Year after year, Whole Foods Market, a leading health-conscious retailer, predicts what the new year’s hottest food and beverage trends will be. Their highly anticipated list has become a guide of sorts for the CPG industry. Last year, Whole Foods announced its top 10 trends for 2020, and they nailed it. This year, more than 50 Whole Foods team members, including local foragers, retail buyers, and culinary experts, came together to determine the top 10 most anticipated food trends for 2021. Whether you’re a retailer, a brand, or a consumer, expect to see upcycled foods, health-based products, mushroom broth, boozy kombucha, and more taking over grocery store shelves.
Keep reading for this year’s Whole Foods Market predictions (and products you can find on RangeMe that match these trends!)
1. Well-being is served
The lines between the supplement and food aisles are blurring, and that trend will continue to accelerate in 2021. As consumers become more and more aware of and proactive with their health, food brands are incorporating more functional ingredients into their products such as Vitamin C, mushrooms and adaptogens, probiotics, superfoods, fermented foods like sauerkraut, and more that will help boost immune systems and calm the mind.
2. Epic breakfast daily
As consumers continue to work from home, big breakfasts have ditched the weekend-only stereotype to becoming a must have seven days a week. The most important meal of the day now has a whole lineup of new products consumers can introduce to their breakfast rotation, including pancakes, egg bites, breakfast pizza, and plant-based alternatives.
3. Basics on fire
With more time in the kitchen, home chefs are looking for ways to reinvent basic pantry staples such as pasta, sauces, spices, and soups. New products and those already available will blow your mind with pasta made of heart of palm, “meaty” vegan soup, creamy cracked pepper, and more.
4. Coffee beyond the mug
As several people become their own at-home barista, it’s time to take your love for coffee beyond the mug. Java is giving a jolt to all sorts of foods, including coffee-flavored bars, granola, yogurt, smoothie boosters, and booze.
5. Baby food all grown up
Inspired by culinary innovation, parents now have a wide variety of baby food selections made from rich and flavorful ingredients such as rhubarb, rosemary, purple carrots, and omega -3-rich flaxseeds. Will we be seeing a new generation of kids with sophisticated taste palates?
6. Upcycled foods
Upcycled foods might be my favorite trend yet because these products help make for a more sustainable food industry. Over the past year, the food industry has seen an increased focus on parts of ingredients typically discarded and labeled as “food waste.” And that trend is skyrocketing. Upcycled foods help maximize the energy used to produce, transport, and make an ingredient. So get ready for products incorporating discarded pulp, upcycled flours, and more!
7. Oil change
You’ve heard of olive oil, canola oil, and coconut oil, but what about sunflower, pumpkin, and walnut seed oil? Versatile oils are hitting the shelves to add new flavors to cooking at home.
8. Boozed-up booch
Alcoholic kombucha is making its presence strong on the store shelf as it’s gluten-free, filled with probiotics, and just as bubbly as your hard seltzer option. Cheers to healthy fun!
9. The mighty chickpea
Tiny but mighty, the chickpea can be in and made into just about anything. According to Whole Foods, chickpea is the new cauliflower. It’s popping up in products like chickpea tofu, chickpea flour, chickpea cereal, and pasta; some people even make chocolatey desserts out of chickpeas!
10. Fruit and veggie jerky
What traditionally was made of meat, jerky has now added fruit and veggies to its resume. All kinds of nutritious produce can be made into jerky anywhere from savory mushroom jerky to jackfruit and sweet mango and banana jerky.
There you have it, the top 10 food and beverage trends, according to Whole Foods Market. And based on the supplier selection and buyer actions on RangeMe, we can confirm these are trends both suppliers and retailers are interested in. As you’re preparing and planning for the new year, keep these trends in mind for products to buy for your retail stores or ingredients to add to your brand’s product line. You never know how a probiotic-filled fruit jerky or coffee yogurt can attract the curious shopper.
If you’re a retail buyer, start discovering brands and products that match these trends here.
If you’re a supplier, log in to share your brands with retail buyers searching for these trends or sign up for free here.