Meet Food 2.0: UK food & drink shows category report 2018

The future looked pretty good in cartoon series The Jetsons. Firstly, they had flying cars. More importantly, there was a machine that could spit out whatever food you fancied in a matter of seconds. With today’s fast-paced technology, this could soon be a reality (yes, we are now looking at using 3D printers to make our dinner). Yet there are also plenty of less techy trends that will shape how we eat in future.

The five William Reed shows at the NEC Birmingham over the coming week will cover everything that is set to influence our eating habits, from 3D printers to the next superfood. So what are the top trends worth noticing?

The most pressing influence on our nation’s eating habits is health. In the era of the sugar levy and war on obesity, shoppers are placing ever more scrutiny on the nutritional information of what they’re putting into their baskets. So it is the perfect breeding ground for the first trend in the list: personalised nutrition.

This doesn’t necessarily mean ­everyone will get their own nutritionist (although it’s worth noting Waitrose did offer a personalised service as part of a two-store trial earlier this year). Instead, it could be simply targeting foods at certain demographics, says Emily Foster, founder of nutrition and marketing consultancy Glowing Potential.

“A lot of people in the industry perceive personalised nutrition as a complicated, ­ominous topic, but it doesn’t have to be,” says Foster, who will host a session on the topic at the Food & Drink Expo. “Personalised ­nutrition can be as simple as highlighting specific food and drink products tailored for customers who want to lower their cholesterol, or who may want to lose weight.”

In this nutrition-obsessed society, consumers are always on the lookout for something that can give them a hefty hit of vitamins, minerals and fibre. This brings Foster to the subject of her next session at the Food & Drink Expo: superfoods.

As consumers get savvier about what they eat, Foster expects to see more caution in the face of superfood claims. “Products labelled as being or containing superfoods could still be high in sugar or saturated fat. There are no parameters for what is or isn’t a superfood,” says Foster. “Are people aware that the ‘superfood’ they’re purchasing may not be healthy? And if not, how can food businesses ensure they’re being responsible?”

Just to prove the term isn’t going anywhere, the tiger nut will come under the microscope as the next superfood in this year’s Ingredients Show. Consumers are already going nuts for, er, nuts - as proven by Kantar Worldpanel data, which shows value sales have gone up 7.4% over the past year.

The tiger nut has something different to the rest of the market, though. Firstly, it’s not a nut. It’s actually a nutrient-dense root ­vegetable, says Ani de la Prida, co-founder of The Tiger Nut Company. And not only does it provide a gluten-like texture to various foods, but Prida says it can also work as a milk alternative, making it perfect for the growing free-from crowd. Add to that the tagline of promoting ‘good gut health’ due to high levels of prebiotic fibre, and tiger nuts could well be a ‘superfood’ worth the label.

A six-legged meal

Another emerging food is insects. Raphaelle Browaeys, communications manager at insect food producer Jimini’s, is confident insects can hit mainstream retail in 2018. As a fellow speaker at The Ingredients Show, she will make the case for a six-legged meal.

Not only are they more environmentally sustainable than meat, she stresses they have numerous health benefits and are relatively cheap to produce. So if can consumers get their heads around the ick-factor, they could be next on the nation’s menu. 

Sustainability more generally is another major trend shaping the food ­industry. Whether we’re talking food waste - a hot topic at the Food & Drink Expo and the Farm Shop & Deli Show - or actual waste, discussed at the National Convenience Show, the environment is shaping all corners of food and drink. Take the coffee industry, for example. At Farm Shop & Deli Live, Monkshood Coffee owner Elliot Wallis will talk about the increasing need to be sustainable - from sourcing the coffee beans to the cups it’s served in. “Customers want to feel like they are buying a product that reflects their values, from an ethical, eco-friendly retailer or brand,” he says.

And he believes consumers are increasingly willing to pay a premium for sustainable, specialty coffee (which he will be handing out samples of during the show). “Farm shops and delis are ideally placed to utilise craft ­coffee to grow profits,” says Wallis. “The USP of speciality, artisanal retailers will always be quality over price, and customers are more willing to pay extra for a great product.”

Changing face of convenience

Another thing consumers are willing to pay more for is convenience. It’s been a long-standing trend, and it’s the ideal backdrop for this year’s National Convenience Show. But what consumers are looking for from this format has been slowly changing.

In years gone by, the local c-store was the place to pick up a Mars bar and a can of Coke. To cater for today’s more health-conscious consumer, retailers will offer more of the innovative types of foods listed above. Not only does that mean offering healthy ­food-to-go options - already done expertly by some retailers such as Simply Fresh - but snacking sections will need to go beyond confectionery bars to include healthy options such as protein bars and nut-based treats (or even insects, perhaps).

In the more distant future, consumers may skip the convenience store altogether for the ultimate quick fix: printing their own snacks. At The Ingredient Show, tech ­company Natural Machines will present Foodini, the 3D food printer.

Hailed as one of the top seven tech ­superheroes to watch by CNN, the printer will produce food live on stage as company ­co-founder Lynette Kucsma and engineer Victor Delgado explain how it has the ­potential to change the industry.

In the shorter term, we could see technology enabling us to cryogenically freeze ready meals and the internet of things disrupting the traditional supply chain, as speakers at Foodex will explain.

So there’s no shortage of change at this year’s William Reed shows. You may not be eating an insect-based, cryogenically frozen ready meal next to your 3D food printer just yet, but the future isn’t far off.