Market Trends

Pic:getty/courtneyk

Where do sports drinks stand in a growing functional beverage market?

By Rachel Arthur

The increased demand for functional food and drink is anticipated to boost sports drinks sales – and yet, at the same time, growing functional claims across neighboring categories is likely to stiffen competition. How should sports drinks navigate this...

GettyImages/hemul75

NPD Trend Tracker: From vegan jerk chicken to upcycled strawberry gin

By Flora Southey

In this latest edition of our new product development photo gallery, we look at new vegan convenient snacks hitting the supermarket aisle – notably a meatless jerk chicken style flatbread and a madras chicken style flatbread. Elsewhere, we cover a gin...

One persona WGSN has predicted to emerge in 2024 is the 'Experientialist' - which likes to fluctuate between digital and physical reality. GettyImages/FluxFactory

What will consumer groups want from food and drink come 2024?

By Flora Southey

To better understand how consumers will behave in the future, WGSN has developed new ‘personas’ industry should expect to cater for in 2024. Claire Lancaster, strategist at WGSN Food & Drink outlines two: the ‘Mindful Nurturists’ and the ‘Experientialists’.

Think beyond the burger to drive plant-based sales, data suggests / Pic: GettyImages-Barmalini

Promoting plant-based: What motivates people to eat less meat?

By Katy Askew

Environmental concerns don’t motivate consumers to replace meat products with plant-based alternatives, new research suggests. So, what does prompt people to make the swap? And how can the food industry tap into this to support growth in the plant-based...

Sustainability trend takes back seat as cost of living crisis bites

Sustainability trend takes back seat as cost of living crisis bites

By Oliver Morrison

The sustainability trend, characterised by consumers seeking food and beverage products perceived as having a lesser impact on the environment, is waning as shopper concern shifts to saving money in the face of significant inflationary pressures.

The new report is called ‘Halving the environmental impact of the UK packaging system: How industry and key stakeholders can work together to drive positive change.’ Pic: Getty Images/o-che

IGD report urges packaging strategy rethink

By Jim Cornall

IGD has published a new report to help the food and consumer goods industry drive progress towards the shared ambition of halving the environmental impact of the UK packaging system by 2030.

There’s plenty of truth that ‘we eat first with our eyes', coined by Apicius, a well-known Roman gourmand from the 1st Century. Pic: GettyImages/Renphoto

The psychology of colour in baking

By Gill Hyslop

Colour is one of the most important sensory cues when it comes to choosing what to eat – influencing what consumers see, what they taste and what they feel while doing it. How can bakery brands capitalise on this?

Pic: GettyImages-rawpixel

NPD Trend Tracker: From cricket spread to plant-based snacking

By Katy Askew

In this week's round-up of product launches, Pladis brings world flavours to the snacking aisle, Fry's Family Food Co introduces two new alternative chicken products to the freezer aisle and we hear about the launch of a new protein spread made...

Image: Next Home

Scraping social media for hot beverage trends

By Oliver Morrison

Love them or loath them, social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram offer fertile ground where brands can spot quickly emerging food and beverage trends that can guide product development.

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