CPG Trends 11 January 2023

Our December Roundup: Grocery trends, rethinking waste and the new superfood

Discover the latest CPG news including 2023 grocery trends, the latest superfoods, innovation in food waste reuse, and the importance of pleasure in educating consumers about their food choices.

Welcome back to another roundup! Here is what you missed in CPG news this past month, as curated by our partners at Sevendots.

The Food Chain Should Be a Food Circle

From WIRED

In this piece, the principles of regenerative agriculture come under fire.

Today we know that building food systems that are resilient to shocks such as the pandemic is no longer enough. In 2023, we will be redesigning food to also help us solve pressing global challenges including climate change and biodiversity loss… For that to be possible, the whole system needs to be regenerative by design.

The time is now to move beyond simplistic views of the food system, and this piece argues for holistic change and a movement towards a circular economy. A variety of great examples of efforts from manufacturers, as well as legislative efforts, to help adapt production practices, are also included.

Natural Grocers 2023 Trends

From Natural Grocers

Here we have some of the biggest 2023 trends for groceries, including health and wellness trends (like an emphasis on gut health and using apple cider vinegar), body and beauty (like moving to bar-based products and eco-friendly period products), food and beverage (like the sober curious movement) and ecological trends (like zero-waste cooking and purposeful packaging). Click through to discover each trend in more detail.

A particular highlight is the inclusion of the ‘regenivore’ diet trend, which is all about making food choices that support your health and the health of the planet. It emphasizes:

Nourishing foods that are grown by farmers and ranchers who prioritize practices that sustain and regenerate the soil, water, biodiversity, and the overall ecosystem in which they function. This includes foods that are organic, non-GMO, regeneratively grazed, humanely raised, and sustainably sourced.

Sevendots Partner Eugenio Perrier had this to add to this trend:

“Food is increasingly a business driven by purpose. While great taste remains a must, the emerging brands with the most interesting innovations are working hard to address personal and environmental wellbeing, fostering products that enhance health, beauty, mental wellness, while embracing upcycling and regenerative practices. There is where premiumization will be.“

Eugenio Perrier

Fuel made from ramen, dishes from coffee grounds: Japan rethinks food waste

From the Washington Post

In this unique deep dive, Japan’s varied efforts to reuse and repurpose waste comes under examination. Discover the train that runs on the leftover lard from ramen soup and the dried food scraps that are being used to create concrete. Pure inspiration for innovation-lovers everywhere. Sevendots Partner Andrea Bielli had this to say:

“Food waste and upcycling are vast territories full of opportunities as they enable the simultaneous benefits of a better planet, reduced costs and better profitability. Also, there is very fertile ground for consumer engagement through great storytelling. The main challenge is making this more mainstream vs. small targeted initiatives.”

Andrea Bielli

Vitamin-Sea: 2023’s New Superfood Is All About What’s Growing In Our Ocean

From Delish

The next big superfood trends to follow kombucha come from the sea! This includes seaweed, sea moss, dulse and kombu. Search queries for ‘the benefits of chlorophyll water’ are up 35%, the search term ‘green algae’ has gone up by 60%, and ‘seaweed snacks recipes’ has seen a 245% increase. Using the umami flavours to help transform dishes, these products also contain essential antioxidants and nutrients. Watch this space for more on this trend.

Inside The Outernet: How The Billion Pound Concept Plans To Make Its Mark

From Forbes

In this unique immersive project created by British multimedia mogul Philip O’Ferrall, the Outernet plans to create a place for communities to come together to experience music, arts, culture and creators in a new way. Utilizing AR, VR, AI, the aim is to democratise technologies, and offer a space where brands can bring an experience to life in both a digital and physical way. CPG brands have started to get involved as sponsors, and in the current Room to breathe space (defined as a ‘digital wellbeing experience’) we get a glimpse into how technology can play a key role in supporting health and wellbeing. Our Partner Miriam Mostarda says of the project:

“The Outernet has just landed in London! As we witness consumers being further brought into the depth of the “Inter-net” through the development of the Metaverse, this new concept creates the “Outer-net” pushing the digital experience into the real world… How brands will engage with consumers and their communities in this collective phy-digital experience is yet to see.”

Miriam Mostarda

Marketers to focus on Gen Z in 2023 with dollars moving to TikTok, raw approach to creative

From Digiday

Looking into how Gen Z is impacting the creation of culture and how this is impacting marketing spend, this article from Digiday dives into the continuation of 2022 trends in marketing spend. Namely, turning allocations away from Facebook, Instagram and YouTube and towards TikTok. Facilitating opportunities to get Gen Z involved in publishing their own content is increasingly important, as is tapping into sustainability and authenticity.

The big takeaway? Get clear on what matters to Gen Z and how they want to move through the world.

Why shifting food behaviours will require talking to our primal selves

From the World Economic Forum

Despite rising awareness of plant-based diets, this piece from the World Economic Forum highlights the challenge as carbon dioxide emissions have risen. And despite increasing climate worries, this piece highlights the difficulties involved in getting more people to switch to plant-based diets – it calls for an appeal to our identities, as food is not just about health, but also about psychology and society. To quote:

It’s easy to realize why changing who we are – our diets – in the name of a foreign, threatening, uncontrollable event – climate change – is hard. If only we could make the current climate crisis talk to our identity, our primal self, things might be different. That’s where familiarity and pleasure come into play.

By ensuring better environmental food choices appeal to the primal parts of the human reward system, making the switch is easier and more personal.

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There you have it, the roundup from December. We wish you a Happy new Year from the team at Sevendots and hope this has helped you feel more up to date with what has been happening this past month.