HARRISBURG, Pa. — Taking gourmet shortcuts, being more thoughtful about meat choices, the growing number of child-free shoppers, more men taking over food decisions and more consideration being given to the ethics behind products are among top trends facing today’s marketers identified by food and beverage marketing agency Pavone. Its most recent and third annual study is titled “Five Things You Need to Know.”
“The world is changing fast, but the food and beverage industry is changing even faster,” said Michael Pavone, president. “We know that based on the sheer number of trends we uncovered in our research and how fast some of those movements developed. When we compiled this report, we started with dozens of trends, but the ones in this report are the ones we feel will have the broadest impact over the next several years.”
This third annual trend study is based on in-depth research, analysis and contributions from leaders in the manufacturing, innovation, academic and agricultural areas of the food and beverage industries.
Trends outlined include:
- Gourmet shortcuts – Although more consumers are trying to improve their cooking skills, they don’t necessarily want to prepare everything from scratch. Select shortcuts by trusted culinary authorities are time-saving tools for home chefs.
- Meaty issues – Americans’ opinions about meat and protein sources are changing thanks to an increase in education and awareness. Although most consumers won’t become vegan, they will become more thoughtful about their meat choices.
- Adults only – Two-thirds of American households are childless. Child-free shoppers spend, eat and drink differently, and marketing should adapt accordingly.
- Guy food – More men today are sharing or taking over food decisions and they make decisions differently.
- Conscious consumption – More consumers are considering the ethics behind the products when choosing what to eat, where to buy it, how to prepare it and how to get rid of it.
