Upcoming Trends in the Food Industry Post Covid-19

As the world grapples with the massive impact of the global pandemic, daily interactions with the external world – retail and other public spaces, restaurants, offices, educational institutions, and even with each other has been effectively reoriented to prioritize personal hygiene and public safety. No one can predict how events will unfold in the foreseeable future. As a result, our sensibilities are moving towards and causing major changes in how the food industry is expected to function. Industry stakeholders are, hence, gearing up for the new normal.

Following the new health guidelines, countries around the world have started to implement a number of policy measures to curb the spread of the disease. And there are certain new trends that are likely to gain ground in the post-Covid era. These are:

Immunity Boosting Food

As the pandemic dug its claws deeper, raw turmeric was picked up, gut health became important, variety of cakes were baked and Dalgona was stirred. But a greater buzz was created by foods meant for boosting health, one of the many favorable outcomes of Covid-19. Reports show that almost31% of consumers are purchasing more items with health benefits, and 50% indicated a preference for foods and beverages that contain nourishing ingredients for strengthening immunity.

Omnichannel Eating

In the wake of the pandemic, people have adopted a new approach towards the food they cherish. Consumers now eat whatever they please – whenever and wherever they want to. Conventional hospitality has taken a backseat as people become adept at and continue to hone their own culinary skills staying at home. They aren’t beholden to the services of restaurants if they feel like having a burger or pizza. They know they can turn to their own kitchen for the purpose. Rise of home-based cooking is scaling up the use of available meal kits or starters and healthier ingredients, resulting in new gourmet experiences.

Lip-Smacking Breakfast

As more people work from home, the most vital meal of the day – breakfast – is getting the attention it truly deserves, not just on weekends but every day. There’s a whole new bunch of innovative products catering to people for what they eat in the morning. With newer and healthier breakfast options available, it has become easier to work from home as well as stay healthy.

Snacking Through the Day
With life getting busier by the day, people are slowly doing away with the standard 3- meal-a-day routine. Instead, people have now developed a habit of either eating small meals at regular intervals or snacking throughout the day. This gives them the much-needed breaks in between work. Also, many have switched to nibbling on healthy and nutritious snacks rather than savory items that they used to eat earlier.

Less intake of sugar

The pandemic upended our lifestyles completely. In order to deal with the accompanying stress, rising uncertainty, inconsistent routines and lower activity levels, many gravitated towards comfort food, leading to unhealthy lifestyles. As a result, most of them are now re-engineering their diets to reduce the intake of sugar, in turn augmenting the demand for sugar substitutes and new technologies in sugar reduction landscape. 

Sustainability and Vegan Foods

With the pandemic taking the world by storm, vegan food picked up steam amongst many. People became more conscious about the food that they eat, wanting to consume things that were grown in a sustainable way – without harming animals and earth at large. Consequently, the market for ‘vegan-only’ brands is growing by leaps and bounds. Many SMEs have also arisen in the product space across the nation promoting plant-based products, foods and more.

Summing Up Every adversity has a silver lining to it. For Covid-19, it’s the consciousness that has emerged amongst people about switching to healthy diets and living an environmentally sustainable life. Indoor indulgent gourmet experience will be the new norm. And this trend is expected to only rise further.

Authored by: Chef Karann Talwar, Managing Director and the Gastronome Chef, Kitchen Kraft Luxury Catering, New Delhi

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