When it comes to eating plant-based foods, consumers are definite in which types of plant-based beverages and food they want to eat at home and which they eat from a restaurant or foodservice outlet.

Each fall, Innova Market Insight releases its Top 10 Trends for the coming year. Then the anticipation and excitement begin as we link those top trends to topics we write and speak about—including snacking.

"Student tastes are at the forefront of every new program or menu item we introduce," said Chef Peter Gilhooly, vice president - culinary, Chartwells K12. "With daily access to the invaluable insights from the students we serve, we're able to work with kids on creating the fun and delicious, healthy and nutritious meal options on their school menus, and we're excited to share what's coming next year."

Over the last year, cost and value for money have become more important to more than half of food and beverage consumers worldwide. Today’s shoppers are increasingly exploring money-saving strategies, such as choosing lower cost items and cooking from scratch. 

The "crunch" factor was on top as an important component of the perfect snack in the latest Frito-Lay US Trend Index. The index polled consumers on their snacking preferences and found that more than 70% of snackers would reach for a food with a crunch when considering their perfect snack.

Insights from a two-and-a-half-year series of consumer sentiment tracking surveys by Rich Products (Rich’s) chart a clear course for retailers to capitalize on this momentum through more healthy options among their fresh bakery offerings, greater variety, and smaller, more affordable portion sizes. 

Expect immunity to be a long-term topic and trend, as people of all ages are mindful of shoring up physical and mental health.

Amidst turbulent economic conditions amplified by the pandemic, supply chain issues, and inflation, new data released by the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), The Good Food Institute (GFI), and SPINS, shows US retail sales of plant-based foods grew 6.2% in 2021 over a record year of growth in 2020, bringing the total plant-based market value to an all-time high of $7.4 billion.

Bell Flavors & Fragrances is announcing the release of the 2022 Spark trend toolkit to identifying modern innovations within the flavor and fragrance industries. The toolkit has been reimagined and includes both macro and micro trends that are applied to a flavor or fragrance categories to identify what’s next.

Overall competition for meal solutions is increasing as the restaurant industry rebounds. Industry market and consumer insights tracker NPD Group, Chicago, says the US restaurant industry ended 2021 better than the year began. Moreover, NPD predicts industry operators could recover 98% of pre-pandemic visits by the end of 2022.