Predicted food trends in 2020

The year kicked off with Veganuary with the likes of KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King and even Greggs all taking part and serving up plant-based burgers, sausage rolls and other vegan-friendly options! But what other food trends are we likely to see this year?

Last year was all about Buddha bowls, Kefir and courgetti, but with the rising sea levels and increasingly warm summers, we might see even more plant-based foods in our supermarkets! We are even becoming more health-conscious and discovering new dangers of sugar and fat, will this mean more sugar alternatives and low sugar varieties of some of our favourite foods?

Food unpacked

If you haven’t heard of the term ‘zero waste’ where have you been? We’re becoming more and more environmentally conscious and concerned about the use of plastic and lack of re-usable products and shops have finally started to take action.

Not only are we seeing a change in food, but also in the way we’re storing it. Major supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s are going back to basics and introducing reusable net bags for you to weigh out your fruit and vegetables rather than taking the plastic bags or buying a pack of apples.

In a drive to eliminate plastic and unnecessary packaging, Waitrose are trialling dispensers for you to refill your cupboard staples such as rice, cereal and pasta.

Alternative flours

Alternative flours will be popular in 2020 especially for people who are allergic or have an intolerance to traditional wheat flour. For the health-conscious, almond, coconut and chickpea flour are suitable for a low-carb, grain-free diet.

Pea Milk

You’ve probably heard of oat, rice and almond milk in recent years but the new kid on the block is pea milk and it’s going to make an appearance this year.

Pea milk is made from yellow split peas and contains 50% more calcium than cow’s milk and 8g of protein per 250ml serving which is 3x more than almond milk.

Flexitarian

You’re likely to spot the term ‘flexitarian’ around this year and with this comes more plant-based options on the menu in restaurants.

A flexitarian diet is suitable for those who want to monitor their meat consumption rather than removing it from their diet completely.

Sugar substitutes and reduced sugars

Sugar substitutes such as stevia and maple syrup are a thing of the past, syrups made from pomegranates and dates are being introduced as a way to add concentrated flavour into recipes without increasing the sugar quantities.

Big brands such as Cadbury have already launched a new 30% less sugar Dairy Milk chocolate bar to support the nation’s obesity crisis.