2021 Unwrapped: What shoppers want

From Australia’s dry native bushland to the depths of the ocean, there’s a plethora of exciting new ingredients emerging in the food industry. With expert insights from Sharon Natoli, founding director of Food & Nutrition Australia, the Inside FMCG team shares predictions for the top emerging food trends in 2021.Native Knowing there is greater demand than supply, expect growth in native foods as the industry starts to organise itself and communicate its credentials. There’s likely to be a move from the more popular lemon myrtle, Kakadu plum and quandong, to use of other more varied ingredients like salt bush, mountain pepper and river mint. There is also hope for the use of native grains in food production. Dr Angela Pattinson, leader of The Indigenous Grasslands for Grains study at University of Sydney, told Inside FMCG that there are about 10 commercially viable native grains that are thriving in Australia’s hot and dry regional areas. “We’ve got people looking at the GI index, the ash content, gut health, and the most exciting part is we have chefs experimenting with using the grains to make food products,” Pattinson said. While there are already Indigenous enterprises such as Black Duck Foods harvesting native grains for commercial use, it will be some time before we can reap the benefits of native grains on a larger scale. Clean This trend will continue to rise, playing an even more important role given Covid-19. Some research is indicating that people are now less likely to trade health for price, which is a good sign for the food sector and provides good incentive for brands to innovate more broadly.Through Natoli’s nutritional analysis of foods, she has discovered more detailed health benefits of foods like mushrooms, grapes, tomatoes, eggs and salmon. While these are traditional ingredients, she predicts that these ingredients will have a new appeal to consumers from a nutritional benefits perspective.Immunity The convergence of health, natural and finding ways to take charge of our lives means growing interest in the role food can play in immunity.There’s also likely to be more innovation in prebiotics, with different types of fibre that can help the growth of gut bacteria linked to digestive and mind health benefits.Circular The sustainability trend will continue to grow and the more events we experience, such as drought, bushfires and floods, the more climate change remains top of mind, reminding us of the impact of our lifestyle habits on the environment. We are seeing increasing attention both by researchers, industries and the media about the role of food on the health of the planet and this will drive greater interest by food producers in sustainability-related claims. The next step in sustainability is toward circular systems so using food that would otherwise be wasted as an ingredient lends itself to this, according to Natoli. This will be pushed along by the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre but also by businesses as they explore how best they can utilise wasted ingredients. Natural People will continue to question the high degree of processing some meat alternative products undergo, so those able to find formulations with more whole and natural ingredient lists will be of interest. Expect increasing varieties of Australian plant proteins given the recent opening of Australia’s first plant protein factory. There are likely to be more plant proteins from pulses and legumes. These foods provide a solution to consumer concerns about the highly processed nature of the ingredient lists of some “fake” meat products and fit the desire for more meat-free products and meals. They are also a natural source of protein, iron, zinc, fibre, etc. Marine Seaweed and algae are likely to rise in popularity as ingredients due to their high nutritional value, along with flavour and sustainability credentials.Australian food tech company Has Algae was recently awarded a share of a $1 million global food-security prize at the UAE FoodTech Challenge. The Sydney-based start-up is the first to incorporate microalgae into everyday foods, including pastas, yogurts, ice creams and bread.Algae is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, B vitamins, vitamin A, among other things, according to Tim Gardner, Has Algae’s CEO and co-founder.“Algae contains basically everything nutritionally humans need to thrive. It’s even possible to live off eating nothing but algae,” Gardner told Inside FMCG. “In fact, I tried eating nothing but algae for nine days and saw improvements with eye health, lowered cholesterol and weight loss.”Algae can be grown in a closed-loop bioreactor system or via an open pond. To get the scale and to make algae an economically viable crop to grow, the open pond system is more advantageous, Gardner explained. “Algae grows fast, doubling in size every other day. We can harvest our algae every three days, unlike traditional terrestrial crops which can take six to 12 months to harvest. Algae doesn’t need to grow roots, leaves, flowers, barks or stems. Its energy is focused on growing as fast as it can in the environment it’s given.”Insects Cricket powder is likely to become more popular as a protein source, for its high natural nutrition and sustainability credentials and because it’s locally sourced/grown.In recent months, Nestle’s pet-food brand Purina introduced a line of pet food made from insects in a bid to explore more environmentally friendly sources. “We see increasing demand for diversified sources of proteins for pet food products,” Bernard Meunier, head of Purina in Europe, told Reuters in an interview.Local Given the uncertainty that marred most of 2020, communities have realised the importance of supporting local businesses and see them as more trustworthy. Nabih Awad, Retail Safari managing director, said Covid-19 has brought about stronger levels of community solidarity and support for local businesses. “The trend of Australians buying locally manufactured products and supporting their local communities will be strong this Christmas,” he told Inside FMCG. “We’re seeing that Australians are tending to switch their spending to prioritise purchasing from local businesses and producers, both online and offline where possible, by visiting local neighbourhood stores and their websites.” Awad said this trend is encouraging local businesses to provide quality local and unique products, and more memorable experiences for customers. From the source Consumer interest in growing food and getting closer to the source of our food will see increases in vertical farming, urban farming and sustainable urban and rooftop food gardens.Melbourne’s eco-friendly shopping centre Burwood Brickworks incorporated a rooftop urban farm into its design, which has proven popular with the public. In May the centre announced a partnership with Crossway LifeCare through which the farm’s quality fruit and vegetables are delivered to local people in need.“Part of the principle of the Living Building Challenge at Burwood Brickworks is to take a different perspective on waste, by viewing and treating waste as a resource. It would be against the spirit of the centre for the quality produce grown in the community farm not to be used for the community’s benefit, and this partnership ensures that it will,” Eric Park, Burwood Brickworks centre manager, said at the time. Responsibility We should expect a greater role of leaders within food businesses to lead change toward a better future – the food industry is taking greater responsibility to do the next right thing (not just the next thing right) and is earning a place at the table of influence. Businesses leading through values will be well appreciated by consumers and as a result will create more loyal followings.Consumers are looking for more “meaningful” brands – those that stand for something more than simply providing food to satisfy our hunger, or drinks to satisfy our thirst. More direct to consumer communication will help brands build that trust