The new food trends of 2018 – out with the old and in with the new, or the slightly updated. It has reached that time of year again when forward planning is a must. We don’t need to only think about what Christmas presents to buy and where we need to be for New Year but also what we need to start eating and drinking. Palm PR has come up with what we believe will be the next big thing in the food and drink world and we wanted to share it with you.
Frozen Food
The world is getting busier and busier and sometimes that gourmet meal that we wished we could have, cannot exist in our time frame. But that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice being healthy. Women’s Health quotes Deliciously Ella saying that “healthy food doesn’t have to be completely fresh and it doesn’t have to mean spirulina and chia seeds.”[1] Frozen food doesn’t just mean chips and chicken nuggets it also means fruit and vegetables. Strong Roots, for example, is a company that wants to “revolutionise frozen food.”[2] They sell products such as, Spinach Bites and Beetroot Wedges.[3]
Frozen food has a number of positive aspects, one of those is time. If you are trying to raise a family as Female First has suggested in their article[4] time is no longer a luxury and frozen food bridges this gap. Frozen food also allows people to cut down on the amount of food waste produced. Frozen food has a longer shelf–life meaning less food waste and money saving. [5]
Algae
Following the emerging trend for plant based food; we believe algae will be a popular choice for consumers in 2018. Despite its image, it is not strange for people “to take spirulina or chlorella capsules, which are both types of algae” according to The Sun.[6] Algae is being considered a superfood so its natural health benefits are obvious; it contains a large amount of protein, which The Sun states to be “an estimated 60%.”[7] Algae also has a high amount of iron and vitamin B.
Purple Foods
The world of Instagram will not fade into the background next year and so our food will continue to need to be worthy of it. Purple food will thus be the perfect way to get you those likes and shares. According to The Food and Drink Trade Show, beetroot lattes and purple asparagus will be something to watch out for next year.[8] Furthermore, the colour purple has more than just an aesthetic trend to it. It was suggested in Food Ingredients First that the colour has associated health benefits: “violet-coloured fruits and vegetables have high antioxidant content. Antioxidants defend the body’s cells against free radicals. What’s more, they are anti-inflammatory and protect vessels.[9]
Charcoal
Much like the purple food trend next year, charcoal food will also be part of the new Instagram-able trend. The creation of this dye for food has an interesting history with it being used as part of treatment for poisoned patients as it has “incredible absorption properties”[10] as claimed by The Art of Living. This can be used well in our new health crazed world as it can be used as part of a detox diet. However, its main appeal could be that it can make an excellent picture; when mixed with other food the flavour is lost, meaning that chefs can play with the colour and not sacrifice on taste. Although, by itself, the article states that it gives a ‘smoky taste.”[11]
Japanese ‘Dude’ Food
A new taste to mark “the anniversary of 160 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and Japan” will be seen next year according to See Japan.[12] Over the last couple of years, Japanese food has been pushed as being the new health kick for lunch times. Now it would seem that we step away from that next year and instead of the health kick we look to the more luxurious side of their foodie culture. Huffington Post reports that “the trend will be a mixture of American food with “the unctuous, rich and surprising flavours of after-hours Tokyo”[13] It is not only the savoury that will become part of this new trend but also the sweet – mochi ice cream is on the rise. Mintel suggests that mochi is something that will appeal to Britain’s growing “foodie culture, which celebrates newness, excitement and emerging cuisines.” Little Moons who has a range of mochi ice-cream from raspberry to toasted sesame allows us to indulge in our sweet tooth whilst also experimenting with the new.
Indian Street Food
Again we see a step away from the complete health craze. The CGA propose that “beyond the health-conscious consumer, we see chicken and Indian street food as key trends, when consumers are looking to indulge and try something new, new wave Indian concepts in our market are examples.”[14] Other than the indulgence of the food, the flavours and textures are also something that will apply to our palette, but there will be a step away from the traditional plates to things such as “spiced burgers or lamb keema tacos”, which is suggested by Fruitnet.com.[15]
We’re really excited to see these
trends hit the headlines and of course, to try out the food ourselves!
[1] http://www.womenshealthmag.co.uk/nutrition/healthy-snacks/7236/frozen-food-bad/
[2] http://www.strongroots.ie/
[3] http://www.strongroots.ie/strong-roots-products/
[4] http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/foodanddrink/the-benefits-of-eating-frozen-food-1073887.html
[5] http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/foodanddrink/the-benefits-of-eating-frozen-food-1073887.html
[6] https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/food/4818373/waitrose-predicts-the-foods-well-be-eating-in-2018-and-algae-is-on-the-menu/
[7] https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/food/4818373/waitrose-predicts-the-foods-well-be-eating-in-2018-and-algae-is-on-the-menu/
[8] https://thefoodanddrinktradeshow.co.uk/foodie-forecasting-a-few-predictions-for-2018/
[9] http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/herza-launches-purple-chocolate-range-in-line-with-latest-nutritional-trends.html
[10] https://artofhealthyliving.com/healthy-food-trends-2018/
[11] https://artofhealthyliving.com/healthy-food-trends-2018/
[12] https://www.seejapan.co.uk/press-releases/media/2017/11/06/japan-news-2018
[13] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/waitrose-food-and-drink-report-2017-to-2018-food-trends_uk_59f86006e4b0c0c8e67c98bf
[14] https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2017/10/23/Future-food-trends
[15] http://www.fruitnet.com/fpj/article/173843/indian-food-and-a-fourth-meal-tipped-as-2018-trends