Think back to 2018 – a time when Theresa May was still Prime Minister and vegans were still missing out on Greggs sausage rolls.
A lot has changed in the last year, including in the food world.
Waitrose has revealed the biggest food trends of 2019, and predicted what we have to look forward to in 2020.
One of the biggest trends this year according to the Waitrose Food and Drink Report, was Tahini, a paste made from hulled sesame seeds that have been toasted and ground.
It’s used to make houmous and searches for jars of stuff on waitrose.com have increased by more than 700% in the last year.
Next up is noodles. Yes, we know they’ve been around forever but using different types of noodles and incorporating them in different ways has become more popular.
Searches for soba noodles on waitrose.com are up 83%, udon noddles searches are up 50% and sales of egg noddles have risen by 22%.
Another tend was celery juice with sales at Waitrose & Partners increasing by 30% and searches on Pinterest rising by 2,457%.
Crumpet sales are up 27% this year and Waitrose says they’ve become posher thanks to chefs like Yotam Ottoleghi and Marcus Wareing adding toppings like lobster, cockle butter, cheddar and Marmite.
Sales of grains like amaranth (a protein-rich, gluten-free grain) are up 20%, while pouches containing a mix of quinoa, chickpea, bulgar wheat and rice are up 36%.
Summer might seem like a distant memory right now but Waitrose adds that the trend in the warmer months was for skewers. Four out of five of the bestselling barbecue meat lines were kebabs.
Another trend was seaweed and seaganism. Kelp, algae, samphire and nori have all been popular, with searches for aonori seaweed up 127% on waitrose.com. The store says seaganism – a vegan diet including sustainable seafood – has also been gaining a folllowing.
Finally, luxury frozen food and vegan ready meals have become more popular as people want delicious food that is quick to eat. Waitrose says vegan ready meals have become so popular, sales have overtaken vegetarian microwave dinners.
Outside food, Waitrose has also seen a move towards eco-friendly cleaning products. Sales of eco household cleaning products at Waitrose & Partners are up 17%, eco laundry sales have risen 40% and eco dishwashing products are up 26%. Even recycled toilet paper is selling 39% more than last year.
For drinks, Waitrose says pink drinks, English orange wine, alcohol-free Negroni, cans over bottles and flavouring your own spirits are the latest trends.
They predict a few things to watch out for in the year to come.
Middle Eastern food at home is set to become more popular, according to the report.
The report says: ‘Many of us have been buying houmous or falafels for some time – and the kebab house holds a place in many Brits’ hearts.
‘But now we’re dabbling with the complex flavours of Middle Eastern cuisine at home as well.’
Sales of ingredients like sumac, baharat and zaatar are increasing. Courses including Middle Eastern Mezze, Moroccan Kitchen and Chicken Shawarma are selling out at the Waitrose Cookery School.
Seacuterie is another prediction for 2020. Described as a ‘reimagining of charcuterie, using seafood instead of meat’, the idea started in Australia.
‘In recent years, we’ve seen UK chefs turning out classic meat-based charcuterie to rival anything produced on the Continent,’ Amber Dalton, editor of The Good Food Guide, says.
‘It makes total sense that they’d look to the sea’s bounty to create intriguing new dishes using time-honoured preserving techniques.’
With under-35s wanting to eat less salt, other ways of adding flavour include hot sauce, chilli or extra black pepper but Waitrose predicts we’ll be using more mint, basil or nutmeg as seasoning.
The report adds: ‘Our love for saltiness remains, though, and innovative dishes are replicating the flavour, from crispy chicken skin and halloumi ice cream to tapenade on toast.
‘We can look forward to less salt, but more saltiness.’
And the final prediction for future trends is a move towards better quality meat or fish while cutting down on the amount we eat.
Views on the animal welfare page on waitrose.com are up 37% and the number of flexitarians continues to rise.
Research by YouGov for Waitrose in August 2019 showed that a third of Brits are eating less meat and fish than two years ago, and 32% plan to reduce their consumption even more over the next two years.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2019/11/06/waitrose-says-posh-crumpets-seaganism-tahini-biggest-food-trends-2019-11052272/
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