It’s January, the futurologists’ favourite month. It’s when they get to tell us about all the things that are Going To Be Really Big this year … and the brilliant names they’ve given them.
So, hats off to JWT’s innovation and futurism unit for being first out of the trap with their predictions for the big trends in food and drink in 2016. Top trends for year include the provocatively named ‘natural junk’ (a “reimagining of junk food with a focus on natural ingredients”), ‘swavory’ foods (you guessed it, foods that “straddle the sweet and savoury worlds”) and Byproduct brands (innovators who use formerly discarded byproducts to create entirely new products).
New food tribes for 2016 include ‘new omnivores’, consumers who are “re-thinking their relationship with meat, eating less of it and familiarizing themselves with other options”. It’s a trend spurred on by the exciting innovation in plant-based foods – JWT cites as an example the ‘shock and awe’ burger from start-up Impossible Foods, reputedly indistinguishable from the taste and texture of beef.
Elsewhere, nutritionist Rob Hobson predicts a rise interest in ‘root to stem dining’, which he describes as a “showcase for innovative ways to use the entire plant including leaves, roots and stems”. Buzzfeed, with its digital ear always to the ground, thinks we’ll be seeing an growing interest in ‘vintage cuisine’ in 2016, and a rise in homemade booze. ‘Broths as drink’ and ‘luxury artisan’ are both tipped for big things, and absolutely everyone agrees that seaweed is the new kale.
