Food Trends for 2011

This past year there was a huge consumer shift toward whole grains and gluten free... so you may be wondering what 2011 holds for food trends. Below I have listed 15 of the top food trends that you are sure to see in the next year or so:

1. Consumers will demand fresh, affordable, and healthy food options because of recent consumer awareness of the childhood obesity epidemic and the healthcare crisis (most of the healthcare dollars are associated with obesity-related diseases and conditions).

2. Food apps on smart phones will enable consumers to dowload coupons to use at checkout

3. Soda's will be reinvented to lower-sugar, real fruit juice, and lower-carbonation alteratives

4. Processed foods are soooo 2 years ago. Consumers seek products without High Fructose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated oils, red dye #40, and other bad-for you or fake ingredients

5. Label changes- you've probably seen the commercials saying how now Pepsi will label the front of soda and juice cans with the total number of calories, this will be true for most large beverage manufactuers. Just another initiative started because of Michele Obama's "Let's Move Campaign"

6. Fruit and vegetables are in! Look for new products being made with fruits and veggies where you haven't seen them before

7. TV chefs make healthy foods the #1 priority in schools and at home

8. American shoppers go European.... Americans begin trying to shop more often at local vendors and buying local ingredients instead of heading to the huge grocery chains ("BUY FRESH, BUY LOCAL!")

9. We become more aware of the effects foods have on our physical health (eg: eliminate a certain food= less muscle stiffness, fewer headaches, etc.)

10. Manufacturers will work hard to decrease the sodium and sugar contents of foods without you noticing

11. Emphasis on sustainability- reduced packaging... people who used bottled water might be frowned upon at some point in the near future!

12. Bite-size mini desserts are going to be the hottest craze at restaurants

13. Micro-brews for beer are going to become more popular than ever. Look for more of your friends doing home-brew, and fancy restaurants having beer-tasting menus.

14. Consumers will demand sustainable seafood and will try to consume more fatty-fish to meet the Omega-3 recommendations

15. More people will come to see Kelly at CLM to have their current diet analyzed and talk food with her ;-)


These are just a few of the trends as reported by Innova Market Insights, Int'l Food Info Council Foundation, The Food Channel, Mintel, and the Nat'l Restaurant Association, and my own research (#15). Personally, I do see a positive shift toward consumer awareness of the importance of nutrition on health, and a merger between the environmentalists & nutritionists.


Source: ADA Times, Winter 2011, Volume 8, Issue 2