Food Trends Report | Next-Gen Vanilla, Regenerative Agriculture, Plant-Based Mylk continues to rise …
In the spotlight
🍔 From fast food to fast good.
The McDonald's revolution started in the USA in 1940 and took off gradually in Europe in the 1970s, a phenomenon that was soon followed by other fast food giants. While there are signs that the restaurants we are used to are gradually losing market share, the fast food industry continues to grow. As proof, the global market is expected to grow from $972.74 billion in 2021 to $1,467.04 billion by 2028 with a CAGR of 6.05 per cent over this period. Burgers, sandwiches, pizza and pasta alone account for over half of the market.
But despite its popularity, the sector faces an image issue when it comes to health, sustainability and nutrition. In recent years, environmental awareness and cultural changes, such as the rise of veganism and animal welfare issues, have had a strong impact on the market, boosting the vegan fast food segment in parallel. According to Verified Market Research, the size of the vegan fast food market has been estimated at $17 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $40.25 billion by 2028 with a CAGR of 11.40 per cent over this period. A real threat — but also an opportunity — for the existing players.
Thus, many traditional fast food brands are re-branding their green credentials with vegan offerings and more sustainable processes. Starbucks, for example, has increased the number of plant-based milks on its menu and has introduced a sandwich with a plant-based alternative to fish. The same dynamic can be seen from pizza giant Domino's, which has launched several variations, such as the " the Vegan Basilica" — including vegan grated cheese —and the "Vegan Peppina." On the burger side, let's mention the partnership between Beyond Meat and McDonald's that led to the marketing of a vegan burger, the "McPlant". But the brand has just confirmed the end of this trial, which lasted three years... Disappointing sales? First attempts too modest? Because it is not enough to add vegan products, it is also necessary to embody the approach. Burger King has gone a step further by anchoring its vegan offer in the framework of well thought-out events. For example, the American chain opened an entirely vegan outlet in London this year. Last july, the brand even made its meatless patty the default menu for a day as part of a campaign in Austria. Thanks to its partnership with Impossible Foods, the chain claims that 50 per cent of its menu will be plant-based by the end of the decade. Quite a turnaround.
Also noteworthy is the arrival of a new generation of 100 per cent vegan players with strong societal positions as differentiating factors. Among them, French startup Furahaa, a Swahili term meaning joy and happiness. Its particularity? Its founder, Arthur Devillers, is non-hearing and therefore particularly aware of how difficult it is for people with this type of disability to find a job. He therefore set himself the mission of developing a network of franchises with the aim of encouraging the recruitment of employees with hearing impairments. In the USA, actor and producer Kevin Hart recently made waves with the launch of his first vegan fast food restaurant in Los Angeles, Hart House. The startup has already planned to build two new restaurants and has leased several other locations. In addition to offering quality vegan burgers, the brand claims to offer its employees good working conditions at a time when the employment crisis and labour shortage are raging in the United States. Here, in addition to a basic hourly wage of between $19 and $22 (compared to an average of $16 in Los Angeles), the workers enjoy unprecedented social benefits. Among them, a series of discounts on products and services designed to optimize daily life. In addition, workers can also open a savings account with the Sunny Day Fund, to which Hart House applies a premium interest rate to encourage employees to save. For every $200 deposited, Hart House pays an additional $20.
In this booming market, let's also mention the Dutch franchise Vegan Junk Food Bar — with strong HR values — which is on its seventh opening in Europe. The same dynamics can be found in the US company Nomoo, which promises salaries higher than the minimum wage, or in the French company Velicious Burger, which is involved in environmental projects.
What should we take away? If fast food is not escaping the veganism wave, it is a much broader movement that is taking place: that of a more environmentally and socially responsible offer. In a few years, the fast food landscape could be completely redesigned according to key values, as is already the case in some supermarkets, such as Bubble or The Goods Mart, which allow consumers to choose their brands and products according to their values: sustainability, inclusion, parity, etc.
🤖 When DALL-E 2 inspires the food industry.
From classical painters to contemporary food designers, gastronomy continues to inspire multiple artistic representations. And in the coming years, this phenomenon could go even further with the development and refinement of artificial intelligence (AI) programs capable of creating images from text descriptions. In January 2021, OpenAI officially unveiled a first attempt with an avocado-shaped chair. This year, its AI tool — dubbed DALL-E 2 — is entering beta: initially reserved for a small, happy few, it is gradually being rolled out to a million people and will then become a paid service. Here’s an overview of these early use cases applied to food.
Original marketing campaigns. Earlier this year, Heinz launched its "Heinz Draw Ketchup" campaign. The concept? A drawing contest organized anonymously where participants from 18 countries were invited to draw their vision of an ordinary ketchup bottle. Interestingly, the majority of the drawings allegedly associated ketchup with Heinz. Based on this insight, the brand used these designs as part of an advertising campaign. Then, surfing on the launch of DALL-E 2, Heinz took the opportunity to add a new impulse to its campaign by publishing the visuals generated by the AI. But if the brand claims that the AI also associated ketchup with Heinz, some Twitter users questioned the veracity of this information when their own queries on the tool did not deliver the same results... Controversy or not, the campaign made its mark.
Renewing stock image to escape uniformity. Go to iStock, type "food" and you will get no less than 29 million results. Type "food image" on Google and you get nearly 68K queries (August 2022). In other words, generic visuals are highly sought after and going through DALL-E could allow for a little more creativity in these catalogues of images that are sometimes a bit too uniform...
AI-powered culinary design. It's a fact: we eat with our eyes first. No wonder food is ubiquitous on Instagram! What if DALL-E could provide more ideas for food presentation? In a blog post, OpenAI explained how Israeli chef Tom Aviv was inspired by DALL-E to create the menu, decor and atmosphere of his next restaurant. His team used the tool to create the Picasso chocolate mousse, whose sculptural design is a tribute to the chef's parents.
New dishes, new experiences. DALL-E could also help design a new experiential food service offering, starting in the bar and café sector, where many cocktail and latté iterations already demonstrate the potential of AI. Taking the concept even further, one could also imagine integrating DALL-E courses in schools to foster creativity among chefs, or even to develop new fusion cuisine recipes. For the more curious, the Twitter account WeirdAIchef by data scientist Max Woolf — who works at Buzzfeed — shares very convincing visuals of cronut-za, pizza-burger and taco-salad in a bottle... In short, everything has yet to be invented.
Strong Signals
🤩 Plant-based milk continues to morph.
The days when plant-based milk was limited to a few soy, oat or almond-based products are long gone. From now on, there is something for everyone: buckwheat milk, rice milk, peanut milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, potato milk... If we already gave you a retrospective of the innovations in the sector a few months ago, we are back at it again, as things have evolved since then. From new recipes to new formats and new health claims, here is an overview of the latest trends in the field.
After potato milk, what's next? Thanks to the Swedish company Dug, potato milk has been the subject of many online articles, especially for its home-made version. Now, it is sesame milk that seems to be gaining popularity. Even if it already existed, notably with the brand Ecomil, let's mention the American Hope and Sesame, which plays the sustainability card by betting on this drought tolerant and self-pollinating plant. In addition, the brand is committed to upcycling the residues from sesame oil production. Credit also goes to Malibu Milk's flaxseed milk, a superfood that is the largest source of vegan omega-3 and has digestive and anti-inflammatory benefits. Also, credit goes to American beer giant Coors, which stands out with the launch of a barley milk called Golden Wing. And that's not all: get ready for Pigmentum’s lettuce milk... the same start-up that also wants to produce vanilla lettuce.
In powder, paste or concentrated version: plant milk is undergoing a transformation!
Milk in brick or bottle: has-been? Even when plant-based milk is packaged in an eco-responsible way (recyclable Tetra Pak cartons, packaging made from renewable vegetable materials, PET bottles with recyclable inks and labels...), the solution is still far from perfect: these bulky packages still consume a lot of carbon in their transport and storage process. Not to mention the fact that these products must be kept cool once opened and consumed quickly to avoid waste. This has prompted some brands to take up the issue. For example, La Mandorle has for many years been offering instant almond milk preparation in the form of concentrated powder. The same goes for Upright and its powdered version of oat milk. In France this summer, Bonneterre launched a concentrated version of 50cl of its oat milk, to which you just have to add 50cl of water to reconstitute one liter. But there is more: Joi and Ulu Hye both propose a paste version to dilute, while GoodMylk offers a concentrated frozen version.
Kid-friendly offers. For several years now, vegetable versions of milk for infants and toddlers have been appearing, particularly because of intolerances and allergies to animal proteins. On the other hand, there was no real offer of plant-based milk for young children... until the arrival of the well-named Kiki. Organic, without colourants or preservatives, this oat-based milk is rich in proteins and fatty acids thanks to the addition of superfoods such as sprouted pumpkin seeds and amla. In addition, its packaging embodied by a dragon with rainbow wings fits perfectly with its target market. Another brand in this segment, Ripple Kids, adds prebiotic fibres to its vegetable milks, as well as DHA-type omega-3 and choline to help brain development.
Functional options. Surfing on the current trends, plant milk is also focusing on variations that are increasingly oriented towards health claims. Picnik offers plant-based coffee milks and creams, enriched with adaptogens and collagen. Another example is Phasey which specializes in functional food to address hormonal issues: the brand markets a "Moodmilk" with hemp seed powder to be mixed with plant-based milk. The goal? Fight mood swings, stress and cramps induced by menstruation and inflammation in general.
🍝 The end of artificial food colourants?
After cutting down sugar, are artificial colourants next? If, a priori, they are not essential from a product point of view, they are essential in the sensory experience: according to a study by Emerald Insights, 90 per cent of consumers would make their purchase decision after seeing the colour of a product. A report even showed that the addition of red food colouring could boost the perception of sugar in a drink by +11 per cent. It is not for nothing that these colourings, whether natural or artificial, represent a huge market.
And yet, artificial dyes are suspected of being the cause of respiratory problems, allergies and even hyperactivity in some children. Worse still, they are responsible for triggering carcinogenic processes. Of course, there are natural alternatives with many players on the market such as the Polish Aroma Colors, the Swiss Firmenich, the Danish Oterra, the American IFC Solutions or the Peruvian Imbarex, but their products remain expensive for large-scale production.
Things could change, however, thanks to a new generation of startups. First of all, there are those who will source colour naturally, using mushrooms or algae, for example. This is the positioning of Spira with its "Electric Sky" pigment that is also rich in antioxidants. But the big revolution lies in companies that exploit the tools of modern biotechnology. The benefits? Meeting consumer demands for healthy, eco-friendly food as well as industry standards for quality and profitability. Among the brands in the niche, let's mention the Israeli Phylon or the Danish Chromologics, which develops fungal fermentation solutions for the production of natural pigments. Food has definitely not finished making us see all the colours.
Weak signals.
🌱 Regenerative agriculture is taking centre stage.
For many years, intensive agriculture has used techniques and products (herbicides, pesticides, etc.) that have had disastrous consequences on our soils and crops, as well as on our health. The UN estimates that three quarters of the planet's land has been largely degraded by human activities since the beginning of the industrial era. Therefore, sustainable agriculture — which takes into account animal welfare, the environment and consumer health — tends to be lauded, especially the so-called regenerative agriculture, which has even been the subject of the documentary Kiss the Ground on Netflix.
What are the objectives? To increase biodiversity, capture atmospheric carbon from the soil, optimize the water cycle and optimize ecosystem services. To achieve this, many startups are launching themselves on each of these verticals, while others, such as Agreena, are focusing on supporting farmers in their transition.
As a logical consequence, more and more products resulting from this regeneration are emerging and intend to display this statement explicitly. Beyond the labels that are developing, like the ROC, some are using it as a differentiating positioning like Helpful Hens eggs, Vital Farms "restorative eggs" or Moonshot "climate-friendly" crackers. But the phenomenon can go even further than simple branding. For example, the soon-to-be-released Varietal Crop Crackers are crackers whose flavours are designed from an assortment of wheat, legumes and seeds, all planted in a crop rotation, an age-old technique that promotes healthy, productive soil. The different product lines will be marketed in three different variations that represent the crop of the year. In a similar vein, the Banana B-Sides ice cream developed by the laboratory and consulting firm Future Market is made up of 31 types of bananas with the aim of highlighting the biodiversity of these and the communities that grow them. Indeed, while there are more than 1,000 varieties worldwide, the Cavendish has imposed itself as a standard, making the market dependent on this variety and encouraging intensive agriculture. In short, there is no question about putting all your bananas in one basket!
🌸 Next-gen vanilla: watch out for it!
Queen of desserts, vanilla is one of the most consumed spices in the world. If science is to be believed, we are even programmed to love it. In fact, vanillin is said to have a structure very similar to one of the components of breast milk. It's no surprise then that the market — valued at $2,715.93 million in 2020 by Mordor Intelligence — is expected to continue to grow at a CAGR of 5.64 per cent between 2021 and 2026.
But there is a catch: as supply struggles to keep up with demand, prices are exploding, fraud is growing and propelling vanilla to the podium of the most expensive spice in the world, just after saffron. The causes are multifactorial, starting with the particularly complex and time-consuming growing conditions. Indeed, the plants only start producing pods after three years. When they finally bloom, the flowers remain open for only one day and must be carefully pollinated by hand between 8 and 12 hours after their blooming, at the risk of seeing the flower fade and stop the development of the pod. This is followed by a ripening process of about seven months, then picking and drying, which takes an average of six months. The other factor is related to climate hazards: Madagascar, which has more than 80 per cent of world’s production, was affected by a cyclone in 2017 and then a tropical storm in 2020, which has greatly impacted its crops and caused prices to soar to $600 per kilo in 2018 ... or more expensive than a kilo of silver. This year again, Madagascar's vanilla production is expected to drop by 35 per cent.
Thus, researchers are working to better understand this plant, optimize its cultivation and find alternatives. It must be said that vanilla is an amazing spice insofar as it is the only orchid cultivated for food use and almost all vanilla marketed in the world is the fruit of a single species, Vanilla planifolia. A CNRS consortium has recently succeeded in sequencing 83 per cent of its genome to open the door to the more targeted and rapid creation of new varieties. In parallel, several startups are exploring new ways to produce vanilla in a more sustainable, reliable and profitable way.
Tropical farmhouses and hi-tech cultivation for novel flavours? Founded in 2020, Israeli start-up Vanilla Vida is on a mission to make natural flavours more accessible while freeing manufacturers from their dependence on synthetic flavours. The company claims to be the first to develop a commercial solution for the entire vanilla value chain, from cultivation to the final product. To do this, it has developed a greenhouse cultivation protocol: the control of the atmosphere and the automation of production make it possible to free oneself from climate hazards, to accelerate the drying process and to increase the yields. The figures put forward by the firm? Five times more vanilla per square foot, +80% of the aroma and a growth cycle and the curing process reduced by 20 and 85%, respectively. This innovation should also help expand vanilla-producing countries in the short term: in an interview with Techcrunch, the company — which has already raised $15 million — claims to be able to make visible changes in the supply chain starting in 2024 or 2025.
But natural vanilla is not alone in its revolution. Synthetic vanillin — which accounts for the majority of vanilla consumed worldwide — is made primarily from petrochemicals. Therefore, several avenues are being explored to propose more sustainable production methods. Examples include the Norwegian startup Borregaard, which manufactures vanillin from wood pulp, and the Israeli company Pigmentum, which has a project based on lettuce. Another promising avenue is fermentation, as in the work of EV Biotech and Spero Renewables, which has found a way to create vanillin by fermenting ferulic acid in corn fibres.
Short stories from the bar counter.
Chefclub was invited to Snapchat’s “Grille de Rentrée 2022”, where, following the intervention by Grégory Gazagne (Managing Director of Snapchat France), Chefclub’s co-founder and CEO, Thomas Lang, had the opportunity to present Chefclub’s catalog of programming that the production studio is developing and the range of opportunities for partnerships with outside brands.
Chefclub Adventures, the studio’s new animated series, was one of the five finalists selected by the 2022 MIPJUNIOR Project Pitch Kids competition during the MIPCOM in Cannes.
Chefclub allied with Too Good To Go to create a four-hand recipe, using one of Too Good To Go’s surprise baskets. The video has since been watched more than 1 million times on social media platforms.
Chefclub has also partnered with McCain to unveil all the secrets of their French fries. In addition to eight video recipes that feature the famous McCain fries, Chefclub produced an exclusive video broadcasted on its Discoveries show on Snapchat which highlights the “from field to plate” concept. The video presents behind-the-scenes footage that goes into the making of McCain’s fries, starting with the testimony of a French agriculturist explaining his day-to-day work in the potato fields as well as testimony by one of the production site managers. In all, the partnership should generate more than 20 million views and 2 million engagement marks in France.
Curiosities spotted this month. Papas Pops "skinless" popcorn puts an end to the pain of skins that get stuck between your teeth! We also spotted Kellog's Instabowls, bowls of cereal in individual portions that contain powdered milk that can be activated by adding cold water. Also worth mentioning are GreenHouse Foods' vegan doughnuts, which go perfectly with Karma water and its "pushed cap technology", which releases the vitamins into the water at the last minute so as not to lose their effectiveness. As for Just Nosh, we bet on the beauty and slimming argument with bars high in collagen and plant proteins. Another alternative: Clio Snacks yogurt bars or, more surprisingly, Scramblers' omelette bars. And for those with a sweet tooth, there's the myco revolution with fungi chocolate from Vehicle Chocolates, gummies from OMFG (editor's note: that reads "Oh my fungy Gummies") or collagen-enriched marshmallows from Max Sweets. And to finish on a small Arabica note, the CoffeeB coffee ball is designed without plastic or aluminum. Is the Nespresso capsule machine in jeopardy?
Mexico, Mexiiiiico! In August 2022, "Mexican food" was searched 2.7M times on Google worldwide. To understand the extent of this craze, consider that a year earlier, the search had been typed 1.2M times. Tacos, burritos, tortas ... all queries are soaring. And this is not limited to food: after the fashion of tequila and mezcal, another alcoholic drink is gaining popularity, the pulque. On Google, the latter was searched 110K times in July 2022, an increase of +122 per cent in four years. Called "the drink of the Gods" in reference to the Aztec era when it was reserved for invocatory uses, this beverage is obtained by fermenting agave juice — it is generally between 2 and 8 per cent alcohol — and looks like a mix between cider and kombucha. Popular with Mexican hipsters, the hashtag #pulque has generated 89.1M views on TikTok.
Learning by eating. PassaTempo, a Brazilian cookie developed by Nestlé, has decided to replace the animal drawings on its products with symbols from sign language. Each cookie displays a letter and the outline of a hand signing that letter. Children can line up the cookies to spell out words or names and learn to sign them. Not every package of cookies includes all the letters, so an accompanying website — for parents and educators — offers additional signing instructions and the ability to download a PNG to spell a person's name. In short, it's content marketing at its finest.
Ready to go “plogging”? This summer, in South Korea, marketing agency Cheil Worldwide launched a campaign called "Seanack," which turns coastal waste into a currency to buy snacks from a custom food truck. The objective? To raise awareness regarding ocean litter and encourage plogging, an activity that combines jogging and litter picking.
Food in the age of conversational commerce. An announcement made a lot of noise this summer: in India — the world champion in terms of WhatsApp users — it is now possible to shop for food at JioMart directly from the messaging application. Strongly inspired by the Chinese application WeChat, this form of commerce, called Conversational Commerce (C-commerce), should quickly become more widespread, since according to Future Market Insight projections, its compound annual growth rate is estimated at +15.6 per cent between 2022 and 2032. Its advantage? It compensates for the lack of personalization in the shopping experience and can be strategic in certain key stages of the process, notably to recover abandoned baskets, help consumers find the right products or develop the audience and generate leads. And the examples are on the rise: the German brand of vegan boxed meals Every took advantage of the month of January — known as veganism month — to create a campaign called "veganuary". This has allowed the brand to build loyalty and acquire new customers through educational content, product launches and VIP events, such as joint yoga classes.