5 Key Food Trends To Watch Out For In 2020

New food tech, new food trends, new flavours, new year!

While you’re busy ushering in 2020 with the same excitement you get from watching your food arrive, several key food trends are slowly making their way into the market - and our stomachs. Get the scoop on these fresh-out-the-oven grub trends before they hit the food outlets and supermarkets near you!


1. Plant-based Products

The emphasis on all-natural and plant-based products has never been stronger than it is now. Thanks to vegan and vegetarian lifestyles catching on with the general public, brands have been getting innovative with plant-based products resulting in the creation of viral products such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger. Grains, mung beans, hempseed, pumpkin, avocado, watermelon seed and golden chlorella (a type of algae) are all fair game in the crafting of vegan-friendly alternatives to yoghurt and other dairy items according to Whole Foods.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for this trend to end though. Whole Foods predicts that the plant-based movement will only continue to grow and the market for meat substitutes is expected to hit a whopping $2.5 million by 2023 according to Euromonitor estimates.


2. Agri-Food

Nutritious, fresh, safe and conveniently delivered produce are the main demands of the general populace. However, with the agri-food industry bursting at the seams to fulfil the demands of an ever-growing population, supply chains are being stretched to their limits, resulting in high wastage and poor quality produce. As some 65% of the world’s middle-class population is expected to be residing in Asia within the next decade, the need for a steady food supply chain has never been greater.

Rather than backing down, Singapore is buckling up to tackle the challenge with their ambitious “30 by 30” goal to produce 30% of Singapore’s nutritional needs locally by 2030, Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli told Parliament recently. The call to embrace this challenge requires new solutions to raise productivity, thus more investment inflow from the public and private sectors is to be expected.


3. Different Butters & Spreads

Bored of your cashew, tahini, almond, peanut or chickpea spreads already? Then you’re in luck. 2020 is expected to bring in more unique new spreads and nut butters for spread connoisseurs everywhere. As the collection of nut butters and spreads grow, brands everywhere are experimenting with making things healthier and attempting to spice things up with seasonal flavours such as pumpkin butter. Consumers aren’t slowing down in their quest for the ultimate healthy spread either with many on the lookout for sugar and salt-free spreads or even vegetable spreads.


4. Fresh-on-the-go

The emphasis on healthy living and eating fresh food has changed the way we view the sustenance that lands on our dining tables and driven consumers to seek wider options from around the world. These individuals aren’t just knowledgeable about their food sources, they tend to have a higher purchasing power, are well-travelled and are constantly on the hunt for more choices on nutritious food.

Nuts and trail mixes are gradually replacing unhealthy, preservative-laden snacks in households worldwide as consumers come to realise that they’re both convenient and healthy replacements. Although companies peddling their nut and trail mixes online have mushroomed over the past year, many still serve up stale nuts, perhaps due to the distance or time it takes to transport them.

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5. Transparent Ingredients

Transparency is everything. From banking transactions to deals and even food, everyone likes to have the facts laid out before they make their decision. These days consumers are more informed about their purchases, particularly when it comes to the origins of whole ingredients in their snacks such as beans, cauliflower and other vegetables. The stocks for snacks like these are expected to rise exponentially once they hit the stores according to Food Business News.