Storytelling is “absolutely crucial” to market success, says Innova Market Insights’ exec

07 Nov 2019 --- Innova Market Insights has released its Top Ten Trends for 2020. Using ongoing analyses of global developments in food and drink launch activity the market researcher highlights industry trends “most likely to impact the food and drinks industry over the coming year.” Lu Ann Williams, Co-Founder and Director of Innovation, elaborates on the top five trends in a FoodIngredientsFirst webinar.

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. 

According to research by Innova Market Insights, 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.”“Storytelling is going to be absolutely crucial to success in the market going forward. This has a really big impact. If you are not telling stories, you will have to start telling stories because consumers are definitely interested,” notes Williams. 

“A lot of companies now really have the opportunity to talk about why they do something, such as why you do or don’t add preservatives. I think consumers are quite smart, but they just really want some transparency, honesty and authenticity. A lot of small brands have done that very well. Now it’s really a time for everyone to do it,” she continues.

Playing into “Storytelling: Winning with Words” is ingredient provenance, which was spotlighted by the market researcher as key element of successful storytelling. “We listed some of the ingredient provenance platforms that we see: it could be a cultural celebration, where the ingredient comes from, or the processing used to make the product,” says Williams.

One example of effective storytelling cited by Innova Market Insights is Waku “Wellness Tea,” a herbal wellness tea made from more than 20 super herbs and aromatic flowers sourced from the Andes Mountains in Ecuador. The brand explains the etymology of “waku” as a word from the Quechua language, spoken by the indigenous people from the Andes Mountains of Ecuador, which translated into English means “together.”

Trend 2: Plant-Based Revolution
Innova Market Insights highlights a 68 percent average annual growth in food and beverage launches with a “plant-based” claim (Global, CAGR 2014 to 2018).

“Plant-based is definitely something that’s very positively perceived by consumers. We think there is a lot more opportunity for mainstream plant-based claims. This is one of the results from our survey, which asked consumers what claim they prefer when buying meat or dairy alternatives [vegetarian, vegan or plant-based]. Plant-based was the clear winner. Consumers also think plant-based sounds healthier than vegetarian or vegan. Figuring out the terminology and marketing terms is always a really important part of promoting a trend,” says Williams. 

According to the market analyst, two-thirds of global consumers are looking for products with simple ingredients. Tying into the “Plant-based revolution” is the surging consumer ONLY. Bio Fermented Oat Product with Banana Flavor.demand for meat- and dairy-free products that deliver on clean label claims.

Williams points to the example of a fermented banana and oat product by Israeli brand ONLY., saying, “This product has received a lot of press attention. It’s a really simple plant-based yogurt made with water, mashed banana, sugars, oatmeal, lentils and sunflower seeds – super simple ingredients. This really does fall into those trends of clean and clear label – really implying that layer of transparency. It’s vegan and made from all-natural ingredients.”

Trend 3: The Sustain Domain
Consumer expectations around sustainability are higher than ever, pushing companies to prioritize eco-efficiency. 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.

“We put sustainability on our trends list ten years ago. It’s taken a very long time for people and companies to figure out what they can do better. But now we see more and more consumers absolutely expect that companies will do the best they can,” says Williams.

“We have a lot of data [on sustainability]. Finding a way to visualize this in a simple way was a bit of a challenge but I think we did a good job here. We asked consumers, ‘are you willing to pay extra for food and beverage products that are devoted to solving these issues?’ You can see that half say ‘yes’ and quite a lot say ‘maybe,’” she adds.

Williams notes there are differences in regions and age groups in regards to sustainable purchasing, adding, “Not everyone is willing to pay, but plastic is on everyone’s radar and food waste is a big deal to a lot of consumers but we could also dive into the layers of this. We know that older consumers care a lot more about food waste while younger consumers care more about plastic waste. There is a lot of nuance and fragmentation when it comes to who cares about what, but this helps to make the picture.”

“You see companies promoting renewable energy sources, recycling plastic and fighting food waste. Most companies have figured out what their metric is and there is a lot of discussion on how to communicate that: is it through certification, through storytelling, or a combination of both?”

Trend 4: The Right BiteBee Zen wellness drink.
According to Innova Market Insight’s fourth top trend “The Right Bite,” consumers are managing busy careers, families and social lives while endeavoring to maintain healthy lifestyles.

“Over the past few years, we’ve talked a lot about holistic health and the mindful consumer, that what I eat is good for me but I also want to feel good about what I eat. This is just a continuation of that trend. After having been taboo for many years to talk about, mental health is now very much on the agenda and the taboo is disappearing quickly,” says Williams.

A significant challenge for consumers is experiencing stress more than once a day, Williams highlights. “A small French company at Anuga presented their beverage line called Bee Zen supporting well-being. Moreover, every purchased drink helps support beekeeping, so this taps into the trend of ‘what I eat is good for me but I also feel good about what I eat.’”

In the role that food plays in consumers’ lifestyles, Innova Market Insights explains that a significant concern is finding food that fits into efficient time management. In addition, differences in generational eating habits are noted. “Generation Z are generally on-the-go people who love energy boosters like protein drinks. Oikos Pro Fuel is a good example of that – full of energy, protein, caffeine to keep consumers going through their busy lives,” says Williams.

“On the other extreme, Generation X enjoys one or two good spoons of excellent ice cream or something super indulgent. In the middle, consumers might buy a ready-meal just to steam or put in the microwave. Or, they might want to cook but don’t want to plan,” she adds.

Trend 5: Tapping into Texture
Consumers are recognizing the importance that texture has on their food and beverages, with this trend 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. 

“The fluffy pancake case has consumers perceiving them as more indulgent, more exciting, higher quality and tastier compared to normal pancakes. 80 percent of Brazilian consumers said they would like to try them, while 13 percent already have. This example serves as inspiration for other products to indulge in the texture indulging space,” says Williams.

Lifespan of a trend
Williams underscores 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 said, 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 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