2. • Introduction
• Methodology
• Trends in Food
• Appendix
– Influencer/Expert Q&As
– Additional Charts
A note to readers: To make the report easy to navigate, we’ve added hyperlinks to this page and the Trends in Food pages, so
you can jump immediately to the items that most interest you (or, alternatively, you can read the material straight through).
2
3. What and how we eat today might look quite baffling to anyone who’s missed the past decade:
Gluten-free treats from a food truck? “Foodspotting” an order of locally sourced, heirloom
vegetables? Yet at the same time we’re reconnecting with our past, looking to eat more
communally and celebrating regional food traditions, even digging up antique recipes.
This report surveys what’s changing when it comes to how we find, cook and eat food, how we
think about what we eat and how brands are marketing food. It doesn’t, however, attempt to
round up everything of note in the wide world of food and beverage. Rather, it focuses on eight
of the relevant macro trends we’ve highlighted in the past few years, plus three overarching
trends affecting the food category: the influence of technology, health and wellness, and foodie
culture. Within these trends, we spotlight some of the things to watch we’ve been tracking.
3
4. JWT’s “What’s Cooking? Trends in Food” is the result of quantitative, qualitative and desk research
conducted by JWTIntelligence throughout the year. Specifically for this report, we conducted
quantitative surveys in the U.S. and the U.K. using SONAR™, JWT’s proprietary online tool. We surveyed
1,270 adults aged 21-plus (768 Americans and 502 Britons) from Jan. 19-24; data are weighted by age,
gender and income.
We also received input from JWT planners across several markets—including the U.K., Spain,
Venezuela, Argentina, Poland, South Africa and Thailand—and interviewed experts and influencers in
food and beverage.*
SUDHIR KANDULA,
America’s Next
Great Restaurant
contestant
ELISE KORNACK,
co-founder, Take Root;
Chopped contestant
MICHAEL LEE,
founder, Studiofeast
STEPHANIE STIAVETTI,
food blogger
(TheCulinaryLife.com)
and writer
*To read our Q&As with these influencers/experts, see Appendix.
4
5. 1. FOODIE CULTURE
• Food as Theater
• Food Fairs
• Food by
Subscription
• Fearless Eating
• KitchenRestaurants
• Roots Revival
• Antique Eats
• Moonshine
• Heirloom
Everything
• New Nordic
Cuisine
• Beer Sommeliers
• Beer Cocktails
• High-End
Techniques
for Amateurs
2. FOOD AS THE
NEW ECO-ISSUE
• Spiking Food
Prices
• From Staples to
Luxuries
• Greener Supply
Chains
• Greening
Restaurants
• Carbon Footprint
Labeling
• Curbing Food
Waste
• Veering Vegan/
Vegetarian
• Insects as Protein
• Artificial Meat
• Sustainable
Palm Oil
• Rooftop Farming
3. THE DEVIL WEARS
PACKAGING
• BYO Containers
• Reusable
Packaging
• Hydration Stations
4. HEALTH AND
WELLNESS
• Fooducate
• Nutrition Scores
• Fat Taxes
• Healthy and Fresh
Vending Machines
• Gluten-Free
• Hold the Salt
• Inhaling
• Smart Lunchrooms
• Organic Fast Food
• What’s New in
Functional Foods
- Food, Ph.D.
- Artery-Cleaning
Foods
- Mushrooms
- Matcha
- Slow Beverages
- Greek Yogurt
- Spices
- Juicing Up
Coconut
- Nutricosmetics
5. MAXIMUM
DISCLOSURE
• Labeling
Legalities
• Tell-All Vending
Machines
• Going Behind
the Scenes
• Visual Fluency
6. LIVE A LITTLE
• The Lipstick Index
Effect
• A Little Serving
of Sin
5
6. 7. NAVIGATING THE
NEW NORMAL
• Smaller SKUs
8. GETTING
“SMARTER”
• Smarter
Cookbooks
• Smarter Recipes
• Smarter Kitchens
• Smarter Ordering
• Smarter Shopping
• Smarter Packaging
9. ALL THE WORLD’S
A GAME
• Apps That Gamify
Eating
• Gamifying the
Business Model
10. SCREENED
INTERACTIONS
• Screened Dining
• Kiosks/Vending
Machines
• Interactive Outof-Home Ads
11. RETAIL AS THE
THIRD SPACE
• Food Halls
• Communal Eating
• Shops That
Do More
6
7. Yesterday’s gourmand has multiplied into factions of foodies all with
various passions centered around cooking, dining out and eating,
eating, eating. A foodie backlash may be under way, but food remains
more photographed, analyzed, critiqued and generally obsessed over
than it’s ever been.
• Food as Theater
• Food Fairs
• Food by
Subscription
• Fearless Eating
• KitchenRestaurants
• Roots Revival
• Antique Eats
• Moonshine
• Heirloom
Everything
• New Nordic Cuisine
• Beer Sommeliers
• Beer Cocktails
• High-end Techniques
for Amateurs
• What It Means
for Brands
Image credit: gwen
7
8. Foodies take their dining seriously, but that doesn’t mean
it can’t be fun: We’ve seen the rise of theatrical events
that turn eating into a high-concept production filled with
surprise and whimsy.
• Last year several New York dining clubs banded together to
serve an upscale six-course lunch aboard the L subway train
as it traveled from Manhattan through Brooklyn. Invitees
didn’t know what they were in for—they met at a given
intersection and then were guided underground. The event
wasn’t officially sanctioned, only adding to its allure.
• “Dîner en Blanc,” an idea that began in Paris, is akin to
a “refined flash-mob feast,” as The New York Times put
it: Several hundred to a few thousand people, all wearing
white, dine in a public spot, bringing their own food and
tables. The location is secret until the day it takes place.
More than a thousand attendees participated in the first
New York Dîner en Blanc last year.
• Le Fooding, a French gastronomic group, puts on
conceptual events like last year’s “Exquisite Corpse”:
Borrowing from the surrealist idea, the 48-hour New York
event involved 12 successive dinners in which each highprofile chef was required to use some ingredients from
the previous chef’s meal.
• The group Chicago Foodies has started a “Unique Dinner
Series” to challenge chefs’ creativity. The inaugural
event, in January, was titled “16 Courses of Black.”
• At Dans le Noir, a restaurant with branches in several
European cities and New York, diners eat in the dark, only
finding out what they ate after the meal.
Image credit: Dîner en Blanc
8
9. Along with foodie-ism, a couple of trends—green markets,
mobile vendors (food trucks), affinity for local purveyors
and the DIY movement—are helping to propel local food
fairs: markets comprising vendors that each focus on a few
specialty dishes or goods. For instance, New York foodies
flock to Smorgasburg, on the waterfront in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn, which hosts about 75 vendors once a week during
non-winter months.
“Food raves,” markets that don’t require vendors to have
permits and insurance, are also popping up. In San Francisco,
bands play at the periodic SF Underground Market, which
runs from late morning till the wee hours and requires
“membership” for entry. Similar markets big and small
operate in other cities, from The Secret Fork in L.A. to the
DC Grey Market in Washington.
Image credits: Smorgasburg;
DC Grey Market
9
10. Old-fashioned monthly subscription services are on the
upswing, but rather than the typical wine or fruit of the
month, they offer curated selections for foodies who like
the idea of receiving surprise packages and staying attuned
to what’s new and notable.
• Gilt Taste’s selections—ranging from whimsical whoopie
• Craft Coffee sends three varieties of coffee per month,
all from small roasters around America.
• Love With Food uses the “buy one, donate one” model,
donating a meal to a food bank for every box of “curated
gourmet bites” purchased.
pies to game meats—are curated by former Gourmet
editor and author Ruth Reichl.
• Foodzie calls itself a “Tasting Club” and selects foods
from various sources, many of them small-batch
producers. Subscribers choose among three boxes each
month.
• Blissmobox, which offers several monthly options of
organic and eco-friendly products, recently added
BREAKbox, an assortment of healthy, high-quality snacks
designed to stock the office kitchenette.
Image credits: Craft Coffee;
Gilt Taste; Love With Food
10
11. Unconventional ingredients, meats and dishes are
popping up on menus of the more trendy variety, often
in conjunction with the nose-to-tail trend. In the U.S.,
foods not typically found in the American diet—such as
cockscombs, alligator and lamb’s brain—are finding favor.
The hot L.A. restaurant Animal is filled with options mom
likely never cooked, including pig ears and sweetbreads.
In the U.K., where such foods have also been shied away
from, Londoners are abuzz about Brawn, which serves pigs’
trotters and head of veal.
While such items have been filtering onto restaurant plates
for some time, today’s foodies are ordering them with an
eagerness that rivals Andrew Zimmern’s (the intrepid host
of TV’s Bizarre Foods). These forays outside established
comfort zones help people stand out in the social media
stream and earn some cred among fellow foodies. And
after years of broadening their palates, foodies have
nowhere to go but the bizarre.
Insects are another “fear factor” ingredient gaining traction:
A Mexican food cart in San Francisco, Don Bugito, focuses
on exotic dishes like ice cream topped with caramelized
mealworms. Last year for Cinco de Mayo, Dos Equis’
“Feast of the Brave” promotion in New York involved
a food truck giving away free cricket, ostrich or veal
brain tacos.
Image credit: brianplattcreative.com
11
12. The wall between the kitchen and the restaurant dining
room has been disappearing—allowing curious customers to
watch the cooks in action—and now some restaurants are
conflating the two altogether.
For example, The Kitchen Restaurant in Sacramento, Calif.,
offers a six-course meal, with diners encouraged to make
themselves at home. Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, in
Brooklyn, lets 18 guests watch the chef cook 20 or so small
plate courses.
The concept lets curious foodies feel like true insiders and
“unwraps the process” for patrons, providing the behind-thescenes view that consumers are increasingly interested in.
Image credit: The Kitchen Restaurant
12
13. As various international foods infiltrate markets
worldwide—sushi is going mass market in Venezuela;
Mexican and Argentinean restaurants are finding favor in
Australia—there’s concurrently a new appreciation for
national and regional foods, and cooking techniques unique
to one’s heritage. In Greece, for instance, local brands
are prospering and touting their Greekness, while major
foreign brands are playing up Greek ingredients or “Made
in Greece.”
Last year, in an “Open Letter to the Chefs of Tomorrow,”
members of the International Advisory Board of the Basque
Culinary Center reminded peers that “Through our cooking,
our ethics, and our aesthetics, we can contribute to the
culture and identity of a people, a region, a country. We
can also serve as an important bridge with other cultures.”
With foodies seeking out more “authentic” and homemadestyle foods, there’s a robust market for distinctive foods
beyond the geography in question.
Image credits: Amazon [1], [2], [3]
13
14. The heritage trend is making its way to food, with chefs
digging up recipes and adding ingredients from yesteryear.
The hot restaurant Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London
serves bygone British dishes. In Charleston, S.C., Sean
Brock relies on traditionally Southern heirloom produce and
heritage meats at his restaurant Husk, earning “best new
restaurant in America” honors from Bon Appétit in 2011.
Some of this is for the more adventurous (e.g., Grant Achatz’s
duck with blood sauce in Chicago), but in the U.K., at least,
everyday consumers are preparing meats that hearken back
to older eras, like pheasant, venison and wood pigeon.
Image credit: dinnerbyheston.com
14
15. White lightnin’: This all-American corn whiskey—commonly
called moonshine—is going legit as legal distilleries across
the U.S. churn out batches of the outlaw spirit. A Prohibition
favorite, the unregulated throat-scalding liquor remained
a tradition in its ancestral home, the Southeastern U.S.
Now, legal moonshine is charming upscale city slickers with
the authentic look of its packaging (it’s sold in glass bottles
and mason jars, which highlight moonshine’s signature
clear cast) and its high alcohol content (frequently up to
120 proof).
The new Discovery Channel series Moonshiners, which turns
the camera on Appalachian bootleggers, may give a leg up to
legit cousins like Original Moonshine, Shine On Georgia Moon
and Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine.
Image credits: Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine;
heavenhill.com
15
16. “Artisanal” has become the overused term du jour in food;
“heirloom” will follow. While it’s been around for a while,
starting with tomatoes and beef, lately everything from
corn to beans has been getting an “heirloom” designation,
generally meaning an older variety that’s genetically
distinct from commercial products. (“Heirloom” is mostly
used for crops, “heritage” for livestock.) The term is
becoming shorthand for quality and natural (and, frequently,
higher prices).
Image credit: Edsel L
16
17. As we noted in our Things to Watch list for 2011, the foodie
focus has shifted to Copenhagen with the rising fame of
Noma, its chef René Redzepi and other inspired restaurants,
and a modified form of this cuisine is spreading well beyond
Denmark (minus unique local ingredients like elderflowers
and puffin eggs). Look for more chefs to find inspiration in
Redzepi’s emphasis on foraging for local plants, herbs and
roots, and simple but quality ingredients. The Los Angeles
restaurant Forage, for example, is—as its name implies—
based around foraged ingredients.
Image credit: Forage
17
18. Beer Sommeliers: As beer garners more respect in foodie
culture—perhaps a sign of the budget-minded times—
there’s a growing appreciation for the ways that, like wine,
different varieties can complement food. In 2010, Food &
Wine magazine honored one beer expert among its seven
Sommeliers of the Year. In 2011, Oxford University Press
published the first edition of The Oxford Companion to Beer.
Watch for more sommeliers or “Cicerone,” as the 300-plus
individuals who have passed a certification program are titled.
Beer Cocktails: Mixing beer and liquor may not be a first
instinct for many, but it seems beer can harmonize well with
various spirits, giving cocktails a new depth and complexity.
The “green devil,” for example, from beer writer Stephen
Beaumont, mixes the Belgian beer Duvel with absinthe and
gin. A Beer Cocktails book is due out in June.
Image credits: Amazon [1], [2]
18
19. Do try this at home: High-end, high-tech kitchen techniques
are increasingly filtering down to ambitious home cooks.
They’re trying out sous vide, for example, an exacting
method that involves vacuum-packing food and cooking it
at precise temperatures, yielding juicy, intensely flavorful
dishes. Upscale cookware chains including Sur La Table
and Williams-Sonoma are selling sous vide appliances like
vacuum food sealers and immersion circulators. As the
technology utilized in cookbooks like the exhaustive 2011
tome Modernist Cuisine becomes more accessible, more
at-home homogenizers and centrifuges will work their way
into retail lineups.
Image credit: modernistcuisine.com
19
20. • The tech-savvy foodie is far more connected to like-minded eaters than the food aficionado of old. While
the explosion in social media sharing came after the rise of foodie culture, today it’s a key driver: Half the
satisfaction is in photographing fabulous dishes and posting to Facebook or networks like Foodspotting, in turn
stirring FOMO (fear of missing out) and copycat behavior.
• The heightened interest in local and so-called artisanal foods is also helping to fuel foodie-ism. And edibles that
feel “authentic” are of particular interest, whether the food is high- or low-end, as a Packaged Facts report on
U.S. foodies notes. Since these consumers tend to eschew mainstream brands and habits, the report warns they
can be an elusive target for marketers—but adds they can also be uniquely interested in the product.
• Some U.S. restaurant chains are touting their culinary bona fides while moving away from themes of value,
convenience, service or speed—e.g., Burger King dropped its King mascot and value focus in favor of ads that play
up ingredients—as Nation’s Restaurant News recently reported. As more mass marketers latch onto buzz phrases
like “artisanal” and position themselves as worthy of foodie patronage, these consumers will grow increasingly
wary of “foodie-washing.”
20
21. The environmental impact of our food choices will become a
more prominent concern as stakeholders—brands, governments
and activist organizations—drive awareness around the issue and
rethink what kind of food is sold and how it’s made. As more regions
grapple with food shortages and/or spiking costs, smarter practices
around food will join the stable of green “best practices.”
• Spiking Food Prices
• From Staples to
Luxuries
• Greener Supply
Chains
• Greening
Restaurants
• Carbon Footprint
Labeling
• Curbing Food Waste
• Veering Vegan/
Vegetarian
• Insects as Protein
• Artificial Meat
• Sustainable
Palm Oil
• Rooftop Farming
• What It Means
for Brands
Image credit: see.wolf
21
22. As extreme weather wreaks havoc on crop yields, watch
for already-high food prices to spike further thanks to
droughts, flooding and other irregularities brought on by
climate change. For example, Thailand, the world’s biggest
rice producer, is expecting smaller yields thanks in part to
its disastrous floods. In the U.S., drought in Texas thinned
cattle herds, which played a part in pushing up beef prices
by almost 10% year-over-year as of November. Seafood prices
rose almost 6% following the Japanese earthquake
and tsunami.
Image credit: toastforbrekkie
22
23. Beef, chocolate and other beloved staples could become
the caviar of the future, thanks to factors ranging from
new emerging market demand, climate change and the
strains of a more populous planet.
A bigger appetite for chocolate in China, coupled with
political and agricultural issues in Ivory Coast, are
prompting warnings about the coca supply. Mars Chocolate
said last year that the industry faces a 1 million-ton
cocoa shortfall by 2020 “unless more is done to promote
sustainability,” pledging to use only certified sustainable
chocolate by that time. Meanwhile, some researchers say
the Ivory Coast and Ghana could simply be too hot to grow
cocoa by 2050.
Climate change is the culprit when it comes to coffee:
Last year Starbucks said it sees “a potentially significant
risk” to its Arabica bean supply, looking 10 years ahead
and beyond. The company is working with suppliers to
combat issues like frequent hurricanes and soil erosion.
Some optimists, however, argue that leaps in agricultural
science and other advances (e.g., artificial meat) will
ensure there’s enough food to feed the planet.
Beef could become “the caviar of the future,” an official
with the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization has
said. Consumption is forecast to double by 2050 even as
the resources needed for beef’s production dwindle. More
immediately, U.S. beef prices are spiking—up 10% last year
and likely to keep rising this year—thanks to a drought that
shrunk the U.S. cattle herd and strong export demand.
Image credit: cincomomo
23
24. Food marketers are working to green up their agricultural
supply chains in various ways. For example:
McDonald’s: The company established its Sustainable Land
Management Commitment in 2009. The stated goal is to ensure
that raw materials “originate from legal and sustainably managed
land resources.” In tandem with the World Wildlife Fund,
McDonald’s conducted an audit to determine where it could make
the most substantial impact. In 2011, the company focused on
its beef, poultry, coffee, palm oil and wood fiber sourcing, and
committed to sustainable palm oil sourcing by 2015.
Chipotle: This fast-casual Mexican food chain, based
around the proposition “food with integrity,” touts books
like Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food as “recommended
reading” on its website and lightheartedly warns “It’s all
fun and games until someone wrecks a planet.” Founded
in 2011, its Cultivate Foundation funds sustainable farming
initiatives, among other things. An animated film outlining
Chipotle’s mission shows a farmer’s evolution from free range
to industrial farming and then back to the older, ecologically
friendlier means of production.
Image credit: Chipotle
24
25. Some restaurants are seeking to become more sustainable
by revamping their practices in various ways, and ratings
systems point the way for concerned patrons.
• Launched in 2010, the U.K.’s Sustainable Restaurant
• The Vancouver-based Green Table Network, which has
certified more than 100 operations since it was founded in
2007, is a nonprofit that helps food industry professionals
“get started down a greener path.”
Association helps restaurants to be more sustainable,
which can mean being more socially responsible
(community engagement, etc.) or more
green (e.g., saving water and energy),
or improving sourcing (supporting
“environmentally positive farming,” etc.).
Restaurants are rated according to a threestar system.
• In the U.S., the Green Restaurant Association has been
around for more than two decades. It rates restaurants
according to criteria including water efficiency, energy
consumption, waste reduction and recycling, and use
of sustainable food. Garden Fresh, which operates
Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants, became
the largest chain to get certified last September.
Image credits: SRA;
Souplantation
25
26. In line with our trend Maximum Disclosure, the past few
years have seen some efforts to tally the carbon emissions
associated with food products. It’s a complex endeavor,
however, and Tesco recently said it would halt an ambitious
five-year-old drive to label all its store-brand products,
partly because several months were required to determine a
footprint for a single product. Other labeling efforts include:
• Realizing several years ago that the
bulk of its carbon footprint comes
from beef consumption, Swedish
fast food chain Max Burgers
started labeling menus with
carbon footprint information (and
concurrently pushing alternatives,
like chicken and salad options).
• In the U.K., the Carbon Trust provides a Carbon
Reduction Label for certified products—those that prove
they are working to reduce their footprint—but will
soon have to cope with a loss of government funding.
Participating companies include Kingsmill breads and
Walkers potato chips.
• France’s Groupe Casino is labeling its store-brand
products according to a Carbon Index it developed.
• Some companies are making up their own label, like
Finland’s Fazer, which uses a “Carbon Flower.”
So far it’s only featured on packaging for
what Fazer describes as “one
of Finland’s most popular
breads.”
• South Korea’s environment ministry is sponsoring a carbon
labeling system that includes some food products, which
carry a logo showing the item’s footprint. Japan has a
similar system, and Thailand is testing one.
Image credits: Max Burgers;
Fazer
26
27. As much as a third of the food produced worldwide,
or 1.3 billion metric tons, is lost or wasted each
year, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture
Organization. Not only is this a waste of valuable land,
water and energy resources, but most of the discarded
food actually contributes to global warming because it
ends up in landfills, where it creates methane. Among the
governments and others trying to change this:
• U.K. retailers such as
Sainsbury’s and Marks &
Spencer are partnering with
Love Food Hate Waste, which
aims to cut waste by helping
people find recipes for
leftovers and providing tips
for preventing waste.
• Unilever’s Food Solutions unit recently
launched United Against Waste, a
campaign to drive waste reduction in
the food-service industry.
• In the U.K., food packaging will no longer feature a “sell
by” date (only “use by” or “best before”), a bid to reduce
the £12 billion worth of food thrown out each year.
We cannot limit sustainability to food
production, we need to also look at
our food consumption. Waste less.”
—JOSÉ GRAZIANO DA SILVA, director
general of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture
Organization, Bloomberg, Jan. 23, 2012
• The Too Good to Waste campaign from the U.K.-based
Sustainable Restaurant Association is encouraging more
British restaurant diners to take home leftovers.
Image credits: unileverfoodsolutions.us;
lovefoodhatewaste.com
27
28. • Cook a huge meal and unable to eat it all? Super Marmite
is a French social network that enables members to sell
portions of unused meals to the local community.
• A few restaurants are instituting penalties for those who
don’t finish their food, such as Wafu in Sydney, which bars
offending patrons from returning, and a Saudi Arabian
restaurant that fines diners and donates some of the
money to help the hungry in Somalia.
• To increase awareness, the Food Network aired a
primetime special, The Big Waste, in January.
Image credits: Wafu;
Food Network
28
29. FIGURE 2A:
FIGURE 2B:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Millennials (21-34)
Gen Xers (35-47)
Boomers (48-67)
Male
I’m concerned about
the environmental
impacts of food
waste
I’m concerned about
the environmental
impacts of food waste
66
64%
61
Female
65
64
64
91
I would respect a
grocery store or
restaurant that
made an effort to
curb food waste
I’ve tried to cut down
on the amount of food
waste I produce for the
sake of the environment
I would respect a grocery store
or restaurant that made an
effort to curb food waste
88
89%
87
I’ve tried to cut down on the
amount of food waste I produce
for the sake of the environment
86
91
75
82
84
76
79%
76
*For generational and gender breakdowns by country, see Appendix.
29
30. FIGURE 2C:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Millennials (21-34)
Gen Xers (35-47)
FIGURE 2D:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Boomers (48-67)
Male
86
85%
Restaurants have a
responsibility to help
curb food waste
82
Brands and manufacturers
have a responsibility to
help curb food waste
87
Restaurants have a
responsibility to help
curb food waste
Female
81
Grocery stores have
a responsibility to
help curb food waste
79
88
83
90
Brands and manufacturers
have a responsibility to
help curb food waste
84%
81
80
84
Grocery stores have
a responsibility to
help curb food waste
84
82%
78
The government has
a responsibility to
help curb food waste
84
83
69
73
86
The government has
a responsibility to
help curb food waste
74
74%
61
*For generational and gender breakdowns by country, see Appendix.
30
32. Several governments and businesses are trying to push
six-legged creatures—a staple in regions around the world—
onto Western menus as a sustainable protein source.
Nutrition-rich, insects require far fewer natural resources
to raise and produce far less waste than poultry and
livestock.
The European Commission has allocated £2.65 million to
look into the idea, and the Dutch ministry of agriculture
is funding a research program to raise insects for human
consumption on food waste. In the past two years, three
Dutch animal feed companies have started raising locusts
and mealworms, which are freeze-dried, packaged and
sold in various food outlets catering to restaurants.
Image credit: theefer
32
33. What if meat could be created in a lab, rendering moot
the environmental toll of raising livestock? Scientists have
actually managed to grow meat in a test tube (“in vitro
meat”), and several dozen labs are said to be working on
developing the concept, using stem cells. The Netherlands
and Brazil are among the governments funding research.
Last year a study by scientists at the University of Oxford
and the University of Amsterdam found that producing
lab-grown meat vs. the same amount of conventional
meat would emit far fewer greenhouse gases, require
7% to 45% less energy, and use a tiny fraction of the
land and water that livestock need. The study’s lead
scientist predicted that if enough resources go toward
the research, a lab-grown meat akin to mincemeat
could come to market within five years. (Steak-like meat
could take much longer.)
Image credit: Trondheim Havn
33
34. The production of palm oil, an ingredient in an array
of packaged foods (and frequently an alternative to
trans-fat oils), often results in deforestation and habitat
destruction. Awareness of the issue is bubbling up, with
manufacturers slowly switching over to sustainable palm
oil or pledging to do so. Watch for brands to tout their use
of GreenPalm certificates (akin to offsets) or conformance
with various certification standards. This year, boxes of Girl
Scout cookies started bearing the GreenPalm logo.
Image credit: rainforestheroes.com
34
35. The rooftop-gardening concept increasingly popular among
restaurants and hotels is evolving into large-scale farming
projects. Brooklyn Grange, for example, is a rooftop organic
farm that sells its produce in markets and businesses around
New York City; in the U.K., Food From the Sky, is a similar
initiative atop a supermarket in London that sells produce
in the market below. And BrightFarms is a New York-based
company focused on helping food merchants transform
their roofs.
Image credit: signejb
35
36. • The need for new, greener practices around food will become increasingly clear to brands and consumers
as demand spikes, natural resources get squeezed and climate change wreaks havoc on the supply chain. As
consumers better understand how their food choices impact the environment, they will slowly change their
habits—motivated both by price spikes and conscience—and expect food brands to similarly evolve.
• Brands will need to take concrete steps to lessen the impact of their production and distribution—whether by
reducing waste, ensuring products are sustainably sourced, supporting green farming practices or helping to drive
smarter consumption, among other measures. Brands that help to engineer a smarter food chain can set industry
standards as the issue grows more pressing.
The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition,
run by the Italian food brand, developed
the “Double Food-Environment Pyramid”
to illustrate the impact of food choices.
Image credit: barillacfn.com
36
37. FIGURE 2E:
• Millennials will drive this trend as they mature into more
influential consumers, as they’re more cognizant than
other generations of the links between food and the
environment and more open to adjusting their behavior.
While Millennial respondents to a November 2011 JWT
survey were significantly more likely than Gen Xers and
Boomers to say they don’t know how to make more
sustainable food choices, they’re also more interested in
doing so—and more aware of the basic link between what
they eat and the environment (see chart at right).
Consumer Awareness Around Food
Production and the Environment
Percentage of American and British adults who
agree with each of the following:
Millennials (18-33)
Gen Xers (34-46)
Boomers (47-66)
78
The food I eat has
an impact on the
environment
71%
68
66
I would like to
make smart
food choices
that benefit the
environment
80
74%
73
70
62
I don’t know how
to make smart food
choices that benefit
the environment
48
50%
40
Food manufacturers
have a responsibility
to educate the
public about the
environmental impact
of their dietary choices
77
79
76%
72
* To learn more about Food as the New Eco-Issue, see our 10 Trends for 2012.
37
38. As the eco spotlight focuses on the environmental costs of
packaging, brands will increasingly switch to bottles, boxes and
other solutions that reduce, reuse, recycle, remove and renew.
The ultimate goal is “cradle-to-cradle” packaging—sustainable
from creation to disposal.
• BYO Containers
• Reusable Packaging
• Hydration Stations
• What It Means for Brands
Image credit: nist6ss
38
39. More grocery shoppers are bringing their own bags, and now
the idea of bringing your own containers (“precycling” by
avoiding the need to recycle) is slowly catching on as well.
• In London, Unpackaged is a boutique grocery store that
sells bulk products—grains, nuts, herbs, teas, cheeses and
so on—as well as goods in returnable/refillable jars or
bottles (milk, jam, etc.). Time Out lists it as one of the
best shops in the city.
Meanwhile, more types of products are getting
unpackaged. Olive oil dispensers are becoming
popular, and some stores are offering other liquids
in bulk, like honey or syrup. Growler stations have
become a common sight, allowing customers to refill
the jugs with draft beer.
• Simply Bulk Market in Longmont, Colo., is positioned as
both a greener and more economical way to shop: “Pay
for the Product, Not for the Package,” says the website.
“Buy as little as you want or as much as you need!”
• In the planning stages in Austin, Texas, is in.gredients,
which promises to replace “that middle section of the
usual grocery store” with local or locally sourced “real”
food that’s packaging-free or minimally packaged with
recyclable materials.
• In Chicago, Real Naked Food sells “mostly
unpackaged” goods.
Image credits: Simply Bulk Market;
Red Rock Brewing; in.gredients
39
40. One way to make packaging more sustainable is to find
ways for the consumer to reuse it or refill it:
• KFC introduced what it billed as the “first reusable
container in fast food” in 2010 to replace the foam
containers in which side dishes were packaged. While
most consumers will eventually toss them, they’re
made from a resin that KFC says is more widely recyclable
than polystyrene and uses less energy to produce.
• In the U.K., JUGIT sells a milk jug that customers refill
with bags of milk from supermarkets. The company claims
the bags use 75% less packaging than standard plastic
milk bottles. Similarly, Kenco coffee sells Eco Refills that
shoppers buy after initial purchase of the jarred product;
customers can then send in the refill packs to TerraCycle.
• Ecovention markets a pizza box that breaks down into four
plates and a smaller leftovers box, avoiding use of paper
plates and foil for uneaten slices. Adoptees include Pizza
Hut Costa Rica.
Image credits: KFC;
Kenco
40
41. No more awkward tilting to fill a bottle at a drinking
fountain: As the movement to cut the use of plastic and ban
the sale of bottled water grows, we’ll see a proliferation of
hydration stations—already popping up on college campuses
and in some public spaces—designed to allow people to easily
fill reusable bottles.
Image credits: Hydrate U;
britahydrationstation.com
41
42. FIGURE 3A:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Millennials (21-34)
Gen Xers (35-47)
Boomers (48-67)
87
Food manufacturers
need to cut down
on the amount of
packaging they use
86%
85
86
FIGURE 3B:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Male
Female
Food manufacturers
need to cut down
on the amount of
packaging they use
84
89
79
Most foods use too
much packaging
86
82
Most foods use too
much packaging
81
82%
82
I try to limit
the amount of
food packaging I
waste each day
74
68
71%
72
70
I’m buying less bottled
water because of the
environmental impact
of the plastic bottles
I make my food
purchasing decisions
based on how much
packaging is used
61
63%
I try to limit
the amount of
food packaging I
waste each day
67
77
I’m buying less bottled
water because of the
environmental impact
of the plastic bottles
I make my food
purchasing decisions
based on how much
packaging is used
57
66
39
35
57
48
42
40%
30
*For generational and gender breakdowns by country, see Appendix.
42
43. • With green initiatives now a necessity rather than a competitive advantage, it’s becoming imperative for
brands to retool their packaging, and to do so according to an expanding range of criteria (packaging should be
manufactured using clean technologies, designed to optimize materials and energy, use as much renewable or
recyclable material as possible, and so on). Simply swaddling goods in fewer layers or reducing the weight of
bottles and calling it a day won’t be enough.
• We’ll see more tech innovations that help companies meet these criteria (e.g., using bio-based materials for
packaging), as well as simple solutions that rethink the status quo, such as refillables. Consumers—many of whom
now bring their own bags on shopping trips—will increasingly notice, and appreciate, these changes.
• Pressures to improve packaging are coming not only from consumers but from the CFO’s office: Greener packaging
frequently reduces costs, in line with today’s growing interest in Shared Value (one of our 10 Trends for 2012).
*To learn more about The Devil Wears Packaging, see our 10 Trends for 2010.
43
44. Awareness of good nutritional habits has been steadily rising,
even as obesity becomes a more pressing issue—in turn driving
governments and health advocates to further push both consumers
and brands to adopt healthier ways.
• Fooducate
• Nutrition Scores
• Fat Taxes
• Healthy and Fresh
• Inhaling
• Smart Lunchrooms
• Organic Fast Food
• What’s New in
• Gluten-Free
• Hold the Salt
• What It Means
Vending Machines
Functional Foods
for Brands
Image credit: epSos.de
44
45. One consequence of more consumers Reading the Fine
Print (one of our 10 Trends for 2010) is that they’re
seeking out tools that save them time and brainpower
by simplifying and summarizing the information they’re
interested in. Apps fit the bill perfectly. For those focused
on nutritional information, Fooducate allows users to scan
the barcode of a supermarket item to quickly see product
highlights, negative and positive, as determined by the
company’s team of dietitians and “concerned parents.”
What’s revealed is “stuff manufacturers don’t want you to
notice,” says Fooducate, like excessive sugar or confusing
serving sizes. Shoppers can also compare products, select
alternatives and learn about food and nutrition generally.
The app, which launched in January 2011 for the iPhone
(and in June for Android), passed 10 million product
scans by November. The most scanned categories: yogurt,
cereal and snack bars.
Image credit: Fooducate
45
46. Since more consumers are interested in Reading the Fine
Print, some U.S. supermarkets are giving them a shortcut,
adopting nutrition-scoring systems: Ratings are displayed
on shelves, helping shoppers make healthier choices at a
glance.
• NuVal rates products from 1 to 100, with a higher
score indicating a healthier item. A range of regional
supermarkets have adopted the system.
• Guiding Stars is less nuanced,
granting from zero to three stars
based on a food’s nutrient density
per 100 calories. It’s used by a few
supermarket chains, as well as
school and hospital cafeterias.
• Whole Foods developed
what it calls ANDI (aggregate
nutrient density index), which
rates unprocessed foods on
a scale up to 1,000 (a score
achieved by kale). The intent
is to help shoppers compare options within categories,
e.g., choosing which variety of bean to buy.
• Safeway’s SimpleNutrition program evaluates products
and allots up to two “benefit messages” per tag, such as
“Good Source of Fiber,” “Sodium Smart,” “Lean Protein”
and “Low Cholesterol.”
Image credits: Guiding Stars;
Whole Foods
46
47. The fat tax is the new sin tax: In a bid to put the brakes on
obesity, governments will try to push consumers away from
unhealthy foods with cost disincentives. In 2011, Hungary
introduced an added tax for foods with high fat, salt and
sugar content, along with a higher tariff on soda (and
alcohol), while Denmark added a tax for high-saturatedfat foods. Similar legislation was proposed in Australia and
Britain. And at year-end, France approved a tax on sugary
soft drinks. Look for more national and local governments
to follow.
Image credit: pointnshoot
47
48. In recent years vending machines have been moving beyond
food into new categories, dispensing everything from gold bars
to prescription drugs. But we’re also seeing new thinking within
food itself as machines get refocused for health-conscious
consumers and retooled as devices for selling fresh rather than
packaged foods—everything from milk to fish and meat.
In France, one baker is touting his automated baguette
dispenser—which is loaded with partially precooked loaves
that get fully baked when the machine is activated—as a
way to get fresh bread when bakeries are closed. And the
Smart Butcher, out of Alabama, vends fresh cuts of meat
and sausages.
Machines that sell snacks like carrots and apples, hummus,
meal replacement bars and yogurt are popping up in response
to consumer interest in nutritious eating, employer interest
in healthier workers and legislation aimed at limiting junk
food in schools. Ecowell’s kiosks address both health and
environmental concerns: Using their own reusable containers,
customers order up personalized beverages that combine
fruit juice flavors, sweeteners and vitamin supplements with
carbonated or flat water.
Fresh-milk machines that allow users to refill their own
bottles can be found in several Spanish cities. Also in
Spain: a machine filled with portions of fresh fish and one
that vends loaves of bread, restocked daily by a baker.
Image credit: drinkecowell.com
48
49. One of our Things to Watch in 2009,
gluten-free foods have mushroomed
from a specialized segment of the
food industry into the mainstream—
to the tune of $2.7 billion in global
sales in 2011, according to a
Euromonitor International estimate,
with the market set to reach $3.4 billion by 2015 (some
other estimates put the total much higher).
The phenomenon is widespread: Gluten-free offerings can
be found in restaurants, supermarkets and bakeries from
Argentina and Australia to Germany and Italy (where the
government subsidizes celiacs’ gluten-free purchases). Even
McDonald’s has hopped on the bandwagon, offering glutenfree buns in several European
countries, and Subway is testing a
gluten-free roll and brownie.
While celiac disease, the autoimmune disorder triggered
by gluten, affects only about 1% of the population, a range
of consumers are embracing these foods: Proponents say
a gluten-free diet can stimulate weight loss and help with
chronic intestinal issues as well as diseases including autism
and schizophrenia. And while these benefits are unproven,
new gluten-free products continue to land on shelves, from
baking mixes by Betty Crocker and Rice Krispies by Kellogg’s
to gluten-free flour developed by chefs Lena Kwak and
Thomas Keller of the restaurant The French Laundry.
Image credits: asgw; simply...gluten-free;
Bouchon Bakery
49
50. Governments around the globe are passing on salt in
a bid to reduce hypertension, stroke and other health
problems. National and regional authorities are pushing
sodium-reduction initiatives, including Canada, Australia,
Ireland, France, Finland and Japan. Among the measures
being taken:
The challenge remains to sell consumers what’s best for
them but perhaps not what’s tastiest. Last year Campbell’s
decided to add salt to more than two dozen soups,
following poor sales of its low-sodium offerings.
• Restaurant tables in Argentina’s Buenos Aires province no
longer feature salt shakers, thanks to a 2011 agreement
with the health department, which also persuaded the
breadmaker federation to cut salt by 40%.
• New York City’s health department is coordinating the
National Salt Reduction Initiative, a coalition of regional
health authorities and organizations that’s working to
push food manufacturers and restaurants to cut salt.
Modeled on a successful U.K. program, its goal is to lower
Americans’ salt intake by 20% over five years.
In response to various campaigns, industry-leading
companies including Heinz, McCain Foods, Unilever, Kraft
and Mars have made voluntary commitments to cut salt.
Image credit: L. Marie
50
51. From a Harvard professor of biomedical engineering comes
Breathable Foods, a company that’s rolling out inhalable
caffeine, vitamins and chocolate. AeroShot Pure Energy is an
inhaler containing a hit of caffeine mixed with B vitamins;
Le Whif provides a chocolate experience sans calories. The
company is working on more products that provide flavorful or
nutritional benefits without calories or the need for pills.
Image credit: labstoreparis.com
51
52. As obesity rates continue to climb worldwide, we’ll see
experimentation in school and workplace cafeterias, with
offerings rearranged to encourage smarter choices—e.g.,
more nutritious selections at the front of the line, and fruit in
attractive bowls. Red tongs for higher-calorie selections and
other sly cues will prompt people to reconsider their choices.
Image credits: Dr Stephen Dan;
Javi Vte Rejas
52
53. Organic (or close to it) is an increasingly popular hook in
quick-service restaurants. Chipotle has staked its claim on
“Food With Integrity” and uses “organic and local produce
when practical,” as well as meat free from antibiotics
or added hormones. Smaller chains such as Naked Pizza
(which claims “no freaky chemicals”), Pizza Fusion,
Elevation Burger and EVOS are popping up around the U.S.
Watch for more mainstream QSRs to adopt some of their
practices. Moe’s Southwest Grill, for instance, which
operates 400-plus outlets, started using more “natural”
meats about a year ago, such as grain-fed pork that’s
hormone- and steroid-free.
Image credit: Moe’s
53
54. For the past decade or so, the idea that food can offer
specific benefits—beyond simply providing good nutrition—
has permeated mainstream thinking. We’ve seen all
manner of foods carrying health claims, and the rise
(and sometimes fall) of super-foods, from acai berries
to pomegranate. These are a few of the things today’s
consumers are or will be looking to for functional benefits.
Food, Ph.D.: We’ll see many more science-inspired
food products engineered to target conditions and
beauty needs. Nestlé is investing more than $500
million to develop health and wellness products,
and created the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences in 2011
“to pioneer a new industry between food and pharma.”
Unilever is researching technology that can imbue ingestibles
with anti-aging and other beauty benefits. In 2011 its Dove
brand started marketing Strength Within, an anti-wrinkle
supplement, in the U.K. and Ireland.
Artery-Cleaning Foods: The next hot
functional foods may be those that claim
to clean out arteries, or more technically,
reduce oxidized LDL cholesterol. Stratum
Nutrition is marketing a powdered fiber
product to food and beverage brands that
it claims can promote healthy arteries. Approved by the EU
Commission and some other administrations as safe, the
product is making its way across the globe.
Mushrooms: What’s new about edible fungi? With more
varieties now populating supermarket shelves in the West,
we’ll see a growing awareness that this low-calorie but highly
flavorful food packs a nutritional punch. Euromonitor notes
that the benefits of mushrooms—which can lower cholesterol,
boost the immune system and (some say)
even fight cancer—“remain woefully
underappreciated”; with consumers
looking to add more functional foods to
their diet, they won’t remain overlooked
for long.
Image credits: Dovespa.co.uk; wwarby;
trekkyandy
54
55. Matcha: The powdered green tea—which originated in
Japan and is a centerpiece of the Japanese tea ceremony—
is becoming a hot flavor internationally, with an artisanal
quality reflected in its price tag. It’s a functional ingredient,
high in both antioxidants and caffeine, that’s increasingly
popping up in beverages (from lattes to cocktails) and
desserts (ice cream, pastries and more).
Slow Beverages: Slow-down beverages are being marketed
as anti-energy drinks: Brands including Slow Cow, Drank,
Bula and Koma Unwind are fortified with ingredients such
as chamomile, melatonin and valerian root that purportedly
promote calming and relaxation. Some brands take on the
energy-drink category directly by claiming to also boost mental
focus and concentration. The beverage research group Zenith
International forecasts that U.S. volume sales will top 300
million liters by 2014.
Image credits: Teavana;
bulabeverage.com; komaunwind.com
55
56. Greek Yogurt: This richer, more dense style of yogurt has
caught fire in the U.S., thanks in part to “a perception that
the food is healthier than regular yogurt and other snacks,”
The New York Times reports. National retail sales more than
doubled for the year ending October 2011, and last March
UBS noted that “Greek yogurt brands such as Chobani and
Fage have captured market share more quickly than almost
any segment in a major food category ever.” This April,
the TCBY frozen yogurt chain will introduce Greek Fro-Yo,
extending the concept into a new category.
Spices: Interest in the functional qualities of foods is
expanding to include a greater focus on the benefits
of spices and seasonings. For instance, ground cloves,
cinnamon and oregano are notably rich in antioxidants.
McCormick & Co. is spotlighting the health benefits of
selected herbs and spices, with commercials that drive
viewers to a “Spices for Health” section on the brand’s
website, where they can find recipes and suggestions for
how to add “super spices” to their diet (e.g., “Perk up
your morning coffee with Ground Cinnamon”).
Image credits: TCBY;
McCormick & Co.
56
57. Juicing Up Coconut: Coconut water, one of our Things
to Watch in 2010, has been steadily gaining in popularity.
Leading brand Vita Coco, for example, has zoomed from
reported sales of $20 million in 2009 to $40 million in 2010
to a forecast of $100 million in 2011. The recent spike is
partly due to coconut water getting adopted as a sports
drink because of its electrolyte content.
Beverage brands are continuing to introduce coconut
juice products. PepsiCo’s SoBe, for example, said it was
putting a “new twist on a hot trend” when it announced
a Lifewater with Coconut Water line of three flavors in
January.
Coconut foods are also seeing a boom, thanks in part to
the Paleo diet, which promotes cooking with coconut oil
and eating other coconut products. Coconut is also being
used as a dairy alternative in ice cream.
Image credits: akeg;
SoBe
57
58. Nutricosmetics: A burgeoning class of foods seeks to
improve external appearances rather than internal
functioning. Medical experts are somewhat skeptical
about the functionality claims, but the proof will be in the
pudding—or Balance Bar, as the case may be.
• Balance Bar recently introduced the
Nimble bar, touting it as “the first
bar for women that conveniently
combines beauty and nutrition.”
The front of the package lists
ingredients including lutein and
beta-carotene as “for your skin.”
• BORBA Skin Balance Water, billed as “drinkable
skin care,” offers four varieties that address
different issues—Age Defying, Firming, Clarifying
and Replenishing—and include ingredients
like pomegranate, acai berry and lychee.
They’re available at some drugstores, high-end
department stores and gyms. BORBA sells Gummi
Bears with similar beauty claims.
• Deo perfume candy, from Beneo, is said to work much
like garlic but with rose oil instead: Compounds that are
not digested are emitted through skin pores. It’s sold in
several Eastern European markets.
• Frutels markets foil-wrapped chocolates billed as “acne
care in a candy” that help purchasers achieve “clear skin
from the inside out.” Sold in drugstores and food shops,
the sweets contain vitamins and minerals that strengthen
the body against the stress and hormonal changes that
can cause acne, or so the claim goes.
• Beauty Booster from IO Beauty is a thick liquid, a few
drops of which purportedly produce more luminous skin.
Image credits: Balance Bar;
BORBA
58
59. • Consumers will continue to tailor their diets to add foods that naturally provide internal and even external
benefits and to remove anything perceived as problematic, from gluten and various allergens to salt and
processed foods (a recent Nielsen Global Survey found that 35% of respondents who were changing their diet to
lose weight said they are eating fewer processed foods, up from 29% in 2008).
• This is true for most of the developed world, but many emerging markets are on a different curve, with health
and wellness ideas yet to hit consumers who have more money and more available global goods to spend it on.
(Fast-growing Mexico, for instance, is now second worldwide in obesity.) Conversely, developed-world consumers
hit by the downturn are struggling to balance their wellness and budget concerns.
• The downturn may also be helping to spur Live a Little, a countertrend to health and wellness that’s detailed
in this report: Faced with constant reminders about what to do and what not to do, and fatigued from austerity
measures, consumers will look for ways to let loose once in a while: indulging in sinful things, splurging on treats
and so on. As governments push better eating through fat taxes, labeling regulations and other initiatives, and as
social norms evolve toward “better for you” behaviors, we’ll see more self-control/guilt fatigue and a heightened
rebellious appeal to “bad” eating.
59
60. • Labeling Legalities
Competitive pressures and legal requirements are forcing
manufacturers and retailers to take transparency to the max,
disclosing more about nutritional data, green credentials, sourcing,
social responsibility issues (Fair Trade, etc.) and the people and
processes behind the brand.
• Tell-All Vending Machines
• Going Behind the Scenes
• Visual Fluency
• What It Means for Brands
Image credit: Family O’Abé
60
61. Government pressure on brands to disclose more
information—and consumer pressure on governments to
mandate more disclosure—is building. For instance:
• The European Union established new food labeling
requirements last year that will become mandatory in
2016. Packaging will need to use a minimum font size to
show nutritional data (energy, sugar, salt, carbohydrate,
fat and saturated fat content), allergens must be
highlighted on ingredients lists and type of vegetable
oil must be specified. Highly caffeinated drinks must
state the actual caffeine content.
• Watch for more heated efforts to push labeling of genetically
modified foods in the U.S., a cause with high-profile
advocates including ex-Stonyfield CEO Gary Hirshberg
and Food, Inc. director Robert Kenner. (The EU mandates
labeling, as do Japan, Australia and Brazil, among others.)
Some states are considering their own legislation.
• As part of President Obama’s health care reform law in
2010, U.S. restaurant chains will need to clearly disclose
calorie counts (and make additional nutritional data
available upon request), while vending machine operators
will need to display calorie information for certain items,
with the new rules going into effect this year. The U.K.’s
Department of Health is pushing restaurants to reveal
calorie counts, and several chains started doing so last
year, including KFC, McDonald’s and Pret a Manger.
Image credit: CSPinet.org
61
62. Touch screens that link with vending machines display
nutritional data so that customers can make more
informed decisions. They also allow operators to meet an
upcoming U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirement
(covering most vending machines) to show calorie counts
for the products within.
VendScreen, a startup, is one of the companies marketing
these screens. Its Android-powered device features an
avatar (“Jen”) who can sort through products based on the
customer’s dietary needs or simply provide nutrition info.
The device enables a machine to accept “mobile wallet” as
well as credit card payments. The company reports strong
demand, though the screens haven’t been rolled out yet.
The touch screens can also offer promotions or accept
coupons, opening the door to new opportunities for brands
to connect with customers at point of purchase.
Image credit: VendScreen
62
63. There’s a new, expanded answer to the question, Where does
my food come from? The rising preference for local foods and
supporting small farmers and for more natural foods, as well
as concerns about food safety, has driven a surge in disclosure
about the farm-to-fork journey, the people behind that
journey and how the process works. Among big brands, the
aim is to showcase human stories and simple processes (read:
not overly industrialized) behind the mass production.
• A new McDonald’s campaign profiles three of its smaller
suppliers—potato and lettuce farmers and a cattle
rancher—with videos about the men and their work at
mcdonalds.com/suppliers.
• Domino’s “Behind the Pizza” campaign includes a
commercial in which a focus group is surprised with a
visit to the farm where the chain sources its tomatoes.
Behindthepizza.com features mini games where players
can “learn about Domino’s farm-grown ingredients.”
Image credits: McDonald’s;
Domino’s
63
64. • To show that its chickens are truly free-range, the
website for Australia’s ecoeggs features a “ChookCam,”
a live remote camera that viewers can control to see the
animals in real time (the camera is off at night).
• Lay’s rolled out a kiosk in Buenos Aires supermarkets
that displays a “hyper-realistic” video of the chip-making
process to show that the chips are made from real
potatoes, vegetable oil and salt—assuring customers
that the “natural” claim is authentic.
Image credits: ecoeggs.com.au;
Lay’s
64
65. FIGURE 5A:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Millennials (21-34)
Gen Xers (35-47)
FIGURE 5B:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Boomers (48-67)
Male
I like when
commercials show
me the “behind the
scenes” story about
the food I consume
I wish I knew more
about how the food I
eat is produced (how
it is grown or who is
growing it)
Brands do not disclose
enough information
about the environmental
impact of their food
products, how their food
is made or where the
ingredients come from
81
73%
73
65
80
71%
71
63
81
66
Female
I like when commercials
show me the “behind the
scenes” story about the
food I consume
I wish I knew more about
how the food I eat is
produced (how it is grown
or who is growing it)
Brands do not disclose
enough information about
the environmental impact of
their food products, how their
food is made or where the
ingredients come from
69
74
68
71
68
71
70%
64
* For generational and gender breakdowns by country, see Appendix.
65
66. As the ongoing shift from words to images accelerates,
we’re seeing increasingly innovative ways to spotlight and
illuminate complex topics (one of our 10 Trends for 2010).
Visual Fluency can help brands make the information
they’re disclosing easier to grasp at a glance. It’s sorely
needed: Lack of Visual Fluency is
one reason nutritional labels are
understood only “in part” by a
majority of consumers (52% vs. 41%
who understand them “mostly”),
according to a recent Nielsen
global survey.
In the U.K., Waitrose’s line of LOVE life “you count”
products, designed for calorie counters, features packaging
that boldly states how many calories the item contains.
Shoppers can see immediately what will work best for
them as they plan out meals.
Image credit: Waitrose
66
67. • This trend represents a coming together of the green movement, the health and wellness movement, government antiobesity efforts, the local movement, fears about food safety and, of course, the transparency trend.
• While pressure to disclose is coming in part from consumers, many may not actually want all that much information or
alter their behavior once exposed to it. When it comes to calorie data, for example, half of respondents to a recent
global Nielsen survey felt that fast food menus should always include calories, and some studies have shown that diners
don’t order much differently when menus are labeled. But since calorie labeling frequently reveals a dearth of smart
options, restaurants are nonetheless being embarrassed into reducing serving sizes, adding lighter fare, making simple
substitutions that cut calories and so on.
• As more data is disclosed, however, people who once thought little about these details are starting to take note;
the ranks of the conscious consumer are growing. The challenge is for brands to make this information clearly
understandable, both in terms of visual fluency and basic consumer education.
• In some cases, it’s likely that the simple fact of disclosure will matter more to consumers than the specific information
revealed. But ultimately, brands that don’t become healthier and more sustainable will lose ground, especially if
they’re not competitive on price.
*To learn more about Maximum Disclosure, see our 10 Trends for 2010.
67
68. Faced with constant reminders about what to do (exercise more,
eat better) and what not to do (overspend, overeat), and fatigued
from several years of austerity, consumers will look for ways to live
a little without giving up a lot. People have been exercising more
self-control, and increasingly they’re looking to let loose once in
a while: indulging in sinful things, splurging on treats and at least
momentarily escaping from today’s many worries.
• The Lipstick Index Effect
• A Little Serving of Sin
• What It Means for Brands
Image credit: J. Paxon Reyes
68
69. Estée Lauder chairman emeritus Leonard Lauder coined
the term “Lipstick Index” after observing that lipstick
sales rose during the 2001 downturn as women treated
themselves in affordable ways. While lipstick sales didn’t
see an uptick this past recession, by and large the effect
applies to arguably indulgent edibles like premium beer or
high-end chocolate.
After all, “living a little” is still cheaper than living large.
As the FT put it, “For more everyday items, people are
compensating for bigger treats foregone.” For example,
some consumers are dining out less frequently but buying
premium ingredients to cook at home.
Image credit: Duvel
69
70. More people will decide there is a time for everything—
both restraint and rewards—and that they’d rather have
a bit of something good than a lot of mediocrity. For
instance, a Mintel report on ice cream sales in the U.S.
finds that “full-fat, indulgent brands have performed well
in the last year.” Consumers don’t want to feel life is
passing them by as they behave more responsibly.
Spanish deli brand Campofrío tapped into this idea with
a commercial showing an old toad explaining that he was
a human in his past life. But he was not gung ho on being
one: “You need to learn English… control your calories,
triglycerides…” But his younger friend breaks into song,
imagining what he’d do “If I were a human”—“buy a
Chihuahua, a waterbed and a mega ham platter.” The
youngster is promptly hit by a truck and reincarnated as a
handsome guy eating some ham. The voiceover: “You never
know what you’ll become in the next life. So take good
advantage of this one.”
Image credit: Campofrío
70
71. FIGURE 6A:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Millennials (21-34)
Gen Xers (35-47)
FIGURE 6B:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Boomers (48-67)
An indulgent snack/
meal every once in a
while gives me a nice
break from the dayto-day grind
Male
90%
87
88
88
Even if money is tight,
I deserve to splurge
on a nice meal every
once in a while
87
89
84%
83
79
77
87
88
92
88
Even if money is tight,
I deserve to splurge on a nice
meal every once in a while
84
82
There is so much pressure to
have perfect nutrition habits that
once in a while I need to indulge
myself and take a break
I wish that I wasn’t reminded
of how I should keep a healthy
diet to improve my lifestyle
every time I turn around
82
There is so much
pressure to have
perfect nutrition habits
that once in a while I
need to indulge myself
and take a break
I wish that I wasn’t
reminded of how I
should keep a healthy
diet to improve
my lifestyle every
time I turn around
89%
89
An indulgent snack/meal every
once in a while gives me a nice
break from the day-to-day grind
Life is too short not to have
an indulgent snack/meal
every once in a while
96
Life is too short not
to have an indulgent
snack/meal every
once in a while
Female
73
78
61
60
76%
72
64
66
62%
56
*For generational and gender breakdowns by country, see Appendix.
71
72. • While people generally understand the need to adopt healthier habits, the reverse-psychology effect of
regulations and new cultural norms adds some rebellious appeal to “bad” behaviors. Consumers will tire of the
guilt associated with anything that seems out of step.
• Marketers can discourage overthinking and encourage more spontaneous enjoyment of life’s pleasures. Brands can
help to remove anxiety around indulgent choices and showcase how their indulgences are permissible—enabling
people to live a little without feeling like they’ve fallen off the wagon altogether.
• Brands can also emphasize ways to take a break from daily pressures and to squeeze more pleasure out of life,
whether via a cup of top-notch coffee or a hot fudge sundae.
*To learn more about Live a Little, see our 10 Trends for 2012.
72
73. As the new normal becomes a prolonged normal in the hampered
developed world, more brands will open up entry points for
extremely cost-sensitive consumers. Marketers will find new
opportunities in creating stripped-down offerings, smaller sizes and
otherwise more accessible products and services.
• Smaller SKUs
• What It Means for Brands
Image credit: Pete.Mac
73
74. Food and beverage brands are swinging in the opposite
direction from the mega-sizes and bulk offerings they have
targeted at budget-savvy consumers. Instead, they’re
adopting the emerging-world practice of selling smaller
SKUs to consumers who can afford only the minimal
amount per shopping trip.
A November 2011 survey by JWT found that a majority
of respondents in the bottom third of household income
said they would rather spend less and buy small sizes than
buy bigger sizes that are a better value (57% in the U.S.
and 56% in the U.K.). So did a majority of middle-income
respondents in the U.S. (53%).
• Kraft Foods Inc. is selling 50-cent gum packs with five
sticks of Trident and Stride.
Value to that [struggling]
consumer is a price point. It
doesn’t matter what the cost
per ounce is. It matters, ‘Can I afford
to buy even a small portion of that this
week?’ And (that means) having small
sizes, convenient sizes, convenient
channels, convenience stores,
pharmacies, dollar stores for quick
small trips that are close to home, as
opposed to going out for the big loads
at the supercenters. So there is very
different behavior that is occurring.”
—MEG NOLLEN, SVP of investor relations
and global program management officer,
H.J. Heinz Co., August analyst call
• Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo both introduced alternatives to
the traditional 2-liter bottle in the U.S. with reduced sizes
that sell for 99 cents or less.
74
75. • In late 2011, H.J. Heinz Co. announced it would launch
several reduced-size products at “compelling price
points.” New, smaller Heinz products that carry a
suggested retail price of 99 cents include a 10-ounce
ketchup pouch, a 9-ounce yellow mustard, and mini
Worcestershire and Heinz 57 sauces. In Europe, products
are priced around one euro.
• The Supervalu retail chain now sells individual portions of
meat for $1. And its Save-A-Lot chain’s private-label Today
brand sells ultra-accessible products like 79-cent instant
mashed potatoes in a 4-ounce pack.
Image credit: Heinz
75
76. • Brands must adjust to a new consumer reality in which spending is moving out of the middle market and shifting
to the high and low ends. Customers have become accustomed to holding out for discounts and promotions,
but such tactics aren’t a sustainable solution for most brands. Instead, opportunity lies in creating lower-cost
products and services, whether that means smaller SKUs, “good enough” products and services that strip out
features/amenities, off-peak or otherwise restricted offerings and so on.
• At the same time, consumers have developed the expectation that cheap can also be chic (or tasty, enjoyable,
etc.), and they’ll look for budget options that don’t feel terribly down-market. For example, discount grocery
chain Aldi offers a limited selection, but, as The Economist notes, it’s “not a grotty place to shop,” unlike some
rival retailers. And McDonald’s launched a $1 billion makeover of its U.S. stores in 2011 that will see the outlets
looking less like typical fast food chains and more upscale, taking cues from Starbucks.
*To learn more about Navigating the New Normal, see our 10 Trends for 2012.
76
77. From phones to fridges, devices are getting “smart,” connecting
the real world to the digital world and influencing how we find, eat
and make food. More broadly, each step of the way—from shopping
to finding recipes and cooking to dining out—is getting “smarter”
for those armed with the latest digital tools.
• Smarter
Cookbooks
• Smarter Recipes
• Smarter Kitchens
• Smarter Ordering
• Smarter Shopping
• Smarter
Packaging
• What It Means
for Brands
Image credit: Roberto Verzo
77
78. Thanks to tablets, which travel easily from supermarket
to kitchen to table while providing an ample display, the
cookbook is evolving into a multimedia tool that offers
video instruction, plenty of illustrations and an easy way to
look up unfamiliar terms.
interactive recipes and services such as a menu planner
and shopping list generator. For an added fee, users get
access to more content, including an ingredient guide and
a wine guide. QOOQ expands beyond the French market
with a U.S. launch in September.
CulinApp offers tablet apps that include video
demonstrating each step, with users able to choose how
they want to view a recipe (with step-by-step video, in a
flow chart format, etc.). It’s well-suited for professionals
accustomed to the camera, with CulinApp serving as a
platform for Dorie Greenspan (“Baking with Dorie”) and
Joanne Weir (“Joanne Weir’s Cooking Confidence”). Other
celebrity chefs also offer video apps, like Jamie Oliver’s
“20 Minute Meals” and “James Martin’s Food – Simplicity.”
The Culinary Institute of America adapted its longtime
textbook into an app, The Professional Chef, that allows
users to compare notes, among other things.
From France comes a kitchen-focused tablet, QOOQ
(pronounced “cook”): Along with regular tablet
functionality, the “kitchen-proof” gadget comes with
Image credit: Inkling Systems
78
79. Recipe sites were among the coolest offerings of the early
Internet, providing easy access to a vast range of recipes,
searchable by cuisine and ingredients. These sites remain a
go-to for home cooks, but we’re seeing new thinking about
how the Web can best help cooks find the recipe they’re
looking for (or didn’t know they wanted) and track what
they make. None of the following actually feature their
own recipes:
• Gojee rethinks search by asking users what ingredients they
have or want to cook with and which they prefer to avoid.
Users then see photos of dishes that they can quickly click
through (or swipe through on a tablet); each links to an
external blog. A partnership with New York grocery chain
D’Agostino lets loyalty card users get customized recipes
based on what they’ve bought. About 300,000 people have
signed up since Gojee launched last July.
• For cooks whose back issues of food magazines are piled
atop stacks of cookbooks, Eat Your Books creates a digital
catalog of those analog recipes, making them easy to find.
The site has indexed more than a half-million recipes
from popular cookbooks, as well as magazines and a few
blogs. It outlines the recipe being searched and directs
users where to find it, online or on paper. The site charges
$2.50 a month or $25 a year.
Image credit: Gojee
79
80. • Foodily brings in the social graph:
Users follow friends as well as
influentials, receiving a Twitter-like
feed of recipes. Users in turn can
share recipes of food they “crave,”
“made” or “recommend.” Foodily also has an app
for Facebook Timeline, so user updates appear in the
Facebook ticker.
• Evernote’s new Food app, an extension of the popular
organizational app, isn’t solely about recipes, giving users
a way to store photos, captions, notes and recipes related
to any food experience. But it’s particularly handy for
archiving recipes: Cooks can photograph each step and add
captions and detailed notes, helping them remember and
share their process (Facebook and Twitter sharing are built
into the app).
Image credits: Foodily;
Evernote
80
81. As the “Internet of Things” concept becomes a reality,
“smart” appliances offer the promise of integrating
with owners’ lives and making food preparation easier.
They are connected via Wi-Fi and can communicate with
smartphones. It’s early days, however, with some concepts
not on the market yet and manufacturers still figuring out
which bells and whistles consumers want.
• Samsung’s smart fridge communicates with Samsung
smartphones (enabling users to track groceries, for
instance), and its touch screen offers access to apps,
letting owners check the weather, their calendar or
recipes on Epicurious, among other things. Samsung
has said it’s planning a robust app marketplace focused
around its appliances.
A few examples:
• A refrigerator that LG Electronics showed at CES keeps
inventory of what’s inside if users scan grocery receipts
with their phone, letting owners track when they bought
items and when they expire. Via a touch screen, the
fridge can suggest recipes based on the items scanned;
its Health Manager can tailor these according to a user’s
weight, body mass index and so on. Part of LG’s ThinQ
line, it can connect to a smart oven (setting it according
to the recipe selected) and to LG’s Smart TV. As the
Miami New Times put it, “The only thing it doesn’t have
is mechanical arms to take food out of the fridge and
prepare it.” The fridge is due on the market by late 2012.
Image credit: Samsung
81
82. • Haier says its Smart Life appliances, which users can
control remotely, will help people “do more, worry
less, and save time.” These include a refrigerator and
wine chiller.
• The new TopBrewer from Danish company Scanomat is a
high-end coffeemaker that looks like a faucet attached to
the countertop. Users can control its various functions with
an iPhone or iPad, and see when their beverage is ready.
• Restaurant kitchens are getting smarter too. QSR
Automations’ ConnectSmart Kitchen, for instance, helps
to streamline preparation, directing tasks to workstations
so that orders come out of the kitchen faster.
Image credits: Haier;
Scanomat
82
83. Distinguishing themselves from guides that offer ratings
and a range of information about nearby restaurants, such
as Yelp, Urbanspoon and Zagat, some apps help diners hone
in on the best dishes around them. These crowdsourced
platforms give diners a preview of what to expect,
leverage the smartphone user’s urge to snap food shots and
surface personalized recommendations.
• Newcomer Forkly focuses on meal reviews as well as
pictures, using this information to build a taste graph for
each user and offer personalized recommendations. Users
are encouraged to “earn influence points” and “become a
top influencer for places and items.”
• Two-year-old Foodspotting—which is nearing 2 million
downloads—is a website and app that provides users with
a photo-driven stream of tasty meals in locales around
the world. People can search for meals by location and
bookmark foods they want to try. Contributors photograph
meals they like, tag the location and share (to keep things
positive, users can’t post dishes they dislike). A recent
update adds personalization features and emphasizes user
reputation and social features.
Image credit: Foodspotting
83
84. As e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailing integrate
and overlap, shopping will entail simply clicking—buying
products from a smartphone or other device—and then
having the order immediately delivered or collecting it
at a physical location. Multichannel buying is fast and
streamlined, with less time in lines and shorter waits than
online-shopping delivery enables.
Some supermarkets are setting up out-of-home displays
where shoppers scan QR codes for desired items, then either
get them delivered or pick them up in-store. Home Plus, the
South Korean arm of Tesco, was out in front with this idea
last year when it placed sheets of photorealistic billboard
paper featuring pictures of goods, along with QR codes, in
a subway station. Commuters can browse and pay for items
with their phones while waiting for the train, and the goods
are waiting when the purchaser gets home.
Image credit: Recklessnutter
84
85. With more people using smartphones, QR codes and
other experiments in connecting the physical product
with the digital world are proliferating. The likelihood
that consumers will actually scan these codes is slowly
rising—in November, a Forrester study found that 5% of
American adults with a mobile phone scan any kind of 2D
barcode, up from 1% in 2010. comScore reported a similar
percentage for June 2011 among mobile users in France,
Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. For now, the codes link
brands with early adopters.
• The European Union is looking into ways to use QR
codes to provide independent third-party information
regarding functionality, traceability and sustainability of
ingredients.
• Some codes lead to recipe information. Kraft is rolling out
QR codes on five cheese products that lead to recipes; the
aim is to provide cooking “inspiration.” Similarly, Pacific
Natural Foods will put the codes on packaging to provide
recipes and other info (how-to videos, shopping lists,
etc.). Marmite uses Blippar, a technology that employs
image recognition to trigger virtual content on a mobile
screen, to relay recipes.
• Codes can also lead to exclusive content. A promotion
last August from Taco Bell, a sponsor of MTV’s Video Music
Awards, involved QR codes on cups and boxes that led to
MTV footage.
• Heinz used QR codes on ketchup bottles in participating
U.S. restaurants last November for a social promotion that
enabled people to send thank you messages to military
service members or veterans. For every code scanned,
Heinz donated money to the Wounded Warrior Project.
• Cadbury has turned its
packaging into a game in the
U.K. using Blippar. Most Cadbury
bars carry the augmented
reality-style game, which will
change over time.
Image credit: Blippar
85
86. • One theme here is a trend we’ve termed Worlds Colliding: the borders between the online and “real” worlds
becoming fuzzier. As smartphones proliferate and tablets too, more people are fluidly toggling between digital
and physical space; we’re also seeing the introduction of other “smart” devices (i.e., Internet-enabled).
Marketers will need to holistically and seamlessly bridge platforms and worlds.
• This will mean everything from promoting mobile apps to enabling multichannel purchasing and experimenting
with packaging as a platform, which extends the brand message and presents largely untested opportunities for
games, special offers, social interactions and education.
• Another ongoing trend here is Hyper-Personalization: Consumers will come to expect a personalized digital realm
that offers up what they are most likely to need or want based on location, interests, social network and so on,
rather than a Web that offers vast stores of material. Brands will need to smartly filter content, messaging and
recommendations to individual tastes and other factors (location, device used, time of day, etc.), much as online
ads are targeted. The countertrend: a newfound interest in reintroducing randomness, discovery and different
perspectives to our lives.
86
87. Increasingly, brands are applying game mechanics (leader boards,
leveling, stored value, privileges, superpowers, status indicators,
etc.) to non-gaming spaces in an attempt to drive certain actions
or behaviors. This is more than brand-sponsored games—consumers
are engaging in brand communities, content or campaigns through
incentives and rewards modeled on behavioral economics. In food,
gamification can help to motivate not only good eating habits (e.g.,
Foodzy) but also customer creativity and engagement.
• Apps That Gamify Eating
• Gamifying the Business Model
• What It Means for Brands
Image credit: darioalvarez
87
88. Mobile media is putting a new spin on competitive eating,
thanks to apps that encourage users to eat less or better, rate
food and post pictures for bragging rights and more.
Foodzy, an Amsterdam-based startup that got off the ground
last year, turns self-tracking into sport: People aiming to lose
weight and/or simply adopt healthier habits can compare
what they’ve eaten with friends and compete to reach goals
while keeping tabs on their consumption. The tool tries
to keep things light with some badges unrelated to good
behavior, like a BBQ badge for frequent grillers.
Foodspotting, a visual app as the name suggests, puts the
emphasis on specific dishes and documenting the foodie
experience, with users encouraged to take photos of
restaurant dishes and compile themed lists of favorites.
Contributors earn “virtual tips” and can become “dish
experts,” but the app also relies on social media’s innate
competitiveness. The one-upmanship so common on
Facebook—food photos often stir envy—becomes more
explicit here.
Image credit: Foodzy
88
89. Elements of gamification in food have been around for at
least as long as the McDonald’s-Monopoly partnership. When
Foursquare entered the scene, gamification came easy, with
check-ins earning users mayorships, badges and discounts
at participating establishments. Taking it a step further, last
year the Buffalo Wild Wings chain teamed up with SCVNGR,
the location-based gaming platform, for an interactive
competition leading up to NCAA’s March Madness; 184,000
people participated across the U.S. And Starbucks
partnered with Lady Gaga for SRCH, a scavenger hunt that
incorporated QR code-scanning with smartphones.
But 4food in New York, which opened in 2010, is one of
the first restaurants to integrate gamification into its
business model. Patrons of the burger joint can customize
their order—choosing from a dizzying number of possible
combinations—and name it, and the burger gets added
to the “Buildboard Chart.” Others can then buy the same
combo, earning the creator 25 cents a pop to use at the
restaurant. Customers can compete for the top slots using
social media to create buzz, marketing the restaurant in
the process.
Image credit: 4food
89
90. • Broadly, “gamification” can increase brand loyalty and engagement, push people to exercise influence over their
peers and/or get them to consider buying something, doing something or going somewhere for the first time.
Brands can encourage competition or a competitive spirit to drive desired results, or add a sense of play or fun
into traditional promotions or everyday activities.
• Gamification can be a great tool in motivating good behavior, and we’ll see more attempts to drive good eating
habits through competition or simple reward incentives. For instance, restaurants could team with weight-loss
programs to reward diners when they choose healthier alternatives.
• While technology is a major driver here, we’ll also see brands using analogue techniques as simple as smiley faces
to inject gaming elements. Brands that use game mechanics most successfully will allow users to define their own
goals and provide multiple scenarios in which they can earn points and achieve rewards.
* To learn more about All the World’s a Game, see our 10 Trends for 2011.
90
91. More flat surfaces are becoming screens, and more screens are
becoming interactive. Increasingly we’ll be touching them,
gesturing at them and talking to them. This is opening up novel
opportunities to inform, engage and motivate consumers, whether
through screens at restaurants, on vending machines and kiosks,
or via out-of-home ads.
• Screened Dining
• Kiosks/Vending Machines
• Interactive Out-of-Home Ads
• What It Means for Brands
Image credit: waldyrious
91
92. Screens are slowly getting integrated into the restaurant
experience, replacing menus or even workers and adding
some entertainment.
Interactive Tables: Technologies such as the
Draqie interactive table and Microsoft Surface allow
customers to browse menus and conveniently order by
touching, tapping and swiping.
In New York, a restaurant at high-end department store
Barney’s features 30 individual screens in a large communal
table that’s covered in glass. Diners can digitally order
their meal, then browse the store’s catalog while eating.
At London’s Inamo restaurants, E-Table technology grants
customers control over their dining experience: A ceiling
projector effectively turns the tabletop into an interactive
screen that diners can navigate using a built-in mouse;
they can view menus, play games, change the virtual
tablecloth and even order a taxi.
Image credit: Draqie
92
93. E-menus: E la Carte’s Presto and
TableTop Media’s Ziosk are tablets
that allow diners to order and pay
from a device at their table. iPads
work well too: Delta Air Lines
has installed them at some of its airline-terminal
restaurants, while the device enables patrons at restaurants
like Stacked in California to customize their dishes, place
orders and pay. Restaurants are also putting wine lists
on iPads, making them easily searchable by category,
including price.
Screens Over Cashiers: McDonald’s has been
adding touch-screen terminals on which customers
can browse the menu, order and pay. The company
has more than 800 self-order kiosks in Europe and,
in May 2011, said it was considering expansion of
the initiative.
Image credits: E la Carte; Delta;
McDonald’s
93
94. FIGURE 10A:
Percentage of American and British adults who would
be very or somewhat comfortable doing the following:
Millennials (21-34)
Gen Xers (35-47)
Boomers (48-67)
87
Browsing an
interactive menu on
a tablet or digital
surface instead of a
paper menu
72%
74
55
70
66%
51
Using an
automated
system to get
my waiter’s
attention
74
62%
63
48
71
Placing my order with an
automated system instead
of the waiter/waitress
56%
59
Male
Female
Browsing an interactive
menu on a tablet or
digital surface instead
of a paper menu
70
63
Paying for the
meal with an
automated system
78
Paying for the meal
with an automated
system
FIGURE 10B:
Percentage of American and British adults who would be
very or somewhat comfortable doing the following:
65
59
Using an automated
system to get my
waiter’s attention
Placing my order
with an automated
system instead of
the waiter/waitress
Using a self-serve kiosk
to assign me a table
at a restaurant instead
of the host/hostess
62
54
52
48
54
45
37
Using a self-serve kiosk
to assign me a table at
a restaurant instead of
the host/hostess
69
58
55%
37
*For generational and gender breakdowns by country, see Appendix.
94
95. Video rental kiosks from Redbox, Blockbuster Express
and others have brought touch-screen technology to the
everyday vending experience. More recently, prototype
machines have hinted at the potential for using interactive
screens to enable social media sharing and customized
recommendations.
Intel and Kraft’s “Meal Planning Solution”: This touchscreen kiosk helps users plan their shopping, pick recipes
and try free samples. Using facial recognition via a built-in
camera, the device creates a basic profile (such as age and
gender). Shoppers can then browse through menus, select
dishes and download a related shopping list onto their phone.
PepsiCo’s Social Vending System: This prototype features
a large touch screen that allows users to send a soda to
friends. Customers select a beverage, then enter the
friend’s name, mobile number and a text message,
which includes a code for redemption at
another machine; users can also record a
short video message, making the experience
even more dynamic. For the altruistic, there’s
an option to send a beverage to a stranger.
Image credits: Pepsi;
Intel
95
96. Interactive screens on out-of-home digital media allow
for all kinds of innovative ways to communicate with
passersby. They offer a way to gamify the simple
bus-stop ad or billboard, making marketing messages more
fun and helping to amuse commuters. They can add utility,
enabling consumers to locate stores, reserve restaurant
tables or request more information. Built-in social
networking capabilities compress the sharing process to a
simple touch of the button or wave of the hand. Consumers
can also be connected with strangers for engaging social
experiences.
• British cider brand Bulmers installed interactive HD
screens at various U.K. bus stops. People waiting for the
bus could drag virtual fridge magnets to create words and
phrases, and share these with friends via social media.
A few examples:
• In Helsinki, local restaurant Lämpö placed a touch screen
at a tram stop that allowed users to reserve tables.
• In a 2011 campaign, Philadelphia Cream Cheese sponsored
touch screens at bus stops in major Irish cities, enabling
commuters to view the brand’s commercials, browse
recipes and even email these to themselves.
Image credits: DDFH&B;
clearchannel.co.uk
96
97. • Interacting with screens in more ways and more places will become a part of everyday behavior for many
consumers as technology rapidly advances, costs drop, and retailers and marketers find innovative ways to
implement interactive screens. These screens can help to educate customers, entertain, engage and provide
unique utility beyond that offered by traditional media.
• For retailers, screens present an opportunity to embed interactive elements of the online experience in the
physical store. Screens can provide more details about the products and services a customer is most interested
in, and eventually even customized information (via facial recognition and profiling technologies). They also
allow retailers to extend communication with customers outside business hours.
• Touching, tapping and swiping will be second nature to the youngest generation as screens become seamlessly
embedded into more of our daily experiences. Down the road, we’ll see new kinds of surfaces becoming
interactive, from windows and mirrors to floors.
* To learn more about Screened Interactions, see our 10 Trends for 2012.
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98. Retail spaces are increasingly serving as a “third space” that’s
only partly about consumption. Supermarkets and other foodcentric outlets are becoming as much about experiences,
unique environments and customer service as they are about
simply buying goods.
• Food Halls
• Communal Eating
• Shops That Do More
• What It Means for Brands
Image credit: .Italo Treno - NTV S.p.A.
98
99. Concept markets are offering an experience that
encompasses shopping, dining and snacking—a destination
that’s an end in itself. They re-create the idea of the
traditional public market—think such popular spots as La
Boqueria in Barcelona and Pike Place in Seattle—or European
food hall and amp up the experience.
• Eataly, which started out in Torino in 2007, now operates
in six other Italian cities and another half-dozen Japanese
locations, as well as New York City. It’s a Disneyland of sorts
for Italian food lovers, with the Manhattan outlet offering
a wide range of mostly Italian products (from pasta and
wine to housewares and fresh foods); a coffee bar, a gelato
bar and sit-down dining, including a beer garden; and
some cooking classes. According to some reports, Eataly
will expand to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Toronto
and Mexico City over the next decade.
• In Madrid, the Mercado San Antón, a former street
market, is now an enclosed three-floor space that
combines traditional food shopping with small food stands
and a restaurant, cooking demonstrations and nightlife.
• The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English, at The Plaza hotel in
Manhattan, incorporates several food stations, a wine bar,
a specialty-foods market and cooking demonstrations. In
the spring it will expand to include outlets of several wellknown New York food merchants. “It’s a whole experiential
offering,” says the managing partner behind it.
Image credit: The Plaza Food Hall
99
100. While communal eating is a way of life in some cultures,
the West has dispatched with even the family meal. But
increasingly people are looking to food as a way to foster
more real-life interactions with new faces, thanks perhaps
to a backlash against isolation in the digital world or a
craving for more random, unique interactions.
traveling. The service has more than 30,000 registered
users. In Canada, The Social Feed is a similar concept that
operates in Vancouver and Toronto. And more broadly, Eat
With Me focuses on “connecting people through food,”
enabling users to create events or join one.
Communal seating is becoming a popular option at
restaurants, putting strangers elbow to elbow. And that’s
one of the draws of supper clubs, the informal, homebased periodic restaurants that started springing up a few
years ago. Last autumn in New York, the nonprofit Friends
of the High Line staged a Social Soup Experiment, where
attendees sat at a communal table for a one-pot meal.
Grubwithus, which touts itself as a way to “Eat with
awesome people,” is a website and now an app that
lets users buy seats for 10-person communal dinners at
restaurants in a dozen U.S. cities. Like-minded people can
cluster together around interests like wine, startups and
Image credit: Grubwithus
100
101. We’re seeing more retailers that strive to create
stimulating gathering spaces for home cooks and foodies.
• The new Haven’s Kitchen, in a Manhattan carriage house,
offers a “warm and dedicated community” focused
around cooking classes, but there’s also a market with
coffee, baked goods, specialty pantry ingredients and
housewares, and a monthly supper club. The focus is on
local, sustainably grown foods.
• At The Brooklyn Kitchen, shoppers can buy state-of-theart knives, then take a class on how to use them. The
store sells kitchen essentials and foods, and includes a
teaching space, where the focus is on a range of skills,
many of them old-school, such as butchering, canning
and pickling.
• Shed is a planned market, café, events center and retail
space due to open in fall 2012 in foodie-centric wine
country in Northern California. The owners expect to offer
al fresco dining, workshops and regional farm produce at
the Healdsburg store.
Image credits: Haven’s Kitchen;
The Brooklyn Kitchen
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