2020 vision: Key themes of brand storytelling, alternative proteins and eco-efficiency propel NPD

04 Dec 2019 --- Among the prominent themes predicted by Innova Market Insights for 2020, the market researcher strongly emphasizes the importance of consumer engagement, the diversification of plant-based offerings and eco-efficient manufacturing. FoodIngredientsFirst speaks to key players to examine how next year’s forecasted trends are inspiring NPD and adjunct marketing strategies.

Crowning the market researcher’s trends list is “Storytelling: Winning with Words,” which underscores a spike in consumer interest in discovering the origin stories behind food and beverage products. Consumers’ attention is piqued by opportunities to learn more about how products are manufactured, which promotes a better understanding of their benefits and helps build trust in a brand. 

“In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s no longer enough to create a great-tasting product. Increasingly, it’s a compelling story that captivates consumers. Ingredients can help customers build that story, whether it’s through sustainable sourcing practices, nutritional benefits or another compelling attributes,” says Laurie Koenig, Texturizers and Specialties Segment Lead North America at Cargill.

In August, Cargill ramped up its interest in  Beyond Meat supplier Puris to expand its plant-based portfolio.In August, Cargill ramped up its interest in Puris, the largest North American producer of pea protein and a key supplier to Beyond Meat, with an additional US$75 million investment. After “Storytelling,” “The Plant-Based Revolution” is pegged by Innova Market Research as the second most significant trend expected to influence NPD in the coming year. As with all trends in the list, the two can be closely interrelated.

Koenig pegs Puris’ pea protein as an example of an ingredient with a great story, explaining, “Nutritionally, it delivers plenty of benefits as a high-quality protein, but it also has strong economic and environmental messages. Beginning with its own proprietary, non-GMO pea seed, Puris utilizes its network of over 400 US farmers to grow the peas, which not only provide economic benefit to the farmers, but also help regenerate the soil.”

“Yellow peas minimize soil erosion and naturally return nitrogen to the soil, resulting in improved water quality and soil health. Puris purchases the peas the farmers grow and turns the crops into pea ingredients, including pea protein, pea starch and pea fiber. Those key attributes all resonate with consumers looking for products made with ingredients that align with their priorities,” she adds.

One example of effective storytelling cited by Innova Market Insights in its Top Ten Trends webinar is Waku “Wellness Tea.” The Waku recipe is based on an ancient tradition from Ecuador, horchata lojana. This unique combination of herbs and flowers has been passed down for centuries in the Andes Mountains and the botanicals used in each blend are sourced from family farmer networks in Loja.

“This recipe has been traditionally used to maintain good digestive health and treat any gut health concerns. In the region where all of our herbs and flowers are sourced, the population regularly live to over 100. Because the sourcing story is at the base of all of our products and provides the reason to believe in our functionality, brand storytelling is not only a strategy - it is central to our mission as a company,” says Anna Sise, Marketing Director of Waku.

“We strive to always be fully transparent with our consumers. In our marketing and storytelling, we highlight the ethical sourcing of our herbs and flowers and relationships with our farmers. Additionally, we bottle in glass to encourage recycling and reusing of our bottles,” she adds.

According to the market researcher’s data, 56 percent of global consumers say that stories around a brand influence their purchase decision. In a survey seeking to better understand what appeals to consumers about brand storytelling, the most popular response was “to learn where the ingredients come from.”

Waku Wellness Tea backs the significance of brand storytelling as a key marketing strategy in 2020.Tapping into 2020 vision
Consumer expectations around sustainability are higher than ever, pushing companies to prioritize eco-efficiency, as outlined in the “The Sustain Domain” trend. Innova Market Insights research indicates that the percentage of global consumers “expecting companies to invest in sustainability” has significantly risen from 60 to 87 percent between 2018 and 2019. This trend closely ties into “Storytelling,” offering brands the opportunity to attract business with a green portfolio.

“With consumers being increasingly interested in background information and stories about their food and beverage products, we have the possibility to share interesting and positive details with our customers. For instance, with products resulting from our sustainability program, we can explain to our customers where exactly the fruits come from, how our direct collaboration with farmers works, what our support in cultivation topics looks like and what measures we set to work in an environmentally sustainable way,” says Maren Döbl, Product Manager at Austria Juice.

Also featured strongly among spotlighted trends is the importance that texture has in food and beverages, with this theme being driven by social media. According to Innova Market Insights, 70 percent of consumers claimed that “texture gives food and beverages a more interesting experience” as they are looking for more fun and different products. 

“Consumers crave experiential eating, actively seeking out novel textures that surprise and delight their senses. Adding in the emphasis on products that contain more nutritious and label-friendly ingredients, texture is now a particularly tricky space. Texture is our first, and often our lasting impression of the food we eat, and it is deeply entangled within other sensorial properties,” says Koenig of Cargill.

“We eat with our eyes, nose, tongue and ears, so in order to derive maximum enjoyment and pleasure from our food, all the sensorial aspects must be in harmony with one another. Cargill specializes broad portfolio of texturizing ingredients, which includes a wide range of starches, hydrocolloids, plant proteins, lecithins and fibers, allowing us to help customers find the right solution for their texture challenges across a myriad of food and beverage applications,” Koenig adds.

Coming in as the eighth Top Trend for 2020, “A Star is Born” places emphasis on the rise of highly functional ingredients such as cannabidiol (CBD) and ashwagandha. “As a matter of consumer demand and following the trend of an increasingly conscious consumption of beverages, a growing number of our new product developments contain ‘hero ingredients.’ From well known vitamin enriched juices over guarana and maca containing natural energy drinks and amino acid drinks to hyaluron beauty drinks – our portfolio of “Hero Beverages” is growing,” says Döbl of Austria Juice.

Lifespan of a trend
Lu Ann Williams, Director of Innovation at Innova Market Insights, spotlights the longevity of trends, explaining, “I spoke to someone at Anuga 2019 who said that it’s difficult to stay on top of trends when they are changed every year. I responded saying, trends don’t stop on December 31 and switch to new ones on January 1. Our 2020 trends build upon the previous trends. We have a large team of analysts who spend months preparing the trends. We have data to support every single one and we make sure that they really project the trends we see happening and are bound to happen in the next few years.”

“We’re not picking fads, we’re picking things that really have an impact on what is happening in the industry. Things like ‘free-from’ and ‘clean label’ haven’t been mentioned explicitly much, but they are still present, woven into the current trends where they have so much more depth,” she concludes.

In addition to the top ten trends identified for 2020, the market researcher notes elements from key themes from previous years, including “Discovery: The Adventurous Consumers,” “The Plant Kingdom,” “Alternatives to All,” “Green Appeal” and “Snacking: The Definitive Occasion” will also continue to feature strongly.

By Benjamin Ferrer