2024 food trends and innovations we're looking forward to
Harris and Hayes were fortunate enough to work on a diverse range of global projects in 2023. We went behind the scenes with some of the UK’s most interesting restaurants and chefs for a deep-dive on behalf of Groupe Seb, hosted a food tour and annual symposium in Milan for European bakery manufacturer Vandemoortele, and curated a sellout ‘Future Food’ event in collaboration with global innovation hub, The Mills Fabrica.
The food and drink industry, like many others, reflected ongoing wobbly times and 2023 wasn’t all rosy. We were interviewed in the The Times about inflation leading to a distinct lack of real retail innovation on supermarket shelves, and provided our take on why the cost of living crisis continues to impact UK eating habits for the worse in The Grocer.
However, there are many reasons to feel hopeful in 2024, so this post shines a light on some of the most ambitious initiatives, collaborations and innovations for a positive future.
REGEN BECOMING MAINSTREAM
We were recently wowed to discover that The Balbo Group in Latin America produces 34% of the world’s organic sugar on a fully regenerative farm! If a food commodity like sugar can be produced regeneratively at such a scale then surely, there is hope? Pleasingly, 2023 has seen global food manufacturers putting proper financial and strategic support in place to protect the very foundation of what their businesses need to thrive. The Natwest and McCain collaboration supports farmers using regenerative farming practices, Unilever has supported 40 regenerative agriculture programmes this year, and Mondelez has announced its International Tech Programme for start ups and changemakers overcoming the inherent sustainability challenges of the chocolate industry. There are hundreds of inspirational examples from smaller food producers and brands, but 2023 has felt like a good step forwards to nature-positive by some of the world’s big players.
We were lucky enough to be a part of the Six Inches of Soil test screening in September, which tells the important stories of three British farmers transforming the way they produce food to heal the soil, benefit our health, and provide for local communities. We look forward to the official launch in January. As well as agreeing to cut carbon emissions in the global food system, regen conversations were buzzing at COP28; the Action Agenda on Regenerative Landscapes unites leading food and agriculture organisations as they embrace regenerative practices at scale. They plan to partner with 3.6 million farmers and transition 160 million hectares to regenerative agriculture by 2030.
NEW HEALTH CRITERIA
The recent Broken Plate Report by the Food Foundation uncovers the true severity of our national health crisis, when the affordability, availability and appeal of unhealthy and unsustainable foods point us in the wrong direction. But it also lays out clear recommendations for how we can correct our path in the future. At last, we’re seeing a more holistic approach that focuses on the important intersection of health and sustainability. And despite the government delay on implementing HFSS regulations, it’s reassuring to see positive leadership by the likes of Sainsbury’s and Danone who have committed to the HFSS restrictions voluntarily.
We’ve been reporting on a more personalised approach to health for a while now, and we’re pleased to see new criteria emerging that supports individual health goals. Holland and Barrett is the first retailer to have launched a ‘Plant Points’ system that helps consumers eat 30+ plants a week, and we expect brands like nutrition app ZOE to continue to capitalise on a more tailored approach to health via branded collaborations and retail ranges, as well as mainstream 30+ plant cookbooks like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall ‘How to Eat 30 Plants a Week’ due for release in 2024.
MAXIMALIST FOOD EXPERIENCES
Food producers and hospitality providers continue to struggle with inflation, cost prices increases, supply chain issues and much more. UK restaurant closures are at a 10 year high, and the ongoing success of private labels goes to show continuing cost of living pressures on the UK consumer. However, food goes beyond sustenance, and savvy brands are capitalising on the power of food as a ‘little luxury’ that provides joy, escapism, and memories worth sharing. We expect to see more immersive and exciting food concepts that surprise and delight.
Retailers like M&S are putting more investment behind experiential food halls as they've seen direct sales increase in these immersive environments. US stores like Stew Leonard and Wegmans go all-out on this trend, with singing animatronics, samples and fresh counters. See too, the recent Bistro Greggs pop-up which turns the high street baker into a fineish dining operation, and newly-launched Appetite which offers new ways to discover and share these kinds of experiences via personalised recommendations and reservations. As the food industry increasingly embraces the capabilities of Web3 (a boundary-breaking tech-concept that includes FT’s, the metaverse and blockchain technologies), we’re anticipating how this will intersect with AI.
