as part of the Up-cycled Food Association certification program. Its CaPao Cacaofruit (US) Bites are formulated with parts of the cocoa that are usually discarded after the beans are extracted. Finally, variants made with alternative sweeteners to sugar, such as chocolates from The Supplant (US), developed alongside Thomas Keller, the famous Michelin starred chef. How is it different? Itâs made from sugars found naturally in unused parts of cropped cereals (like stems, ears, and pods.) Sugar fibre retains the nutritional benefits of fibre, and because it's made from the unused parts of crops, it has the potential to increase production worldwide without harming the environment any further.
Weak Signals
đş Ancestral food attracts industries and consumers
If we have already mentioned the comeback of ancestral cuisine, itâs because the phenomenon is taking on a new scale. On Google, searches are on the rise as more and more brands are making it the main message of their brand.
Mayan remedies. Hungover ? Antidote Chocolate (US) 'hangover free' chocolate incorporates natural herbs and spices just like the Mayans used centuries ago. The brand teamed up with Intox-Detox who developed the blend. âWe brought science to the drinking table,â says Andy Bennett, CEO and Founder of Intox-Detox.
Ayurvedic-inspired holistic wellness. Cosmic Dealer (FR) offers Ayurvedic herbal infusions and chocolates as well as amazing CBD-infused t-shirts for skin-to-skin penetration. In the same vein, is You Again (US), a brand of pastry mixes: inspired by Ayurvedic foods, all the products are organic and free from milk, gluten, sugars, refined flour, additives and preservatives.
Seeds from Ancient Greece. Olyra Foods (US) entire image, including the logo, is dedicated to the Greek tradition. Organic breakfast cookies low in sugar, made from seeds such as lupine, barley, spelt and oats, which were gold dust for ancient Greek civilizations.
Medieval drinks. Sometimes used as a condiment to replace lemon or even on its own as a drink, Verjuice is a green grape juice whose origins date back to the Ancient past. It was very common in medieval cuisine because of its healing properties (digestion, heart burn ...). Many brands market this beverage such as WĂślfer Estate (US), Montinore (US) and Gueule de joie (FR).
đ đĽ Storytelling food
We recently told you about video games such as Tomb Raider that inspire cookbooks or âDalgona Coffeeâ inspired by the hit series Squid Game - this phenomenon is referred to as âdefictionalizationâ. Translation: the ability to anchor a fiction in the real world to surf this current trend better.
Table of Contents intend to create "unique experiences at the intersection of food, literature and culture". The brand wants to give life to references drawn from contemporary literature. In Murakami's book âKafka on the Shoreâ, for example, there is a passage where sardines fall from the sky, once there, the journalists who come to cover the event start to grill the fish and eat them. This scene inspired the Table of Content teams with a recipe called âFall from the Sky Mackerelâ aimed at extending the emotional connection of the story.
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is another example of this, dedicating an exhibition âThe Potato Eaters: Failure or Masterpieceâ to the work of the painter who once immortalized the potato as a simple peasant meal. But today we consume this product in a totally different way, so the opportunity has arisen for the museum to forge a partnership with CelaVita, a local potato producer. Something to inspire storytelling and much more than a recipe.
While AirbnB is increasing the number of defictionalization schemes with the rental of Winnie the Pooh's cabin, the house from the movie Scream or Carrie Bradshaw from the Sex and the City seriesâ apartment, many food schemes are yet to be invented, bringing more brand new IRL experiences to life.
Table talk
Family recipes take on another role with the application Dishtory, that allows you to save and share via audio, precious cooking memories. A simple but super clever concept.
A Food Waste Composter in every kitchen? A new wave of intelligent and automated composting systems that help the user turn their food waste into compost is emerging. According to the media outlet The Spoon, these new systems can cut composting time down from months to days. They use internal compressors and grinders to break down food and are often equipped with sensors that optimize the environment inside the composter, promoting growth of microbes and nutrients. Among the emerging brands are Lomi (CAN) or Tero (CAN) which claim to have the ability to transform food waste into compostable powder in 3 to 8 hours. A trendy topic that regularly fills the r/ZeroWaste community page on Reddit.
Growing Seeds That Have Taste with Row 7. A strong community spirit and a privileged relationship with chefs and amateur cooks are at the origin of this brand which helps create new varieties of seeds within its communities. Launched at the end of 2018, Row 7 has more than 50,000 followers on its Instagram account and continues to expand its range.
Recipes and QR codes. Thrive Market has just launched its first healthy cookbook "Healthy Living Made Easy." The book, available for purchase from ThriveMarket.com for $ 24.95, features over 60 healthy recipes, as well as "add to cart" QR codes for easy shopping.
Chipotle personalises its menus. The American fast-food chain recently added nutritional filters to its app and website chipotle.com, allowing customers to create a personalised menu by adding options such as vegan, paleo, gluten-free and soy free. Once selected, users will be presented with menu items compatible with their preferences. A device that could well inspire others.