“Green For Me”: Givaudan and Canvas8 reveal five macro trends set to transform F&B industry

07 Nov 2023 --- Canvas8, a UK-based insights agency, recently announced its participation in Givaudan’s Flavour Vision trends report. The companies have jointly presented five trends that they predict will impact the F&B world in the next two to three years, including “Green For Me,” “Restorative Care,” and “Augmented Assistance.”

The report uses Canvas8’s expertise in extracting consumer insights to develop actionable courses for brands to understand further and navigate the evolving landscape of global taste and well-being.

The project not only helps brands navigate present trends but also be ahead of future patterns. 

Food Ingredients First speaks with Thomas Ullram, global marketing director at Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing, who says: “As a company that strives to help our customers deliver the best Food Experiences to consumers, we need to stay on top of consumer trends.”

“To do so, we need to understand what’s driving consumer choices and preferences and capture the big shifts that are unfolding. With its leading expertise in consumer behavior, we found Canvas8 to be an ideal partner to support us in understanding those dynamics and effectively translating them into opportunities in the F&B space.”

Givaudan and Canvas8 have presented five trends they predict will most impact the F&B world in the next two to three years.Leila Zadeh, senior behavioral analyst at Canvas8 and Hannah Langton, strategic partner lead on the project, also address how the partnership came about. 

“Givaudan is the innovation and co-creation partner of choice to its customers, and shaping the future of food. To do this effectively, it must understand how and why people worldwide enjoy particular tastes. These tastes are constantly evolving — especially in a world that is facing increasing global challenges from the climate crisis, growing inequality and economic uncertainty.”

Givaudan came to Canvas8 in 2022 to support them on this journey, Langton tells us. 

“They needed a new Trends Framework to first uncover the key megatrends that will impact taste and well-being in the near future and then enable local and regional teams to translate this into their own context,” she outlines. 

“The tool, therefore, needed to be flexible, adaptable and inspirational for its multiple audiences, as well as translatable across Givaudan’s four growth platforms. But beyond anything else, it had to be useful.”

Five key macro-trends 
As a result of the collaboration, Givaudan and Canvas8 presented five trends that they envision will impact the F&B world in the next two to three years. 

• Green For Me: Amid global economic and political uncertainties and growing eco-concerns, consumers are seeking solutions that meet both their individual needs and environmental goals. Price is now a top priority for many, and products offering affordability and eco-friendliness are gaining popularity. Furthermore, consumers increasingly expect green products to provide added benefits, such as improved health, taste and more.
• Restorative Care: Many are experiencing optimization fatigue. And with trust in traditional healthcare institutions diminishing, there’s a growing desire for more holistic, balanced, and restorative methods prioritizing overall well-being. People’s approaches are becoming increasingly intuitive, with many tapping into alternative value systems to cater to their physical, mental and emotional needs. 
• Stable Connections: Amid ongoing instability and uncertainty, people seek comfort, stability and continuity by adopting hyper-local and me-first perspectives and narratives. Trust in global narratives is fading, making way for localized identities as the new norm. 
• Sensorial Renaissance: The post-Covid backlash against sensory deprivation continues as people are driven to get out and feel the world in depth, mixing and matching sensory experiences to elevate and enhance their perceptions. This means unusual, unexpected and playful sensory experiences are sparking joy in people’s day-to-day lives.
• Augmented Assistance: Advancements in AI are opening the doors for smarter, more creative and collaborative consumer-brand relationships. From co-creation to hyper-personalization, people are turning to digital tools to help them optimize, enhance and elevate their lives. 

Zadeh explains that consumers are seeking multiple benefits from food and drink options. “They not only look for a bite with a delicious taste they love but also seek health benefits. This reflects another aspect of the economy’s impact on spending and taste preferences,” she says.

For Canvas8, the results from “Green For Me” were “most staggering,” as it reveals that people tend to prioritize economic concerns over the eco-credentials of products when they’re worried about the economy. 

“Many individuals typically do not take into account the potential negative impacts the economy could have on the environment, but it’s a factor that should be given more consideration,” notes Zadeh.

“Post-pandemic, there has been a noticeable trend toward more health-conscious choices. Many individuals who overindulged during the pandemic are now looking to moderate their consumption. This has led to a significant increase in the popularity of no and low ABV beverages. The ‘sober-curious’ trend is expected to continue growing in the months and years to come.”

Delving into the research
Canvas8 used a technique called “Driver Mapping,” designed to map out core and stable human behaviors and needs relating to each of Givaudan’s growth platforms. The project not only helps brands navigate present trends but also preempts future consumption patterns.

“This served as the ‘human anchor’ for our analysis,” explains Langton. 

The researchers also used “Macro Context” to scope out the global macro context, considering factors influencing the F&B industry. 

“This involved examining macro contextual changes in economics, politics, technology, regulations, society and the environment to identify potential impacts on the F&B sector. We then mapped these onto our core and stable human behaviors to see how they would impact people’s needs,” Zadeh underscores. 

“Future Proofing” was also used “to ensure we future-proof our trends,” notes Zadeh. “We consulted futurologists and F&B trend experts to help determine the relevance of our trends and ensure their robustness for the future.”

Next steps
Canvas8’s next steps involve strengthening Givaudan’s integration of its work across global, regional and local teams while maintaining high levels of engagement with the tool, Langton tells us. 

“This means that we must keep the trends updated and relevant to be useful for all teams. With Canvas8’s wealth of insights and trends, we are excited to carry on this journey with Givaudan and look forward to seeing even better results in the future.”

By Elizabeth Green