Trend Wire: Food Trends to Watch for 2007

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January 24, 2007 Volume 21, Number 1

IN THIS EDITION: Food Trends to Watch for 2007
We'll cover these trends in more detail in future TrendWire newsletters, but here's the list of things to watch for in the coming year.

Continuation of Healthful Eating Trends
Experts seem to agree that people are finally getting the message about the importance of nutrition and good health. Watch for a few subtrends to be hot topics this year.

Emphasis on portion control.

Banning trans fats in many cities.

Increased meeting of health and convenience will result in products that fit both criteria.

Increased use of positive nutrition and nutraceuticals such as EGCG, a component in green tea believed to be a cancer fighter and a fat burner.

Increased access to Amazonian superfoods˜such as açaí, feoija and others.

Development of obesity-control foods.

Continued touting of the healthy benefits of chocolate.

Exotic Flavors Moving to the Mainstream
Americans seems to be looking for more and different flavors to test their palates. Look for these flavors to make news this year.

Tamarind˜extremely popular in India and Africa. It's seeing cultivation elsewhere in the world. Less ripe fruit is acidic, while the more mature fruit is much sweeter. Both versions are widely used where they're popular.

Dragon-fruit˜this fruit from a particular cactus has a flavor similar to a kiwi.

Acai Amazonian superfood taking the healthfood market by storm.

Spices˜especially in ready-to-drink teas where chai blends offer flavor and a touch of sweetness without adding calories.

Mangosteen˜a creamy, fleshy fruit with citrusy and peachy flavors. Grown in Asia.

Sea buckthorn˜an acidic, astringent fruit with a high vitamin C and vitamin E count.

Familiar citrus flavors are being tweaked to include the names of varietals such as Mandarin, Clementine, blood orange, key lime, and Meyer lemon. Other familiar flavors are seeing expanded uses as well. Take mint for example. Some call it the „mojito effect.‰ The Metromint (http://www.metromint.com/) water line puts the cool flavor front and center. And other ready-to-drink dairy drinks are marrying it to chocolate, coffee and liquors.

Convenience Options Expanding
Convenience has been a trend with American food consumers for years, and this year will be no exception. As more of us are on the go, we'll choose quick-to-grab snacks on the way to or from wherever we're going.

Pret a Manger is a new take on fast food that's been popular in the UK for years, and recently made its way to Manhattan. Sandwiches, soups, wraps and other deli-type items are made fresh daily and available in a refrigerated case. Customers choose items then pay for them, and usually carry them along rather than eating on site.

Starbucks' vending machine will be rolling out shortly using its proprietary Heat on Demand technology.

Wonder Pizza USA developed a vending machine „that holds, cooks and serves 9" whole pizza pies in only 2 minutes.

Increased Emphasis on Food Safety
American consumers are becoming less confident in our food supply with the recent outbreaks of foodborne illness and the constant threat of terror attacks on the food supply. Both the retail food industry and foodservice outlets are feeling the pinch, with produce-induced illness making news last year. Industry experts contend we'll soon see new technologies such as Radio Frequency I.D. tags in the ears of cows, so when you have an outbreak of disease they can quickly identify the animals affected. We'll see produce bags made from plastic films that change color if bacteria are present on the produce.

Increased Relevance of Story Foods.
People want to know where their food comes from, how it was grown and how it was prepared. This need is driven by several factors: 1) Genuine desire to ensure their food is grown and produced humanely, ethically and sustainably, 2) Cache gained from being „in the know) Fetish-food emphasis on the details and nuances of what we eat (consider the mind-boggling explosion of water menus, water sommeliers and the like that are popping up in finer restaurants on both coasts). Experts note the increasing presence of enviro-biographies attached to products, spelling out the entire life story of the ingredients, processes and eventual disposal of products. Continue to watch for terms such as fair trade, sustainable, and organic to make appearances on labels and menus. Look for crossovers from other trends to touch this particular story element, such as an emphasis on single-origin chocolates and vintage (rather than aged and blended) Scotch.

Availability of More Food Friendly Consumer Technology
More consumers will begin using technology in 2007 to actively manage their food choices. A few examples include˜

McDonald's cell phone-ready labels allow you to scan your Big Mac wrapper with your cell phone and keep track of your food choices over time.

Nutrax diet service allows you to use your cell phone to track food choices, plus gives you a place to log in your exercise info and get feedback from your own registered dietician for $8 a week.

Gatorade's Peak Performance Tools allows users to create their own Hydration Plan to keep them performing at their peak.

Sprint Myfood phone allows users to use their phones to take pictures to journal their food choices.

Other technologies will continue to make purchasing food simpler with biometrics in vending such as Sodavision and Speedpass, the contact-free payment system that made its name at the gas pump) technologies becoming more available in food outlets. Some companies will choose to use technology as an entertainment tool to keep their brand front and center in the minds of the tech-savvy market. Consider expansions of Burger King's Xbox games, its MySpace lounge, its new Tivo tie-ins, as the most obvious examples.

©2007 NOBLE.

The Food Channel® TrendWire˙ newsletter is published by NOBLE Consulting, the consumer and industry trendtracking arm of NOBLE. NOBLE is a food-focused advertising and marketing company with offices in Springfield, Mo.; Chicago; and Bentonville, Ark. Editorial comments and subscription inquiries may be directed to Kay Logsdon at kay.logsdon@noble.net. Project consulting inquiries may be directed to Andy Ford at andy.ford@noble.net. Additional trend-focused editorial and blogging is available at www.foodchannel.com and www.brainblenders.com . The TrendWire˙ newsletter is distributed electronically twice monthly, or 24 times a year. Its content, in whole or in part, may not be copied or reproduced in any form without permission. All quotations must credit The Food Channel TrendWire as the source.

Comments are the opinion of the editor and do not necessarily represent the views of NOBLE and/or its associates.

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