PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND PROMOTION

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Trends Introduction

A number of companies, such as the Doblin Group, will investigate food habits and trends. This group does extensive, non-traditional field research which includes actually living with and video-taping families in target regions to obtain first-hand observations of shopping, cooking and eating behaviors and attitudes of consumers on a global scale. Another approach is being used by supermarkets and other food distribution mechanisms with their "card" approach. Certainly, accessing the Bureau of Labor Statistics is useful in determining actual trends.

There are many trends and figures given. Most recently, the NPD Group (Toop and Kevin, 1997) indicated that the most recent trends are: frozen pizza, precut veggies and salad mixes, meat, juices, leftovers, tap water and vitamins. "Trends" on the out are salsa, rice cakes, frozen yogurt, and low-cholesterol, low-sodium, low-sugar. In 1992, Food Engineering published an interesting list. However, depending upon the particular market segment, one can find many trends. Thus, where to focus? What to do?

In reviewing the trends, it is common to say to look at changing demographics and ethnicity, changes in technology, increased nutritional knowledge; however, it is important still to look at the past. Hollingsworth (1996) reported from the NPD Group in Illinois the following "If you want to know what people will be eating ten years from now, look at today's list. Eight of the 10 most popular foods today were on the list a decade ago. The form may be a little different, like turkey ham instead of real ham, for instance, because people are eating healthier alternatives to traditional foods. But future trends will be based on modifications of the foods available and most popular now." People only change when the new food product has a better value of health, price or convenience.

Source	Source	Source	Source
Rice&Eddy, 1999	Katz, 1999(in Europe)	Hollingsworth, 1998	Toops, 1999	Hickman, 1995, May 2
Ethnic and Specialty Technology Nutrition and health Eating patterns Dining at home Beverages Restaurants	authentic healthy cost containment shortened life cycles beverages luxury items ethnic market poultry population foods for demographic groups	on-line orders for take out or delivery	Trends in E-Commerce and Online Shopping	Ethnic Indian food increased consumption grain that will push pasta off the plate more often: rice type of food most likely to have double-digit sales increases: organics next wave of home appliances: super-fast ovens that use circulating heat, high-energy light or other means to bake and cook more quickly sill you will soon feel embarrassed about not having: using chopsticks-skillfully products you'll be sick of by this time next year: millennium anything	food safety nutritional attributes of foods and diets biotechnology environmental aspects of processing and packaging molecular basis of food functionality engineering, processing and packaging technologies.

1993(n=325)

1995 (n=736)

1997 (n=209)

1999 (n=265)

2005 (Predictions)

Reduced-calorie/fat or diet food

Least cost ingredient formulations

Reduced-cholesterol foods

Reduced-sodium foods

All natural/no additives

Organic foods *Calcium-fortified foods not listed in 1993

Reduced-fat foods

Least cost ingredient formulations

Reduced-calorie diet foods

All-natural/no additive foods

Reduced-sodium foods

Reduced-cholesterol foods

Added calcium foods

Organic foods

Reduced-fat foods

Least cost ingredient formulation

Reduced-calorie diet foods

All natural/no additive foods

Reduced-sodium foods

Added-calcium foods

Organic foods

Reduced-cholesterol foods

Lowest cost among competitors

All-natural/clean label foods

Reduced-fat foods

Organic foods

Calcium-fortified foods

Reduced-calorie foods

Reduced-sodium foods

Reduced-cholesterol foods

Formulation cost control

All-natural foods and some organic foods

Nutritionally enhanced foods

Reduced-fat foods

Reduced-calorie foods

Foods with cholesterol-lowering ingredients

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