Every December sees reviews of the year gone by and predictions for the coming year. What exciting new cakes and deserts will be available ? What new ingredients will be used ? How accurate were last years predictions ? (That’s another blog).
Food expert Jane Milton of the Food and Drink Innovation Network has predicted the following five , how many do you agree with ?.
1. Gut Health
Fermented foods such as sour dough. Maintaining gut health has been on the agenda for a while for many. With supermarkets selling probiotic breakfast drinks this is now predicted to cross over in to breads.
2. Natural Sweeteners
Inulin is a natural sweetener as can be used to reduce sugar in cakes , biscuits and desserts. Unlike Stevia its also beneficial to gut health and can be used in cookies, muffins, granolas and traybakes.
3. Plant Based Foods
Vegan and Gluten Free are growing in popularity by the day and bakeries will be looking to cut down on the meats they use for pies and tarts. Mushrooms and lentils are are good alternative so expect to see more on the shelves next year. Gluten Free and Vegan cakes are now commonplace and available in a wide range of flavours too expect this to continue to grow.
4. Food To Go
Bakeries producing more food-to-go and grab-and-go offerings should be well positioned to benefit from this trend. The conventional three square meals a day seems a thing of the past and eating on the go several times a day , snacking seems to be the trend to continue given that modern life is speeding up !
5. Waste
Limiting waste and reducing the amount that is thrown away by having innovate ways to utillise it such as bread pudding, croutons, or making Christmas truffles from surplus sponges are some of the ways creative thinking can offset the waste problem.
