Marion ELIE July 5, 2021

Micro-trend #4: The aperitif renaissance

While bars, restaurants, and terraces remained closed for many months, the pandemic has allowed us to rethink conviviality and taste.

The aperitif has been THE pleasure break during this period of confinement.

Thus, in 2020, savory aperitif products saw an increase of +5.6% compared to 2019.[I], and it was the 'seeds' (peanuts, cashews, etc.) that benefited from the best growth.

Virtual aperitifs under lockdown/curfew and hybrid lunch/dinner meals have easily punctuated and reinvented the daily lives of families forced to cook 3 times a day, 7 days a week. This pre-meal creativity gives rise to new taste combinations for sauces, dips and other spreads, when it does not reinvent drinks... to keep the pleasure of the celebration, without the intoxication of the collective.

The proof in products

 

Micro-trend No. 5: New gastronomy

 

Deprived of travel, outings, and dinners out, our plates have become infinite horizons. This has led to an even more widespread craze for cooking, one that is likely to last.

In 2021, nearly one in five households reported cooking more often using prepared ingredients, and more than one in three households reported cooking 100% homemade meals more often. Baking is also doing well, with 40% of households reporting baking more often than before the start of the pandemic. And a large proportion intend to continue baking. 61% plan to stick to these same habits, and 29% want to do it even more often.[ii].

Organic brands have opened the doors to create unique recipes and surprising combinations. Healthy and original solutions.

A way to bring a freshness of surprises into a world reduced to its living space, the exoticism of new tastings without leaving your living room.

The proof in products

  • The Toquettes by Tile, 100% natural vegetable squares to cook 
  • Organic Volcano Rebel, by Käserebellen Gmbh
  • Crumbled jackfruit, chickpeas and paprika, by Bonneterre
  • Hummus and cocoa, protein spread, no oils or thickeners, by Delicacy 
  • Goat's milk yogurt with lemon verbena hydrosol, by Lemance
  • 70% cocoa and bergamot crystals tablet, by Bonange House
  • Black Garlic Beer, by The steam room
  • Responsibly sourced tuna flakes marinated in seaweed and organic flax seeds, by Eckmühl Lighthouse 
  • Granola boosted with cricket powder, original or paprika flavor by Kriket
  • Nut-free, spreadable granola made with oats, flax and sunflower seeds, by Nü Morning 
  • Green banana flour, gluten-free, by Green Relay 
  • Tapi Dream, by vegetable flower, tapioca syrup
  • Date powder, a healthy alternative to powdered sugar, by Agro Sourcing
  • My all 1er mix of spices, suitable for babies and supporting parents in nutritional education and in the development of the palate of their little ones, by Sienna & Friends 
 

Micro-trend n°6: Very Vegan

By 2040, 60% of meat consumed will be artificial or plant-based (Source: Kearney – LSA 06.21). Furthermore, the plant-based market in France has grown by 10% in one year, to €497 million (Source: NielsenIQ, CAD to P4 2021, LSA 06.21).

As a stakeholder in the food transition, the veganism is revolutionizing society, and perhaps even humanity, since some - like Glenn Albrecht, philosopher of ecology - believe that we are going to shift from the 'anthropocene' to the 'symbiocene', an era where man will no longer seek to dominate his environment but to live in symbiosis with it.

Meanwhile, in a world becoming aware of the need to reduce its ecological impacts and cruelty, options for transition are multiplying, as new entrants invest in this growth paradise. The plant-based market in France has grown by 10% in one year, reaching €497 million.[iii].. Furthermore, the Plant Protein Plan is one of the flagship measures of the agricultural component of the recovery plan, with a budget of 120 million euros. Globally, the segment is expected to reach 15 billion euros in 2025.[iv].

Cheese, gastronomy, grills or even recipes and prepared meals... all food categories in supermarkets are and will continue to be reinvented.

The proof in products

  • Vegan bacon, by Biolab 
  • Ya Vegan Chocolate Mousse, with YA Fermented Rice and Aquafaba, by Biogroup 
  • Embrasse la vie, the first patented ferment preparation for making homemade plant-based “yogurts” using commercial plant-based drinks by Sprig of Foli
  • Vegan keftas, by Nutrition and Health
  • Tapi Dream, a plant-based alternative to honey, by vegetable flower
  • Wheaty Tex Mex Burger, made with seitan, wheat protein, by Wheaty
  • Beef flavored vegetable broth, by Ecoideas
  • Crunchy Peas Hummus Classic, by Country garden
  • Minced chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, basil, thyme and rosemary, and Minced coral lentils, coconut, tomato and lemongrass, by Workshop V
  • Complete plant protein, including 70% pea and rice protein, by Overstims
  • Okara Tempeh, a 100% plant-based product made from fermented soybeans, with a unique texture and mushroom aromas, by Sojami
 

 

Download Trend Sheet #2

 

Discover other Natexpo 2021 trends

 

[I] Iri, 2020, all circuits
[ii] Shopmium Study, 2020-2021
[iii] NielsenIQ, CAD to P4 2021
[iv] GEPV, Group for the Study and Promotion of Plant Proteins