Throughout the past years we’ve seen a transition to a more health-conscious and aware nation and consumers who are seeking not only healthier versions of foods, but also more natural and authentic products and brands behind their foods. We’ve seen this transition over the past few years with the extreme rise in popularity of trends like gluten-free, low-carb, kale, plant-centric dishes, the call for hormone and GMO free foods, and a greater presence of local and organic products in every type of grocery store. And 2017 will continue this idea branching into innovative and new uses of produce and plants, as well as a continued influence of ethnic cuisines and flavors on recipes, products and techniques.
So here’s a list of trends you can expect to see everywhere from restaurant menus to your local Target grocery shelves:
The Goat’s Got It
This hot new protein and dairy source is from a very old and already popular animal around the rest of the world – goats. Goat dairy products such as milk and especially cheese will begin to be more common ingredients in restaurant dishes, as well as offerings in grocery store delis. Along with their dairy offerings, goat meat is also increasing in popularity in the US and catching up with the rest of the world’s consumption, with its lower fat and higher protein percentage than most other meats being an appealing alternative to pork and beef.
Fat is Back
Despite what you might’ve been taught in elementary school health class and what you know of the traditional food pyramid, fats are back in style thanks to more research on not only weight loss and overall health, but to the low-carb movement that has swept the food world over the past few years. Not only does it fit into just about every food lifestyle out there; low-carb, paleo, Whole 30, etc, research has pointed to the fact that healthy fats provide the body more energy and help improve brain function. Some examples of what you will see more of:
- Avocados used as a non-traditional ingredient, like avocado toast
- Traditional style butter – take for instance, the rise in popularity of the Kerrygold brand of Irish butter
- Even more selections and offerings of nut butters
Plant Based Beefs Up
It’s no doubt that the veggie-centric plate is going nowhere, and that the use of produce and plants in non-traditional ways will only continue to make its way further into the mainstream food world; take for instance, plant butchery.
Plant Butchery uses plant-based ingredients such as chickpeas, corn, legumes and fungi as the base to make faux meat products like steaks, ground “beef”, chicken wings and even cheese, and this trend is on the rise. At the head of this trend is the brother/sister duo out of Minneapolis, MN who started their plant butchery, The Herbivorous Butcher, years ago as a pop-up stand that took online orders and has now opened a brick and mortar butcher shop, as well as offering online ordering.
Sophisticated Drinks and Soups
Mocktails and “wellness tonics” that use fresh-pressed juices, flavored teas, sipping vinegars and muddled herbs/spices are beginning to replace not only sodas, but also your basic teas and cold-pressed juices. Ahead of this curve are brands like Suja and Jus with Jules with their probiotic waters, drinking vinegars and probiotic cold pressed coffee.
Along with the movement to more wellness beverages, you will also start to see this trend rub off on soups as well. Chefs and brands are starting to use more whole and natural ingredients in their soups to add more texture as consumers want more of the nutrients and fiber from the fruits and veggies in their soups. Along with more “natural” soups you’ll also see more and more made with other trendy ingredients like bone broth, and lentils and even cold based gazpachos.
Extreme Indulgences
With every year in food trends, you can always except to see some sort of dessert or sweet also make its way to the top of the list – think cronuts and artisanal ice cream treats of years past. This year you can expect to start seeing more indulgent versions of our favorite sweet treats, including everything from donuts piled high with chocolate, cereal and bacon, to milkshakes topped with brownies, drizzles and marshmallow.
Other Trends You Can Expect To See
- Hand Pulled Chinese noodles – similar to the experience of watching sushi being made, the technique of Chinese hand pulled noodles carries the same excitement and capitalizes on the trend for fresh food that is experiential.
- “Healthy” Comfort Foods – cauliflower pizza crust, broccoli tater tots and portabella burgers are becoming the hot recipes and search topics on Pinterest as consumers feel the need to find healthier versions of their favorite foods. Check out our more in-depth post on this trend here:
- Even More Bowls – with the rise of smoothie bowls, expect to start seeing more “bowl” foods like poke, ramen and oatmeal on more menus. The appeal of bowl foods to consumers is the ability to customize to not only the flavors they enjoy, but also to their dietary needs without being a disruptive customer.
- Vegetable Flavored Yogurt – think sweet and savory type flavors like sweet potato, carrot ginger and tomato basil.
What’s Leveling Out
Just like most trends, some things stick around and just become part of daily life, but some will eventually lose steam and either go away completely or just hang around in a small way. Here are some trends we’ve seen over the past few years blow up, but have backed down:
- Kale – you will start to see less of a concentration of it on restaurant menus and grocery shelves, and instead, more selections of other greens like chard, beet greens, mustard greens and carrot tops. Don’t worry though, kale isn’t going away, it’s just become more mainstream and made way for the acceptance of some of the other beautiful greens.
- Gluten-Free Everything – for a while there, you couldn’t go anywhere without running into a package or sign shouting, Gluten-Free! at you. And while gluten-free options and products are here to stay permanently, you can expect to see a slight shift away from a major emphasis on highlighting it as a feature on products.
What Trends Are Here To Stay
Every so often, we see trends that become so popular, they just become part of daily life and what is the new norm of expected from brands, companies or restaurants.
- Food Waste Reduction – the practice of reducing food waste is not just a trend anymore, but is expected by consumers, whether it’s through the re-use of food scraps or unwanted bits, or the re-purposing of “ugly” produce items.
- Locally Sourced – whether it’s restaurant produce and meats, or offerings at the grocery store, locally sourced items are here to stay as consumers are becoming more aware of where they’re produce and meat originate from.
Wondering how the new food trends of 2017 can apply to your products or brand, and how you can capture the excitement of these new ideas? Drop us an email and we’d be happy to chat.
