The Next Hot Trends in Food

The next buzzword: regenerative grazing

“Grass fed,” once a progressive term in the food world, has become a mainstream buzzword used to attract consumers who want to eat beef that doesn’t come from cows raised in feedlots. It has expanded from expensive meat sold at Whole Foods Market Inc. and steak burritos at Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. to Chili’s Grill & Bar, which recently began offering grass-fed burgers, and Annie’s Mac & Cheese, which uses milk from grass-fed cows.
Now, Ms. Abbott argues, it’s not enough just to know the diet animals were fed, but also to understand the impact those animals have on the environment.
There is a growing movement called regenerative agriculture, in which different farming practices are used to restore soil degraded by planting and harvesting crops. One way to regenerate the topsoil is to graze cattle or bison on land used for growing crops, because their manure and left-behind forage act as natural fertilizers.
In the next three years, Ms. Abbott expects, restaurants and food companies will highlight that their grass-fed beef was raised in a regenerative-grazing fashion. She adds, though, that there would have to be a verification system designed to ensure the claim has meaning.

Consumer-friendly products with less sweetener may get a boost from bitterness-blocking mushrooms. UROS PETROVIC/GETTY IMAGES

The next ingredient: something consumers understand

Food companies have long struggled to keep up with changing government guidelines and regulations by reformulating their products to remove unhealthy ingredients such as trans fatty acids, sugar and salt. In some cases, though, shoppers are even more suspicious of the stuff companies put in, such as artificial sweeteners.
Now the goal is “clean labels”-lists of ingredients consumers can understand and pronounce. So, food makers are experimenting with adding natural ingredients to mask bad flavors or enhance good ones without swapping one bad ingredient for another.
“It’s a shift in thinking for food and ingredients companies,” saysDave Donnan, a partner at consulting firm A.T. Kearney, where he leads the global food and beverage practice. “They’re not just looking for a replacement for sugar, but how to change the taste profile” of products so that they don’t need as much sweetener in the first place.
For instance, one biotech company is using mushrooms to remove the bitterness in cacao beans so that chocolate can be made with less sugar. Other companies are moving to soy protein and natural flavor enhancers to reduce sodium levels in food.

New plant waters such as cactus water are popping up in mainstream stores. PHOTO:ROBERTO LO SAVIO/GETTY IMAGES

The next healthy beverage: plant waters

The coconut-water fad appears to have unleashed a new category in the drink aisle: plant waters. From aloe water and maple water to artichoke water and cactus water, they are replacing more sugary sports drinks and artificially flavored waters that don’t appeal to consumers’ desire for nutritious and natural beverages.
While U.S. soda sales fell for the 11th year in a row last year, coconut water sales rose 27%, according to market research firm Technavio.
Some drinks are more likely to make it from health-food stores to convenience stores than others. Maple water and cactus water are more appealing than, say, artichoke water, since many people know cactuses contain water and view maple syrup as tasty.
Not only do these provide more flavor than plain water, they also tout health benefits beyond hydration. Aloe-vera juices claim to aid digestion and weight loss. Cactus-water makers say their drinks contain electrolytes and antioxidants.
Some of these plant waters are already popping up next to coconut water in mainstream grocery stores such as Kroger. The new plant waters are taking aim at the coconut beverage, advertising that maple water or cactus water contains significantly less sugar.

Jackfruit has a meaty texture and absorbs the flavors in which it is cooked. PHOTO:MICHAEL BUCKLEY/GETTY IMAGES

The next meat alternative: jackfruit

In health guidelines issued early this year, official U.S. dietitians say Americans eat too much meat. That’s giving fodder to new meat alternatives aiming to replace the usual meat replacement, tofu, which has worn out its welcome with many consumers.
There are burgers made with protein extracted from yellow peas, a molecule called heme that makes plants taste like beef and faux pulled pork made from shredded jackfruit.
Equity-research firm Wedbush estimates the overall industry of plant-based alternative foods, including replacements for meat and dairy, has $3.5 billion in annual sales. Analysts there expect that to continue growing as a result of increasing health and sustainability concerns around meat, as well as new technologies-like the heme molecule-that make the texture and taste of vegetables more similar to meat.
Of all the budding meaty substitutes, food experts say jackfruit has the most potential to go mainstream because of its meaty texture and ability to absorb the flavors in which it’s cooked. A large fruit with a spiky outer shell, it comes from trees grown mostly in South America and Southeast Asia, but it’s increasingly making its way to the U.S as it can be grown outside in the warmer climates or inside a produce greenhouse in cooler climates. The inner flesh-somewhat pear-like when raw-develops a savoury flavor when cooked.
“People who want to avoid soy are looking for alternatives, and a lot of the alternatives are highly processed,” says Ms. Abbott of Hartman Group. “This is just fruit that’s been minimally processed and seasoned with things you have in your kitchen.”

Spirulina, blue-green algae, completes the natural color palette for food makers.PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

The next natural food dye: spirulina

The move toward cleaner food labels is pushing out artificial food dyes like Red No. 40 and Yellow 6, which were popularized for making Jell-O dessert bright red and giving Froot Loops cereal its neon glow. Food makers are responding to growing concerns among parents that artificial food colorings may cause hyperactivity and allergic reactions in their children.
While red and yellow are relatively easy to replicate with natural spices like turmeric and paprika, blue and green have given food makers trouble-until now. Blue-green algae called spirulina are often sold as a health supplement at vitamin shops or as an energy shot in smoothies. But now they are being harvested for use as a natural blue-green dye.
In 2013, M&M’s maker Mars Inc. received the green light from U.S. regulators to use spirulina to color candy and gum. That was later expanded to include cereal, ice cream and more-completing the natural color palette for food makers. Mars said in February it would switch M&M’s to all-natural colors by 2021. Other small companies are already using spirulina for organic candy, like Black Forest gummy bears.
The Food Marketing Institute, a grocery trade group, expects the volume of spirulina used for food and beverages to quintuple in 2020 from 2014, and the natural food-coloring industry to grow at an average annual rate of 6.8% in that time frame.