Top 3 Food Trends for 2020
Copyright: Shutterstock, 2020.
Seasonal & Local Produce
Eating locally and seasonally is becoming very important to consumers, chefs and food producers alike in a bid to improve our planet’s and our own health. Urban farms are now grown on rooftops and underground, like at Sky Greens in Singapore or at Growing Underground in London. They supply restaurants and food manufacturers with hyper-local produce, not only minimising food miles, water and chemical waste, but also nutrient loss. Using seasonal produce furthers these effects and many chefs are following the example of The Kitchin in Edinburgh, Ava Genes in Portland or Sweet Green, a US-based chain where partner farms dictate the menu based on what is growing.
Sleep Food
As practice and research in lifestyle medicine grows, consumers learn more about the diversity and complexity of health and wellness. For instance, Doctor Rangan Chatterjee and sleep scientist, Matthew Walker have highlighted the impact sleep has on overall health. This has driven consumers to look for ways to improve their sleep quality, especially as high stress levels, blue light exposure and busy lifestyles have been ruining sleep for many people. In response, a whole host of sleep-inducing food and drink products have been launched, such as; ice cream containing Nightfood mineral blend, Sleepwell milk with vanilla and valerian or Bedtime Tea with vanilla and nutmeg.
Automation
Smart farming, robot chefs, vending, self-ordering systems and more technological advances are disrupting the way our food is produced, ordered, prepared and consumed. Drones such as Droneag are now used to optimise farming processes and drones by Flytrex can even deliver food. Robots are used in kitchens at Spyce and in Chowbiotics vending machines to make complex meals. Samsung Smart Fridges are able to order groceries and cut food waste by monitoring expiry dates. These are just some examples of the many ways the food industry is becoming hyper-personalised, automated and friction free through endless smart technologies.