6 Ways to Win with Plants #1

This food alert is part one of a two part series that will outline 3 of the 6 ways to win with plants and how businesses are reacting to ever changing consumer needs and wants with new and exciting ideas. Their strategies can provide much insight and act as inspiration to Irish food, drink and horticulture industries to win in this space. 6 ways to win with plants is based on new nutrition businesses report ( 10 key trends on food, nutrition and health 2020) Trends one to three as follows based on Mellentin’s report.

Trend 1: Plants as heroes

By making vegetables more convenient the consumer is much more likely to include them in their diet. By doing this, the plant-based trend has grown significantly. This trend focuses on convenience and snacking to help draw in consumers. One such product is a pickled gherkin in a can! It is provided by a Brand called Speewaldhof, Germanys leading Gherkin provider. The snack is promoted as “cool” and “crunchy” and has proved to be a huge success in the German market.

Trend 2: Plants blended with “good” carb

This trend aims to balance plant based foods and carbs and it is sure to play a vital role as it is aligned with consumer needs and wants. The health conscious consumer is looking to add “good carbs” to their diet with maximum convenience and minimum effort. Companies are offering various new products that meet these needs and wants. For example, Growers Garden, a healthy snacks provider from Scotland has produced crisps with 30 per cent broccoli. This is just one example of a product fitting this major plant life trend. Convenience and snacking are at the focus of this product design and it has proved to be a major success.

Trend 3: “Real vegetables” replace carbs

Another trend which is on the rise. Health conscious consumers are looking to replace their carbohydrate intake with vegetables. This trend is portraying the consumers want for healthier “mimics” of their usual unhealthy food choices in order to be satisfied. One such product is Caulipower pizza which illustrates the value to consumers of ‘honest vegetables’ delivered in a convenient product. Its signature product is pizzas whose bases are made from cauliflower.  This product is exactly what it sounds like and is a direct response to the needs and wants forming this trend. We see a traditionally unhealthy product being mimicked by vegetables. It is also perfect for someone on a ketogenic diet. According to New Nutrition Business, Caulipower is the 8th-biggest frozen pizza brand in America (5th-biggest in New York) and is retailed in 22,000 stores, including Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons- Safeway, Target and CVS. It achieved year 1 (2018) sales of $45 million (€40 million), and was on track to achieve sales of $100 million (€89 million) in 2019. 

Implications for Irish suppliers:

It is clear that there is a consumer demand for plant based products as we see these three mega trends force international businesses to think outside the box. These innovative products with their convenient forms offer an alternative to consumers who are increasingly looking for plant-based ingredients. These consumers want to feel good about their consumption choices. Irish food and drink manufacturers can utilise the above trends to capitalise on the plant based momentum acting as inspiration to Irish businesses wishing to replicate their success.

References:

Accessed on 05/20 Julian Mellentin(2019)  (10 key trends in food, nutrition and health 2020 )

https://growers-garden.com/our-snacks/

https://www.outeraislegourmet.com/products/cauliflower-pizza-crust