Missy Dishes: 2022 Food & Beverage Trends
January 18, 2022
Even as foodservice and CPG industries continue experiencing price increases, labor shortages, and supply chain challenges carried over from 2021, we remain optimistic about the year ahead. Exciting new food, beverage, and consumer trends are forecasted to drive retail sales and restaurant traffic both onsite and to-go. Manufacturers and operators who align with trends and make simple shifts in business strategies can be better equipped for a successful outcome.
Omnivore’s own Chef Missy recently sat down to share her enthusiasm and perspective on industry food trend predictions, including Whole Foods Top 10 Food Trends for 2022. She also provides insights on how to translate trends into actionable solutions for your business.
Consumers have experienced a greater thirst for better tasting, more complex beverages. Why do you think there is such an appeal for beverages today?
Chef: Beverages, in general, have become more sophisticated, not only in flavor but in format and function. Consumer demand for robust flavors, unique ingredients, and functional benefits have caused manufacturers, bartenders, and mixologists to carefully rethink and elevate offerings to satisfy changing consumer palates.
Mocktails, a leading trend in 2022, were historically treated as an afterthought, a sugary concoction that bartenders whipped up from a small selection of juice options in order to appeal to kids and appease parents. Now, they take up valuable real estate on menus and are crafted with much more care and culinary prowess than ever before. Mocktails have opened the door to a wider audience of beverage lovers, adding interesting, complex taste profiles to the mix.
FSR concludes that “younger consumers are drinking less alcohol than previous generations, but still crave the social, more inclusive experience of going out for drinks with friends.” For foodservice operators, you have an opportunity to be creative on your menu and leverage this trend by adding inspiring flavors, seasonal fruits, and flavorful herbs such as marmalade cordial, mango puree, and dried lavender to your recipes. Bartenders can also use sprits such as Seedlip and Ritual for alcohol-free alternatives.
Another trend making a splash in the beverage category is the inclusion of immunity-boosting, functional ingredients. In fact, the global functional beverage market is forecasted to reach US$158 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 8.08%.1
While once uber-popular herbal teas, flavored sparkling waters, and energy drinks had their place on drink menus and in retail venues, they’re quickly becoming overshadowed by more evolved formulations. From fortified waters and sports drinks to adding immunity support and CBD in juice shots to including probiotic ingredients like kombucha, consumers are sipping the benefits of immunity-infused, functional beverages.
Retailers and foodservice operators can experience real revenue-generating gains by offering functional beverages in their stores and on their menus. I’m excited to see this trend continuing way beyond the pandemic with new, refreshing innovations emerging over time.
How do you see consumers using trending ingredients like Yuzu and Hibiscus in everyday home consumption?
Chef: My recommendation for low-to-moderately-experienced at-home chefs is to start small and experiment with uses. Rather than starting from scratch, a great way to incorporate new ingredients into everyday eating is to use them in familiar recipes as a replacement for existing ingredients.
An ingredient like yuzu with its tart and sour taste profile is an ideal substitute for citrus. Yuzu combines the bright, crisp flavors of lemon, lime, and grapefruit. At home, you can swap lemon juice for yuzu in vinaigrettes, use it in a lemon drop cocktail or to enhance a margarita, or in a dessert – think yuzu meringue pie. This citrus fruit is also a flavorful addition to homemade sauces for topping fish and seafood.
Hibiscus has typically been used in beverages such as teas. This tropical plant brings a tart, nearly cranberry-like flavor and rich, purplish hew to drinks. Consumers are probably most familiar with this ingredient in terms of aqua Frescas which is simply blending fruit, flavorings, and lime juice with water.
Consumers could try some simple applications at home. A hibiscus lemonade made from hibiscus flowers, lemons, and a sweetener such as honey would be a deliciously refreshing drink to enjoy outdoors on a warm spring or summer day. The more adventurous souls could consider crafting a hibiscus cocktail. Thanks to the resurgence of the Moscow Mule, twists on mule ingredients are plentiful. Blending vodka with hibiscus juice and liquor, ginger beer and fresh lime juice take on a more fruity, floral taste to traditional mule recipes.
Whether enjoyed in recipes prepared at home, on menus away from home or as ready-to-drink beverages purchased from local grocery stores, yuzu and hibiscus are two trending ingredients worth trying this year and ones I plan to experiment within my own home kitchen.
With regards to the reducetarianism trend or flexitarian diets that are on the rise, do you see these trends influencing consumers’ purchasing or dining decisions?
Chef: Rather than completely eliminating certain foods from their diets, a reducetarian is one who chooses to decrease the amount of meat, seafood, dairy, and eggs that they eat. Reducetarians believe they’re taking a more realistic approach versus cutting certain foods out of their diets entirely – a heightened take on enjoying foods in moderation – due to health, environmental, or personal beliefs.
A recent study from DuPont Nutrition & Health found that 52% of U.S. consumers are eating more plant-based foods and they believe it makes them feel healthier.2 While health and the environment might be the biggest reasons a person chooses flexitarian-type diets, I also think supply chain shortages resulting in unsteady beef and poultry prices have caused more consumers to look for plant-based substitutes for potential cost savings, too.
When plant-based foods were first introduced both in restaurants and retail, it took a while for consumers to embrace the texture and taste differences. I have discovered the quality, consistency, and flavor of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives have gotten increasingly better over the past couple of years, making shifts in at-home meal prep an easier, tastier transition.
And restaurants have experienced an even greater demand for more plant-based substitutions on menus. NRA’s What’s Hot 2022 Culinary Forecast is predicting plant-based lunch and breakfast sandwiches as top trending menu items in 2022. Whether you enjoy it at home or away, plant-based foods will continue to evolve in flavor, format, and frequency.
As a chef, which trend excites you the most and why?
Chef: The trend that excites me the most is Ultraurban Farming. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) companies like Infarm and Teens for Justice, to name a few, have been making a substantial impact on bringing fresher, higher quality, and more affordable foods to communities – all year long.
I love the fact that urban farms can generate a large quantity of chemical-free, sustainably produced foods that can be shared locally without the need for shipping across the country. They require fewer natural resources, being much kinder to the environment.
Food transparency is a component of urban farming that also resonates with consumers. In fact, almost two-thirds of consumers say they try to choose foods made from clean ingredients.3 I think it’s indicative of where the food industry is progressing. More consumers and operators are interested in food sources and how food gets from field to table.
To learn more about how we can help translate trends into actionable solutions for your business or for culinary support and product training assistance, contact us here.
1 Wise Guy Reports ‘Global Functional Beverages Market Research Report, Forecast to 2025’, 2021
2Tracking the plant-based protein movement, Food Dive, Update January 10, 2022
3International Food Information Council (IFIC), May 2021
