Food and Beverage Trends Propelled by Healthy Nutrition, Clean and Clear Labels, and Convenience

Healthy nutrition, clean and clear labels, sustainability, convenience, Big Data, and evolving social trends such as eating at home are the key factors driving the North American and European food and beverage markets. Functional foods enjoy the largest growth potential within these markets, and a key success factor will be incorporating healthy ingredients into all types of food and going beyond traditional applications.

Frost & Sullivan’s (ww2.frost.com) research series, “Trends, Opportunities, and Innovation in the European Food and Beverage Market, 2017” and “North America Growth Opportunity – Human Nutrition, 2017,” highlights that the global processed food and beverage market will be worth $4.76 trillion by the end of 2017. The series analyses key factors such as drivers, restraints, challenges, trends and growth opportunities within the North American and European food and beverage market.

The study identifies companies that have responded to current market trends along with a detailed profiling of their strategies and how market participants have displayed best practices in specific markets.

“Healthy eating is not waning in Europe and is fast becoming the norm, resulting in an increase in raw foods where ingredients’ nutritional properties are locked in by natural processes. There is also a consumer trend toward reducing sugar, salt and fat; free-form foods; clean and clear labels; sustainability; and better nutrition,” says Tosin Jack, Senior Industry Analyst, Visionary Science at Frost & Sullivan. “In North America, consumers are not willing to compromise on taste, while factors such as health benefits, price, and natural ingredients are seen as top priorities when making nutritional choices.”

Other trends seen within the North American and European Food and Beverage market include:

• Rise in cooking at home due to desire for healthy, fresh, and natural ingredients and expansion of online platforms for recipe ideas;
• Embracing social media to influence food consumption patterns; and
• Using Big Data analytics to manage food product traits, quality criteria, supply value chain, and technologies to facilitate effective food safety.