Food trends and people’s changing behaviours and desires constantly influence the F&B industry. With people becoming more concerned about how food affects their health, especially the after the pandemic, it’s understandable that some new food trends have emerged and impacted the F&B sector. With significant changes in how businesses will operate, the top food trends in India are:
1. Plant-Based Diet
A growing number of people are adopting a mindset that revolves around eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat. The plant-based packaged-food category is more expansive than ever — and consumers are excited about this. The Mediterranean diet is a perfect example of this, as it has consistently been the best choice for health-conscious individuals over the years due to its incredible health benefits.
This eating trend has impacted the food and beverage industry so much that numerous new companies, such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, have emerged to focus on creating revolutionary plant-based protein options. While almost everyone is familiar with these two behemoths, India has rapidly increased plant-based food businesses such as Ahimsa Food and Good Dot.
2. Homecooked meals
In a post-pandemic world, the four-day work week and a remote working culture has become a reality, owing to which more people are spending longer hours at home. As a result, an increasing number of people are learning to cook to a greater extent at home instead of venturing out to crowded restaurants and the risks they may pose.
Specific food trends come and go, but as more people purchase high-end equipment such as air fryers and multi-cookers and become more capable cooks, they realise that home-style cooking is here to stay because it is a lot of fun. Furthermore, they control the ingredients they use and the dishes they prepare, whether they are healthier versions of popular Indian snacks like bhel puri or delectable main dishes like pav bhaji and biryani.
3. AI-powered food
The food and beverage industry has felt the ripple effect with technology improving by leaps and bounds across most sectors. It has increasingly adopted this trend, making changes such as using artificial intelligence to meet demand despite a labour shortage. Robots that not only deliver food to customers but may also cook food from scratch have emerged, sparking a food trend fueled by the pandemic.
A Bengaluru-based startup, NOSH, recently released one such robot that can cook 120 delicious Indian recipes practically by itself.
4. Transparency
People are interested in their food and want to know where it comes from and what it is made of. In fact, according to the Innova Consumer Survey, six out of every ten consumers want more transparency about the ingredients in their food.
Given this, it’s no surprise that one of the essential food and beverage trends will be a better understanding of where our food comes from, what it’s made of, and how the ingredients have been stored. This has now become a realistic demand due to cutting-edge technology such as blockchain in conjunction with the Internet of Things.
5. Immunity Foods
Nobody enjoys getting sick, especially after the pandemic. One of the food trends worth following is getting healthier and strengthening your immune system by taking supplements or eating foods high in nutrients like almonds, turmeric, yoghurt, and honey.
6. Food waste reduction
Unnecessary food waste is a problem that many people have been attempting to solve for a long time. Still, it has recently gained traction as an eating trend that the F&B industry has tried to follow. Many movements, such as No Food Waste and Feeding India by Zomato, have emerged in India to address this issue.
7. Cashless payments
With how little money people carry these days, it’s no surprise that cashless payment options are a growing F&B trend. Restaurants and Cloud Kitchen Delivery Kitchen establishments worldwide prioritize keeping up with this trend and providing the infrastructure for seamless cashless payments.
8. Delivery kitchen expansion
Cloud Kitchen Delivery Kitchens are a trend that will continue throughout 2022 and beyond as a concept that brings better cost efficiency to F&B businesses and allows them to thrive in unpredictable seasons.