Food Consumer Insights

Trend - CPG brands and restaurants are launching foods made with chai ingredients. Chai is popular in drinks for its strong, spicy, floral flavor, and its health benefits. This is now being made available to non-tea-drinkers in the form of snacks, breakfast bars, bakery items, and packaged goods.

Insight - The modern consumer in North America has countless flavors from international locations available to them for snacks, drinks, and foods. These consumers are willing to try new flavors, pairings, or interpretations of recipes, to find a new flavor, with priority given to functional foods. Some of the most popular flavors for drinks, such as chai tea or blue curacao in alcohol, are often only found in beverages, making it difficult for certain customers to ever try these flavors.

Trend - Amid the rising cost of chicken set on by the pandemic, restaurants are turning to dark meat alternatives for chicken wings. Chicken thighs are meatier and often richer in taste, making them a popular choice for QSR brands across North America. These are served fried, tossed, or with sauces.

Insight - Restaurants were of the industries hit the hardest by the pandemic, with rising costs of supply and an ever-dwindling consumer base willing to dine in. Following the pandemic, while indoor dining has returned, prices and supply have yet to return to normal. Restaurants with affected supply sought alternative products to ensure steady supply and affordable pricing, creating demand for typically less-used parts of foods in North America, such as chicken thighs or feet.

Trend - CPG brands and food manufacturers are launching cheese-based products made with upcycled ingredients. These products have reduced carbon footprints and long shelf lives. Brands use upcycled ingredients acquired from manufacturing byproducts and excess storage to reduce cost and waste.

Insight - While many consumers prioritize environmentally or socially-friendly products over alternatives, some consumers are unwilling to pay increased costs for these products. These consumers only opt for these products when the price and quality are comparable to the alternatives. This cost-conditional desire has led to brands finding ways to produce environmentally friendly foods while maintaining, or even reducing, production costs. Brands appeal to these customers by turning to upcycling.

Trend - Restaurants and food brands are launching pastries infused with both taro and cheese, combining the sweet, nutty flavor of taro with the rich, savory flavor of cheese. Taro is traditionally found in dishes across East Asia and is now gaining popularity in pastries in North America.

Insight - Consumers are drawn to pastries for their versatility. Pastries can be sweet and sugary, fruity and healthy, or rich and savory. Each consumer may have different preferences, leading to brands consistently experimenting with new ingredients to include in pastries. Some brands have responded to this pressure by looking to cultural recipes from other regions. Out of these recipes, customers in North America have shown interest in mixed taro and cheese pastries for their blended flavors.

Trend - F&B brands are combining the Japanese rice cake mochi with cheese to create more novel flavors and textures in their desserts. Offerings like mochi-based dessert cheese and savory mochi bagels show how brands are experimenting with the popular food.

Insight - Social influences like multiculturalism and social media have made consumers more likely to explore different cuisines, whether that's in eating, cooking, or in the products they purchase. Now, people want a variety of options when it comes to their preferred dishes--ones that range from authentic to experimental.

Trend - Cheddar is becoming a popular ingredient in desserts--combining sweet and savory flavors for consumers with relatively adventurous palettes. Brands are offering novelty products like cheese-flavored ice cream, or they're creating cheddar dessert snacks that would appeal to more consumers.

Insight - Social media has made more consumers branch out of their comfort zones, including in what they choose to eat and drink. As people are introduced to interesting cuisines, ingredients, and "hacks," they're more open to trying flavors and combinations that were previously unknown to them. Brands that combine novelty with universally loved flavors are able to appeal to more consumers.

Trend - Users on various social media pages are sharing simplistic, personalizable pasta recipes with cheese as a base. These recipes are accessible enough for any user to join the trend and versatile enough for each content creator to add their own touch to the viral dishes.

Insight - One of the main attractions to food and home cooking is that it brings people together. One evergreen desire for modern consumers is interpersonal connection. People enjoy cooking with their families, friends, and even strangers. When people find breakthroughs or believe strongly in a dish, they take to the internet to share it with others worldwide. These recipes become viral due to a consumer desire for connection and interaction with content creators and other users.

Trend - As more food retailers prioritize sustainability, coatings made from eco-friendly materials are being used to individually wrap and protect produce. On top of being eco-friendly, these coatings and wraps prevent spoilage and bruising to extend the produce's lifespan.

Insight - While most industries are putting more effort into environmental protection, products in this space can be less efficient or durable. Sustainability is increasingly important to consumers, but they don't want their sustainability efforts to inconvenience their lifestyles. As the market for eco-friendly products expands, brands that are able to prioritize sustainable practices while equally balancing the product's efficacy will stand out most.

Trend - Freeze-dried snacks, ingredients, and supplements are becoming popular--particularly in natural foods that lose nutritional value with other, more common preservation methods. Freeze-dried products guarantee shelf-stability and nutrition, while their airy texture offers sensory appeal.

Insight - The better-informed consumers become, the more discerning they are with the brands they choose to purchase from. While natural ingredients in food & wellness-related industries still have high appeal, more consumers are weary of these claims when they don't align with what they now know about production, sourcing, and the efficacy of ingredients and claims. These consumers turn to brands that make the extra effort in maintaining high production standards and quality products.

Trend - Brands in the home appliance space are launching smart fridges with UV light-controlled crispers that mimic the sun cycle. These fridges extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables and ensure the foods retain as many vitamins as possible. This technology saves consumers money and time.

Insight - As North American consumers become more interested in personal health and wellness, these consumers incorporate this lifestyle into their daily routines. This includes healthy eating, exercise, and other wellness products. However, as natural, organic foods often retail for more than the regular alternatives, these consumers aim to reduce costs and preserve their foods for longer. This created a space in the industry for smart storage appliances that extend the life of foods.