As the pandemic wears on, plant-based becomes an intensifying food trend

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As the pandemic wears on, plant-based becomes an intensifying food trend

28 Sep 2021

Joanie Spencer

Since 2008, Joanie Spencer has covered the retail and wholesale sides of the baking industry.
Serving associations such as the American Society of Baking (ASB) and BEMA, Joanie is also in demand as an industry presenter on bakery operations and trends. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rockhurst University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

When she’s not running or playing soccer, Joanie spends her time with her husband and 11-year-old son.

LAS VEGAS — Since early 2020, some new trends have cropped up; others were simply exacerbated. At PMMI’s Pack Expo Las Vegas, being held Sept. 27-29, Aaron Hand, editor-in-chief of ProFood World, presented some of those intensifying trends and how they’ve evolved through the pandemic.

Coined the “Great Global Reset,” the presentation was drawn from ProFood World’s annual Global 250 Report, which identifies the Top 250 good and beverage CPG companies each year in partnership with Euromonitor International.

“Last year’s report began with, ‘As consumers shift their buying and consumption habits in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,’” Hand said. “A year ago we were talking about the ‘wake of the pandemic,’ but more and more, we have to talk about dealing with what’s happening now and not knowing how long this will go on.”

Although nearly all media coverage in the food and beverage space is reported in the context of COVID, Hand pointed out that it didn’t impact the Top 10 CPG companies in the report from a year ago to today, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle and Mondelez leading the way.

“A year ago we were talking about the ‘wake of the pandemic,’ but more and more, we have to talk about dealing with what’s happening now and not knowing how long this will go on.”

With the intensifying food consumption trends happening today, Hand identified health and wellness one overarching theme that companies are responding to the most.

“People’s relationship with food has changed a lot,” he said. “A lot of trends were happening before COVID-19, but the pandemic pushed people more in that direction. There was a shift where people started paying more attention to what they were eating and where their food was coming from. They also started looking at more macros like carbs, fat and protein.”

And in the height of these trends, plant-based protein has stepped into the spotlight, not just as a meat replacement but also as a healthy halo in other foods, including baked goods.

The plant-based food industry has experienced a 27% increase, according to data from The Good Food Institute and the Plant-Based Foods Association. That’s almost three times the growth overall grocery has experienced, at 15%.

Consumers’ growing concern over issues such as social consciousness, agricultural efficiency, health and wellness, and global population growth, the plant-based market is poised to address those concerns. And people who recognize those benefits but not interested in giving up meat or animal byproduct foods are joining the flexitarian movement, which will become a growing consumer base in the baking industry.

The October issue of ProFood World will outline the Top 250 CPGs and other trends, and the October issue of Commercial Baking will take a deep dive into plant-based ingredients as an emerging market.

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