Provenance, authenticity and artisanal processes are going mainstream and transforming food and beverage categories, according to a new report from consultancy firm New Nutrition Business.

​

The idea of foods and beverages having ‘provenance’ – with a back-story anchored in heritage and trust and perhaps made in a traditional, artisanal way – is now entering the strategies of the world’s largest food firms, according to New Nutrition Business’s annual report ‘10 Key Trends in Food, Nutrition and Health 2019’. 

 

Rising fortunes

 

“The success of the craft beer and sourdough bread markets, which are fuelled by provenance, gives a taste of what the future will look like for many categories,” said Julian Mellentin, the consultancy’s Director.

 

In the UK, after years of decline, the bread market grew 4.3 per cent in 2017 thanks to premium-priced artisanal products such as sourdough. In Canada, artisanal bread has grown 15 per cent in four years to become a US$1.12 billion market. In Spain, mass-market bakery chain Panishop earns 20 per cent of its sales from sourdough bread alone.

 

It’s a similar story in beer, where ‘craft’ and ‘artisanal’ beers are now a normal part of the portfolios of giant brewers such as Kirin, Heineken and San Miguel.

 

Dairy developments

 

The latest category to harness the power of provenance is dairy, outlines the new report. “The success of Yoplait’s Oui yoghurt shows how connecting to the Key Trends is the surest way to increase your chances of success, even for the very largest companies,” said Mr Mellentin.

 

Once the market leader in the US yoghurt market, Yoplait was late to enter the Greek race – and, as a result, still lags Chobani and Danone. But with the success of its Oui ‘French-style’ yoghurt brand, sold only in traditional single-serve glass jars, it has shown it can create a new type of yogurt based on provenance – a strategy that has proven so successful for Greek, Icelandic skyr and Australian-style yoghurt.

 

Oui by Yoplait also connects to a number of other key trends: First, the mega-trend of people wanting their foods to be ‘as natural as possible’.

 

Second, it’s made with simple, non-GMO ingredients like whole milk (Key Trend 9 in New Food Business’s report – ‘Fat reborn’), pure cane sugar (Key Trend 4 – ‘Redefining Sweetness’), real fruit and yoghurt cultures. It contains no artificial preservatives, no artificial flavours and no colours from artificial sources.

 

The reward for Yoplait in responding to such market dynamics is that Oui is now on track for US$100 million in annual sales, despite selling at a 200-per-cent premium to regular yoghurt (on a price-per-kilo basis). And what’s more, Oui has achieved this in a year in which yoghurt consumption in the US actually fell slightly. 

 

Transforming trends for mainstream brands

 

“Oui by Yoplait shows how the provenance trend is fast transforming mainstream brands,” said Mellentin. “And it shows that wise companies will always tap into several of the 10 Key Trends, because it’s connecting to multiple trends that fuels the biggest successes.”

 

New Nutrition Business’s 10 Key Trends for 2019 are:

1. Digestive Wellness

2. Plant-based

3. Protein

4. Sugar

5. Good carbs, bad carbs

6. Fragmentation & personalisation

7. Snackification

8. Beverages Redefined

9. Fat Reborn

10. Authenticity & Provenance

 

10 Key Trends in Food, Nutrition and Health 2019 is available to buy at: www.new-nutrition.com