A staggering 48% of all households surveyed reported engaging in at least one source of tech-enabled income generation in 2022, led by content creation, peer-to-peer commerce, and rideshare driving. This trend is driven by Gen Z- and Millennial-led households, where 60% of  respondents said they derived such income in the last year.

Plant-based consumer demand is shifting. No longer just a substitute meant to mimic animal products, plant-based is becoming a standalone segment, creating a wide new space for brands to let their innovation instincts grow.

This annual report combines leading industry research findings with the latest data from T. Hasegawa’s product development and marketing teams to analyze what consumers are looking for in food and beverage categories and predict upcoming trends through next year.

“These brands went above and beyond to reach their guests but also give them new and exciting products during a challenging time for restaurants and consumers alike,” said Ramon Melgarejo, global managing director of NielsenIQ BASES. “In our second year of the Menu Innovation Awards, we’re excited to include Canada in this year’s North America awards and recognize the hard work of so many great brands.”

PepsiCo announced a global packaging goal intended to double the percentage of all beverage servings it sells delivered through reusable models from 10% to 20% by 2030. This ambition is part of PepsiCo Positive (pep+), the company's strategic, end-to-end business transformation that puts sustainability and people at the center of how the company will create growth and value.

Through its new B2B platform, NotCo is making its artificial intelligence technology available for more food and beverage manufacturers seeking to create best-in-class and scalable plant-based products. In addition to delivering a superior eating experience, NotCo’s artificial intelligence offers the added benefits of extreme accuracy and speed, cutting R&D development timelines down to mere months compared to what traditionally has taken years.

Extending the shelf life of food and beverage products—and communicating this to consumers—could be one way to reduce food waste. In fact, according to the Innova Packaging Survey 2022, 40% of consumers surveyed globally from 11 countries agree that shelf life has a strong influence on their purchasing decisions.

"Exploding energy costs, crop failures, and supply chain disruption are all forcing companies to future-proof existing business models or bear uncertainty and increased cost implications," says Regan Leggett, foresight leader, NielsenIQ. 

NotCo will continue to operate its branded business, NotCo Food, offering products like NotMilk™, NotBurger™ and NotChicken™ through retail and food service businesses nationwide.

“While consumers have historically navigated to store brand products to save money during challenging economic times, we’re seeing that only modest gains have been made in private brand’s share of the consumer wallet this year,” said Mary Ellen Lynch, principal, center store solutions, IRI.