The top five meal ideas searched this year are dinner ideas, vegetarian meals, chicken recipes, slow cooker recipes and mince recipes. Vegetarian meals are the second most clicked keyword this year for recipe searches, with its popularity grown by 40% year on year (October 2019 vs. October 2018). In addition to this, plant-based recipes are slowly picking up this year and vegan diets are no longer only for hippies.
Upcoming food meal trends for 2020
Trends towards health and wellness, plant-based and clean labels will continue next year, but the need for food businesses to innovate is greater than ever, says consumer research. 2019 is also the year veganism truly reaches mainstream status. A wider range of vegan choices are becoming available to consumers. There is a growing range of vegan dips, cheeses, meat and dairy free alternatives available in your local supermarket. Environmental factors, as well as the growing emphasis on plant-based protein alternatives will help to drive this momentum forward into mainstream. A lot of the FMCG players are trying to capture this market by targeting vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians. Consumers look to their food retailer as an ally in supporting their health, and retailers have stepped up with impressive and exciting initiatives such as lab grown impossible beef burger which tastes like meat but meat free. Today’s consumers are also willing to go extra mile by paying more for meat free alternatives as these are “health” conscious consumers. Millennial and Centennial/Gen Z flexitarians (i.e., younger consumers) typically embrace plant-based foods for reasons including ethical concerns and social media presence. These younger, often idealistic consumers are part of the “Greta Thunberg Effect”, which denotes a movement toward plant-based products for sustainability reasons and because of the cool factor associated with having a purpose-driven life.
Why do we care?
The use of online digital channels and social media is changing the way our brains work. The immediate access to information creates a desire to test out or try the new easily available products. GWI suggests that 39% users find their meal inspiration from websites and apps and 19% from Brand posts on social media (UK / US, 2019). Thus, online channels play a vital role in informing the consumers on what’s available and supporting their healthy lifestyle. With knowledge comes greater buying power.
https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2019/11/27/Consumer-trends-to-watch-for-in-2020
