Food and beverage industry trends
It
is no secret that the food industry is one of the leading and biggest
industries in the world. And like any other, it is constantly changing and
developing. Even though the changes may not be as visible as in the fashion
industry (where we all know what kind of trends are going to be leading in the next
season), we can`t deny that F&B market has changed a lot for the past
years, since all of the tech innovations are rooting more and more in the manufacturing
processes and other levels of the supply chain.
Chinese food industry
So
let`s take a look at the latest Chinese and overall global food industry
trends. Are they different in China than the rest of the world, or is China on track
with everyone else?
Food industry trends worldwide
1.
Transparency has been one of the leading trends for the past years and will
keep its importance. Nowadays people want to know more about the food they buy,
the way it was processed and how healthy it is. In addition to that, for most people
it is not enough to have the full list of the ingredients that are used, but
they want to know where these products are coming from, how they were grown,
etc. And such interest makes companies overthink not only their manufacturing
processes but also marketing and communication issues. It has been proven that people
buy more products from companies that are honest with their costumers and share
details about their corporate culture, food ingredients, processing and etc.
2.
Plant-based food is one of the trends that bloomed at the F&B markets a
couple of years ago and keeps increasing its popularity now. First of all, this
trend isn`t about becoming vegan or vegetarian, it`s all about having at least
70% of all your meals to be plant-based, with 100% clear ingredients. This
trend is already firmly rooted in Europe, where customers keep on rejecting
products that contain too many additives. And while the plant-forward eating
spreads all over the world, companies are under the pressure to figure out, how
they can improve the whole food processing chain starting from food growing to
the point it is served to the table. How will the companies manage the supply
chain infrastructure, logistics, warehousing, etc., in order to keep their products
safe and fresh?
3.
Health food. As we`ve seen with the previous trends, customers are now more
concerned with the products they are consuming, and the impact these have on
their health. This trend promotes informative and clear labeling, and organically
grown products. Recently, we have seen more and more food and beverages that
contain functional ingredients such as probiotics and collagen instead of GMO,
fats, artificial coloring, etc. All of this means that consumers are learning
more about the risks of many diseases and health problems that come from
unhealthy living, and so the new drive for health and well-being is what causes
the F&B industry to change accordingly with the demand.
4.
Zero Waste and Plastic-free. These two trends are not completely the same, but
Plastic-free is part of the Global Zero waste movement. For the past couple of
years, we`ve heard many people worldwide (influencers, government
representatives), speak about on these movements, and we can already see the
changes on a national levels. The European Union, for example, has started a
ban on the use of plastic products, like straws, plates, etc., and China has
restricted importing and processing residues from other countries. During the
Our Ocean Global Conference, leading CPG companies and global generators of
plastic waste have signed an agreement to reduce plastic generation and
disposal. Hopefully, in the near future, we will see even bigger changes in the
use of plastic products, and not only plastic, but also better techniques in
preventing the waste of food as well.
5. Innovations and robotics. Automation has become the global trend within all industries a long time ago. However, the food industry constantly integrates the AI technologies into all levels of the food supply chain, lowering the impact of the human factor within the processes. Processing, handling, palletizing done by the robots as well as the new e-restaurants and service-robots in general are setting new, higher standards and this is just the beginning.
5. Innovations and robotics. Automation has become the global trend within all industries a long time ago. However, the food industry constantly integrates the AI technologies into all levels of the food supply chain, lowering the impact of the human factor within the processes. Processing, handling, palletizing done by the robots as well as the new e-restaurants and service-robots in general are setting new, higher standards and this is just the beginning.
6. Eat-on-the go. Well, it will be fair to say that
the “eat-on-the go” food is not a completely new trend. Meanwhile, this trend
went through the drastic transformation in the last couple of years. We all
used to think about the eat-on-the go food as something that’s not healthy,
however, this upgraded trend sets a new benchmark. Healthy snacks containing
proteins and nutrients are gaining more and more attention due to their convenience
and beneficial features.
7. Tea. And it`s all about the health again. It`s
widely known that tea contains lots of elements that cause a positive impact on
a human's body, such as improving the level of cholesterol, boost immunity
system, improve the skin condition, alleviate stress and much more. Statistics
shows that the generation of millennia’s is the one who prefers to drink tea
over coffee. There are more and more tea options that come up all the time:
craft tea, nitro tea, tea cocktails, and ready-to-drink teas.
Food industry trade shows in China
Chinese food industry
In 2011, China stole the first place from the United
States, which used to beat all records in the size of its food industry, and
now China is officially the world`s largest Food&Beverage market. Besides,
China also has the reputation of being the world`s largest food importer and
the biggest revenue generator in the world.
Analytics predict that China will attain an annual
growth rate of 12.8 percent and the market volume to become worth US$36.67
billion by 2023.
The Chinese F&B industry is still one of the
worlds` fastest-growing, which attracts international investors, exporters, and
importers.
Annually China imports a huge amount of different products
such as meat, fish, dairy products, confectionery, chocolate, soybeans, wine,
spirits, bottled water, and sugar as some of the most common products.
Food trends in China:
Overall, the food trends in China are similar to the
rest of the world and can be described as “Healthy food; Organic and natural
ingredients”. This leads to an increase
in sales of imported health foods (food supplements, dairy products) which are
considered among Chinese consumers as higher-quality, safer and more consistent
products.
- Product safety and traceability are gaining more
attention and popularity in China, which leads to improving the food safety
standards and domestic food industry matures.
- The Chinese consumers, just as the international, pay
much attention to the food production methods, brand history, and ingredients
of the products they purchase.
- Another popular trend in China – ordering/delivery
apps, which are mostly used by students and white collars.
- Coffee culture. Despite the fact that China is
known for its tea culture, the younger generation seems to move away from it.
If you are interested in the Chinese food industry,
there is no better way to get an insight into this market than to visit one of
the many food trade shows which are held in China annually. Trade shows in
China are events of national significance and are organized or supported by the
government, therefore it can become a great opportunity to discover the Chinese
market for your company, in order to find new suppliers, or promote your
products to the Asian market.