Consumer Insights
Ice cream’s resurgence through flavor, better-for-you innovation
As the ice cream industry embraces indulgence, health, sustainability and new formats, innovation and adaptability will guide its flavorful future.
Consumer Insights
Consumer Insights
It’s not too early to talk about winter flavor trends
The most prepared restaurant operators are thinking past the flavors of fall to what’s ahead for the critical holiday and winter flavor trends.
Consumer Insights
How plant-based food brands are riding the next wave
Plant-based food companies are innovating to ride the next wave.
Consumer Insights
The evolution of grocery brand loyalty
Shifts in consumer behavior have driven loyalty to no longer be exclusive to one food brand or retailer.
Consumer Insights
What generation shifts mean for predicting food trends
Food preferences can change drastically between generations, and industry professionals need to know their customers in order to effectively market to them.
Consumer Insights
Need states are the “why” behind today’s beverage choices
How and why do consumers choose one beverage among a sea of options? The answer lies in understanding the interconnected beverage need states.
Consumer Insights
How stories are selling the new crop of fancy foods
Specialty food brands and their founders told their compelling startup stories at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City last month.
![Are better burgers, desserts the key to more nutritious, sustainable eating? [Photo of a cookie with a heart shape dusted on in powdered sugar]](https://corp.smartbrief.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cookie-g938b4bd80_1280-241x136.jpg)
Consumer Insights
Are better burgers, desserts the key to more nutritious, sustainable eating?
Making the appealing option a little healthier and better for the planet could be the key to moving the needle on the American diet, experts said at the 11th annual Menus of Change conference at The Culinary Institute of America.
Consumer Insights
FMI leader lays out 6 imperatives facing the food industry today
Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI -- The Food Industry Association -- lays out six imperatives facing the food industry today and how the association is working with members to address them with a big-picture outlook.
Consumer Insights
Consumer trade-offs in the face of inflation
As consumers are feeling the squeeze of inflation, their food choices and grocery shopping habits are shifting.
Consumer Insights
Health and wellness: 4 trends for our times
A recent reset is driven by four trends that impact how consumers think about and act on their health and wellness.
Consumer Insights
How plant-based meat is evolving for the future
The future for plant-based meat goes way beyond burgers, chicken nuggets and traditional retail channels.
Consumer Insights
Discerning consumers shape food culture trends in 2023
Discerning consumers expect companies to deliver products with great tastes and textures, nutrient density, clean labels, and ethical and sustainable ingredient sourcing and production practices.
Consumer Insights
Health and wellness space is a world of opportunities
How have consumers' attitudes and behaviors about health and wellness changed after 3 years of living in a pandemic?
Consumer Insights
Legacy CPG brands infiltrate the alcohol category
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo initially identified their forays into alcohol as experimenting, but the two are committed to expanding their presence in the alcohol category.
Consumer Insights
Seaweed wave: Health, sustainability spur algae’s popularity
Seaweed has been gaining popularity on menus and store shelves over the past few years, but this year could bring a tidal wave of new products and culinary applications as food companies look to cash in on algae’s health and sustainability benefits.
Consumer Insights
Datassential forecasts 2023 macro trends for the food industry
The market researcher unveils the tentpole themes that will impact the food industry in the coming year.
Consumer Insights
5 food and beverage trends to watch for 2023
Five of the top food and beverage trends to watch for 2023 include a beverage category that will continue to gain popularity and the social media platform that experts think will most influence where and what consumers want to eat.
Consumer Insights
“Plant-based” has not peaked, but rather grown into a lifestyle
Will demand for plant-based food fall as fast as it grew? Far from it, according to Datassential.
Consumer Insights
What’s ahead in health and wellness in 2023?
It took a pandemic to upend life as we know it, prompting Americans to rethink their notions around health and wellness aspirations and behaviors.
Consumer Insights
Plant-based meat trends go beyond the burger
The plant-based meat category is growing beyond burgers to feed consumers' cravings for more exotic fare.
Consumer Insights
Consumer trends in food shopping today
From inflation to COVID-19, various factors are shaping food shopping preferences and behaviors, presenting both challenges and opportunities for food retailers and foodservice operators alike.
Consumer Insights
Consumer vs. restaurant: Hartman research on the challenges of eating out
Americans love to eat out, yet research from The Hartman Group shows how restaurant offerings often present challenges to individual eating approaches.
Consumer Insights
Exploring the next generation of plant-based innovation
Exhibitors at this year's Plant Based World Expo showed off the growing array of options designed to feed the cravings of all types of eaters.
Consumer Insights
What’s ahead in grocery shopping and food procurement?
As macro forces impact consumer behavior, shoppers traverse a hybrid world of in-person and online grocery shopping and seek inspiration from an ever-growing number of sources.
Consumer Insights
The changing face of plant-based dining in the digital age
Author and researcher Eve Turow-Paul shared insights into the way digital technology has influenced the way millennials and Gen Z experience food.
Consumer Insights
Plant-based foods that emphasize plants appeal to consumers seeking less-processed foods
As the plant-based category evolves, food manufacturers and foodservice operators would do well to keep in mind their customers who are craving plant-based foods that emphasize plants, rather than attempt to replicate the experience of eating meat.
Consumer Insights
How inflation is affecting decisions in the produce aisle
Demand for organic produce surged after the start of the pandemic and sales are still strong overall even as inflation drives belt-tightening.
Consumer Insights
Trends in modern approaches to eating: Plant-focused vs. plant-based
With a proliferation of plant-based products in the marketplace today, consumer interpretations and pursuits of “plant-based eating” are just as expansive.
Consumer Insights
Closing the gap in sustainability: Opportunities to connect with consumers
The Hartman Group looks at how consumer familiarity with “sustainability” has grown steadily, but their confidence in identifying specific sustainable products and companies continues to lag behind.
Consumer Insights
What defines the American meal? Protein, paper towels and TV
Datassential’s “The American Meal” report surveyed thousands of consumers about their eating habits both at and away from home.
Consumer Insights
Lessons from the pandemic: What’s next in diet and eating behavior?
How pandemic-influenced shifts in consumers’ lives have altered needs and notions around diet and nutrition.
Consumer Insights
Coffee drinkers increasingly brew premium, specialty blends at home
As pandemic-related food and beverage trends persist, consumers are attracted to quality, unique coffee products to enjoy at home.
Consumer Insights
Into the mainstream: What’s next for organic foods and beverages?
Organic foods and beverages across categories are more accessible than ever before in terms of both availability and price.
Consumer Insights
Ideas in food and beverage: Six trends for 2022
To shed light on how cultural and demographic shifts are impacting demand for food and beverage, Hartman Group analysts recently examined six key trends in consumer culture.
Consumer Insights
Survey: Consumer sentiments around dining out post-COVID
Consumers suggest that they’re ready to move out of crisis mode and get back to business, which for the restaurant industry, means that more are getting comfortable with dining out again, albeit with some concerns about the economy.
Consumer Insights
Cooking today: Ideal meal aspirations and challenges
The Hartman Group's recent research shows how the pandemic has affected America's approach to meals today, making the ideal meal encompass a broader range of diverse needs and expectations than in years past.
Consumer Insights
How women are forging paths in the plant-based food world
Events like the Vegan Women Summit and successful entrepreneurs like Miyoko Schinner are focused on helping women-led plant-based ventures grow.
Consumer Insights
Consumers, restaurant operators feel the pinch of rising prices
Datassential’s Five in Focus Post-COVID inflation report reveals how consumers and restaurant operators have perceived rising prices.
Consumer Insights
Startups chart a new course for vegan e-commerce
Startups including Vejii and PlantBelly aim to make it easier for consumers to discover and purchase vegan products online.
Consumer Insights
Key consumer motivations driving growth in plant-based foods
Consumer interest in plant-focused products and diets is high—whether it’s for one meal, one month or frames a long-term approach to eating.
Consumer Insights
Food and restaurant trends for 2022 include robots, sustainability
Robots in restaurants, streamlined menus, booze-free beverages, a focus on sustainability and explorations of heritage cuisines are among food and restaurant experts' predictions for the top trends of 2022.