Taste of London Food Festival is the ultimate foodie festival. Bringing together a blend of the city’s best restaurants and innovative food and drinks brands. Beautifully located in Regents Park, Taste of London is the perfect excuse to spend the day truly feasting, eating your way around a celebration of flavours, cuisines and cultures. Inspiring anyone who steps in to taste something new, discover an innovative brand, and put their own cookery skills to the test.
Here are ten trend take-aways from Taste of London Food Festival:
Cans in hands
We’ve known that convenience and sustainability have been more important than ever to consumers in recent years and brands are definitely taking advantage of this, especially in the drinks space. More and more brands offering their customers refreshing drinks in cans for their easy to take on the go and easy to recycle benefits. From The Uncommon’s canned wine to PerfectTed’s Matcha Energy drinks. A new era of fun and exciting cocktails from Mixtons. Even cool cans of water from CanO Water offering a sustainable solution to water on the go. There really was no stone left unturned.
Sober curious?
While alcohol is not going anywhere anytime soon, the rise of alcohol-free and sober curious customers are clearly catching up. We enjoyed plenty of low / no alcohol options during our visit that were just as good as the real deal. IMPOSSIBREW beer and Small Beer as well as spirits from Clean Co, Quarter and Pentire Drinks were just some of our favourites.
Immersive Experiences
Post-pandemic consumers are looking for more experience led offerings at festivals and generally from brands. This was the most immersive year at Taste of London yet, with live music, entertainment and DJs. The restaurants had a real buzz too, with tasting menus and exciting cooking demos from some of our favourite London spots including Heliot Steak House. These experiences really brought a memorable dimension to each brand’s story. We couldn’t take our eyes off the Yellowtail Ceviche, Avocado, Tepache & Ají Amarillo dish from YOPO @ The Mandrake which received the award for the most in Instagrammable dish. YOPO also came runner up for the best dressed stand. Taste entertained, inspired and bought each brand, restaurant and dish to life this year.
Gourmet is the way to go
Organic and fine food has seen a huge rise in popularity over the last few years and this doesn’t seem to be slowing anytime soon. In fact, brands are taking advantage of the demand and helping customers take gourmet home with them. Products like Prosecco Gummies from Ask Mummy & Daddy, the delicious Prebiotic yogurt from Bio & Me created by the Gut Health Doctor and the super convenient seasonal organic veg boxes from Riverford Organic Farmers. Teaching us that we can have amazing organic veg that makes a positive impact.
Everyone wants a slice
Recently we’ve seen many celebs venture into the food and drink space and take advantage of its popularity while putting their own unique spins on it and Taste brought this all together. Big Zuu entertained while providing the crowd with freshly made kebabs while Spencer Matthews and Poppy Delevingne mixed and poured drinks in the sunshine.
Burrata Starter
London has seen the rise of burrata and stracciatella over the last few years. From small plates, pizza toppings, pasta dishes to gelato. More and more restaurants are adding these ingredients to their menus and resulting in the increase in popularity and one of our personal favourites. However, the wait is finally over, Julienne Bruno is taking plant base to the next level. Offering a delicious plant based Superstraccia, Crematta and Burrell. Making plant based the most exciting option.
Feed your soul
The appetite for natural quality ingredients and healthy snacks is higher than ever. Taste showcased an array of natural, healthy and quality soured foods. From Remeo Gelato which is Latin for I Return – return to the quality of nature to Soul Fruit, the delightful, healthy snacks designed to give your mood and health a boost were two of our favourites. Even Soralina grows the herbs and flowers in their London gardens. Cutting them the day of shipping so they are full of beautiful aromas to awaken your senses.
Plastic footprint
Sustainability has never been more important with more consumers seeking different lifestyle choices and finding new ways of living sustainably. This year we saw more brands using sugarcane plastic. Including the innovative Bottle Up, the refusable water bottle brand on a mission to eliminate-single use water bottles. Chocolate credit cards were also given out to highlight the positive impact which has been done by Seven Clean Seas. Working to remove over of 1,240,941kgs of plastic out of the ocean and helping consumers and companies offset their plastic footprint.
Tequila the drink of the summer
The rise of UK tourism to Mexico is having an exciting impact on our taste buds. We saw multiple margaritas bars including the Tequila brand Pimentae poring refreshing cocktails by a sun-drenched DJ booth surrounded by crowds dancing. As well as, the colourful Mex Grocer stand showcasing the delicious TAJÍN seasoning with giant piñatas and a tasting selection.
Wellness Mixology
Traditional flavours and tastes were enjoyed throughout the weekend. Some of our favourites were Wild Chia an Ayurvedic inspired blend of tea designed to lift your mind, body and soul. Wild Chia are keen to keep their culture and traditions alive through the beautiful ancestral blends. Sake Sling Cocktails were another brand we loved. They are a wonderful blend of traditional Japanese flavours and contemporary mixology. The drink is a perfect entrance point into sake’s distinctive flavour profile for those unfamiliar with it, while also being an exciting new twist for those already enthusiastic about the Japanese fermented rice beverage.