At the end of each year, the large consulting firms in food production, consumer product promotion and gastronomic marketing publish reports on the main food trends for the new year.
Many of the decision makers of different companies in the industry rely on these reports to have a more or less accurate compass of where consumer preferences for food products are heading. However, establishing these trends does not respond only to seeing which products were sold the most in the market, or what things are in fashion on social networks.
For this reason, it is that when reviewing different reports, one can realize that in reality, few are the points in which they coincide, depending not only on the audience to whom they are directed, but also the methodology followed to make the “predictions ”. In the end, it is not that you have a crystal ball to analyze the future, but you have to take into account an exhaustive analysis not only of how consumers have behaved in the previous year, but also of social and historical conditions , economic and ecological through which we go to try to understand where we are going. Venturing to predict certain behaviors is like trying to read the future. Last year it happened when, as a result of the first news about the existence of vaccines against Covid-19, it was predicted that by the middle of 2021 luxury dinners in restaurants were going to take hold, which did not happen as expected.
The recovery of the gastronomic industry has been slow, and in terms of consumer products, it is evident that the logistics crisis continues for certain inputs. One point where several reports coincide is on the return to the local. Some consumers do it out of activism (out of awareness of the increased production of polluting gases involved in the transport of goods), but many others will also do it because they will see it reflected in the increase in prices of some products.
There are other trends that are easier to follow, since they are not limited to a chronological year, but to events resulting from the behavior of a generation or the use of the Internet, for example. Among these trends, we find that the younger generations are giving a little more value to the cultural significance of what they eat since, before now, they had rarely questioned the historical or cultural value of a specific product.
Another trend that is not limited to a single year is the concern for healthy food. However, in the last two years of the pandemic this category was not the strongest, since the uncertainty and physical and mental exhaustion that the pandemic has left, has made consumers turn to see more nostalgic food or that gives them comfort. In addition to these findings, it is common to find that a specific ingredient will become fashionable (due to product positioning relationships) or that there is a return of a certain type of very popular dishes at some other time. The truth is that beyond the “trends” we can understand that our decisions are the product of the historical moments and circumstances that we have had to live, beyond an individual taste.
Food and society columnist
POINT AND HOW
Food and society columnist. Gastronaut, observant and foodie. She is a researcher in the sociology of food, and a nutritionist. She is president and founder of Funalid: Foundation for Food and Development.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx