Key ingredient stars, nature-friendly claims, and health benefits will lead consumers’ food and drink demands in 2024, predicts Innova Market Insights

Image from Innova Market Insights

Key ingredient stars, nature-friendly products, and added health benefits will drive consumer purchasing of food and drinks in 2024, says market researcher Innova Market Insights (Arnhem, The Netherlands). The company recently released its predictions for the Top 10 Food & Drink Trends in 2024.

The top 10 trends are:

• Taking the Spotlight
• Nurturing Nature
• Prioritizing Prevention
• Plant-Based: The Rise of Applied Offerings
• Local Goes Global
• Home-Kitchen Heroes
• Indulging in Health
• Oceans of Possibilities
• H2.O: Quenching the Future
• Minimizing the Noise

Innova Market Insights will go into detail on each of these predicted themes at a webcast on Thursday, November 16, at 9 AM ET. To register for the event, click here.

In a press release, the market researcher expanded on the first five key themes.

Taking the Spotlight

First, it said, consumers will continue looking to purchase products featuring “star” ingredients they love and trust. These ingredients include protein, superfruits, gut-friendly bacteria, and mushrooms.

As Lu Ann Williams, global insights director at Innova, explained, these are ingredients consumers have grown familiar with over the years. “This may be for reasons of flavor or texture, for example, or other positive associations—not purely because of any better-for-you benefits,” she stated. “Those associations might echo other well-loved products, snippets picked up from social media, or potentially many years of online information on healthy ingredients, from ‘superfruits’ to gut-friendly bacteria.”

To attract consumers, companies should continue highlighting such star ingredients prominently on their packaging.

Nurturing Nature

Keeping in mind that Innova Market Insights survey data show that consumers now prioritize buying products that support the health of the planet even over products that support their own personal health needs, food and drink companies should continue highlighting their products’ environmental benefits in 2024.

Consumers aren’t tiring of these claims, with Williams stating, “We identified ‘Nurturing Nature’ as our number-two trend, and we feel this type of story can be a tiebreaker between competing products. For example, over the last four years, our analysis found an astonishing 40% annual increase in food and drink products making some sort of water-usage claim.”

Prioritizing Prevention

That said, consumers are also still very enthusiastic about products that support their own health. “Over a third of consumers tell us they want to be proactive about maintaining good health, with a lot of the messaging around us emphasizing the need to take more personal responsibility here,” Williams explained. “This could be in areas as diverse as bone health and cardiovascular disease,” she added.

Plant-Based: The Rise of Applied Offerings

Plant-based food and drinks will continue driving business in 2024. Consumers are even looking for more plant-based options for the ready-meals they eat. “Time-saving ready meals are serving up increasing numbers of popular dishes in alternative vegan or vegetarian versions, such as lentil lasagna,” Williams noted. “There is a clear message coming through to brands and retailers that, while some consumers don’t eat meat at all, many more are happy to eat less of it.”

Local Goes Global

Locally sourced ingredients for food and beverage continue to draw interest from consumers, Innova said. With this in mind, manufacturers will want to continue highlighting locally sourced ingredients. “Clearly-identified ingredients from close to home are being incorporated into recipes from around the world,” Williams noted. “The end result can combine the opportunity for local pride with the excitement of international dishes. This does not replace the popularity of traditional, local menus, but extends them into new domains.”