Many food trends come and go faster than a TikTok recipe goes viral. But if you look beyond the latest craze of the moment, you just might find something valuable: insights into the larger shifts in how people think about, buy and consume food.
For food marketers, these nuggets are pure gold. Whether you’re championing the benefits of a food commodity or launching an innovative product, knowing how consumer behaviors and attitudes are evolving is fundamental to creating integrated marketing plans that resonate. Therefore, monitoring trends is a smart way to inform proactive messaging, identify strategic research priorities and capitalize on moments when your products naturally align with consumer interests.
The key is to separate fast-changing fads from broad patterns that signal true opportunity for your organization.
To that end, we’ve cut through the noise to identify three big-picture trends shaping the food and nutrition landscape right now. And we’ve provided practical tips for how your trade association, commodity board or CPG brand can harness one or more of them to drive results.
1. Influencer Marketing Continues to Transform Classic Foods Into Must-Have Sensations
The way some traditional foods have transformed from classic staples to trend-setters offers food marketers a masterclass in product reinvention and marketing agility. Take cottage cheese, for example. Influencers and dietitians continue to reimagine countless innovative ways to repurpose cottage cheese — from creating low-sugar, high-protein “ice cream” by blending it up with frozen fruit or replacing avocado atop toasted bread for a new toast topping.
Lest you think the reach of influencer marketing is limited to the dairy case, consider how both cauliflower and potatoes have been used as the basis for pizza crusts and how the humble chickpea has become a chameleon-like ingredient for desserts and savory dishes alike.
TikTok has also done its part to make sure kids — and everyone else — eats their greens with the viral trend called “dinosaur time.” Created as a “lazy girl hack” by one user to improve her diet, dinosaur time consists of stuffing her mouth with spinach as the “Jurassic Park” theme plays. Not surprisingly, parents have been paying attention to the possibility of gamifying dinner time with the TikTok challenge.
Takeaways for You to Consider
These are just a few of many examples of how strategic influencer marketing can help foods stay relevant across changing consumer preferences and generations. To put influencer marketing to work for you, take time to:
- Spot emerging trends early by continuously monitoring the wider food dialogue in social media, beyond just your specific category. It can unlock timely opportunities to authentically, even unexpectedly, connect your product with consumer interests.
- Partner with influencers who have more than just reach — ones who authentically communicate your narrative and your product’s unique benefits. An authentic voice can help consumers discover both traditional and unexpected uses that uniquely align with their tastes and wellness needs.
- Don’t just leave it on a social post. Amplify compelling content with paid to ensure visibility and encourage momentum by leveraging these moments across other channels, like earned and stakeholder communications.
If you’ve never dipped your toes into influencer marketing waters, a good food and nutrition culture expert partner like Wild Hive can help. Here’s a look at how we helped True Source Honey use social content to create buzz around their brand..
2. Global Flavors Are Here to Stay in the Mainstream
With more diversity among consumers and growing interest in embracing cultures through food, what may have once been niche cuisine has gone mainstream in recent years. Ingredients and dishes that were once viewed as exotic or unfamiliar have become commonplace in grocery stores and restaurants across the U.S.
Chili oil is a great example of a cultural ingredient that’s experiencing huge demand among mainstream consumers. Small brands like Fly by Jing have exploded in popularity with unique takes on chili crisp sauces that are inspired by traditional Asian brands. Consumer demand has allowed the brand to expand further through unique partnerships with the tinned fish company Fishwife, Shake Shack, and the streaming series Hot Ones. And the chili oil boom continues to grow with brands like Boon, Barnacle Foods, and Momofuku also in the market.
Even highly specific regional flavors are finding success in unexpected places. When Taiwanese street-food-flavored chips appear in Midwest Costco stores (yes, that’s a “saw-it-with-our-own-eyes” example), it’s clear that American palates have evolved significantly.
The rise of fusion cuisine and the incorporation of international ingredients into familiar formats is further evidence of this trend. Dubai chocolate has become a food phenomenon after being seized upon by influencers on TikTok and elsewhere. The chocolate’s differentiating ingredient is a creamy mix of pistachio and kunefe (shredded phyllo pastry). First created by a Dubai chocolatier, the viral combination has spurred opportunities for brands able to offer similar experiences. Pistachio has also been booming of late, with the flavor turning up more frequently in coffee, ice cream, and elsewhere.
But along with mainstream demand expanding for potentially new flavors, familiar ingredients are also getting a modern makeover. Olive oil is a basic ingredient for cuisine across Europe and the Mediterranean, but brands like Graza are updating their look to court a younger audience. With distinctive squeeze bottles and labels that feature illustrated characters and stylish graphic design, the brand is elevating a humble pantry staple.
Implications for Food Marketers
Now is a great time to experiment with flavors that could give your commodity or product new life. To do so:
- Don’t shy away from incorporating authentic, specific flavor profiles into your products.
- Partner with cultural experts who can inform and inspire authentic uses and ideas with the right nuance that elevates the culture and is relevant for your unique or mainstream audience.
- Balance trends with tradition. Test regional flavors in unexpected categories as consumers show increasing openness to novel combinations, but don’t shy away from embracing traditional uses in unique ways.
3. Macro Counting Shines a Spotlight on Holistic Nutrition
The current macro-focused nutrition movement marks a significant shift from the calorie-counting mindset of previous decades. To date, protein has led the way. But thanks to a growing body of nutrition science and research, there’s more evidence than ever that all three macros are necessary for our overall health and wellbeing.
The rehabilitation of carbohydrates’ reputation is perhaps the most notable shift in this macro-aware landscape. Many nutrition professionals are working to reverse the carb-phobic messaging of the early 2000s. For example, many researchers are now looking at carbohydrates, specifically resistant starches, and their positive effect on the gut microbiome.
This all presents an opportunity to reach a new generation of consumers in particular. Given Gen Z’s obsession with wellness and their willingness to reconsider traditional norms and expectations, there’s an opportunity for food marketers and nutritionists to open up a more sophisticated and nuanced conversation about what it means to eat healthfully.
Be Part of a Better Nutrition Conversation
Here’s how to make the most of this positive trend:
- Consider how your product fits in the broader macronutrient conversation and frame its nutritional benefits in the context of overall dietary balance rather than restriction.
- If you’re targeting younger audiences like Gen Z, be open to aligning marketing messages with a more informed and balanced approach to nutrition.
- Invest in scientific research studies to add credibility to your nutrition messages and positioning.
To learn more about how to credibly fuel your marketing plan with nutrition research, check out our five-step guide. And take a look at how the National Mango Board used nutrition research to elevate consumer awareness about their fruit.
Turn Current Trends Into Actionable Opportunities for Your Food Marketing Plan
Trends like the ones described above can present countless opportunities for your commodity board, trade association or CPG brand to position your food in exciting new ways — as long as you stay curious, agile and creative.
But you don’t have to figure out how to proceed alone. Wild Hive has extensive experience elevating food, agriculture and nutrition marketing for wellness-minded brands and organizations. We’d love to help you, too. So let’s talk.