- Transparency is the top trend: Brands are looking to meet ethical, environmental, and clean label consumer demands, and they’re marketing it using “creative, meaningful storytelling,” the press release. Ingredient provenance is increasingly important, particularly for raw materials such as nuts, cocoa, and sugar.
- Another trend: plant-based snacks and sweets, Innova says. Consumers are looking for new formats, new plant proteins, and more sophistication. While taste is always a factor, it is often the main goal of sweets and snacks, where natural and free-from foods can stand out with novel ingredients like hemp or hibiscus.
- Personalized nutrition comes in at #3. Consumers are looking to tailor their products to their individual needs. Cereal and snack bars can carry healthy ingredients, targeting areas of interest including weight management while fitting into special diets ranging from vegan to keto.
- COVID-19 has made at-home eating a top trend, as consumers are coming to expect to be able to directly access products previously only accessible via retail or entertainment establishments. This can range from cinema-style snacks at home to restaurant-branded snacks—all familiar, but now available at home.
- The final trend from Innova: Immune health, reflecting the fact that anxieties regarding COVID-19 will continue to be a key focus through the rest of the year and possibly longer. Foods that support this trend—such as hard candy or gummies containing vitamins and zinc, or antioxidant-rich chocolate and superfoods—will see increased interest, Innova predicts.
MAHA: Implications for FDA Reform, State Regulations, and More
December 17, 2024
