Food Flavors and Ingredients Outlook 2008

SUMMARY

Taste, convenience, and health continue to be the primary drivers of food choices, both at home and away. However, evolving world, regional and local cultural, political and economic climates are impacting the relative importance of each of these for individual consumers. In 2008, expect to see the marketplace respond as consumer preferences and priorities change and grow increasingly complex.

In this edition, Packaged Facts takes a look at seven key categories that will drive flavor and ingredient trends in the coming years. To gauge how trends are (or are not) moving forward, we've included our expectations for last year, along with predictions for 2008 for each of the following categories:

• Global Flavors
• Health & Wellness
• Local & Organic
• Flavor & Freshness
• Functional and Flavorful Fruit
• Protein Power
• Sweet Endings

Report Methodology

The information in Food Flavors and Ingredients Outlook 2008 is based on both primary and secondary research. Primary research involved on-site examination of the retail place, interviews with marketing, public relations and industry analysts within the food market and consultants to the industry. Secondary research entailed data-gathering from relevant trade, business, and government sources, including company literature and blogs.

What You'll Get in this Report

Food Flavors & Ingredients Outlook 2008 makes important predictions and recommendations on the key drivers that will affect the food industry in 2008. Those drivers that will impact flavors and ingredients for foodservice and retail heading into 2008 include continued higher energy prices, global warming and heightened consumer awareness and interest in the ability to "go green" when it comes to food choices.

No other market research report provides the comprehensive analysis that Food Flavors and Ingredients Outlook 2008 offers.

How You Will Benefit from this Report

Any food/beverage company that markets its products in the United States will find this report invaluable, as it provides a comprehensive package of information and insight on the changing nutritional mindset and the consumer palate not offered in any other single source. The fifth edition of Packaged Facts' annual view into the food industry's crystal ball analyzes how changing consumer preferences are affecting top ingredient trends, highlights what's hot and what's not, and discusses how flavor trends are moving through the retail and foodservice arenas.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Executive Summary

• Scope
• Report Methodology
• Key Drivers
• Food or Fuel?
• Green Cuisine
• Young at Heart
• Food Fights
• Trend/Countertrend
• A Look Back and Ahead
• Global Flavors
• Health and Wellness
• Local and Organic
• Flavor and Freshness
• Functional and Flavorful Fruit
• Protein Power
• Sweet Endings

Chapter 2 Global Flavors

• Globalization of Food Preferences
• Authentic Still Key
• Allure of the Unfamiliar
• Old Favorites and New Friends
• Table 2-1 Ethnic Foods Appeal (2007 vs. 2006) Ratings of Extremely/Somewhat Appealing
• Table 2-2 Percent of Consumers Eating Ethnic Foods in the Past Year)
• Hispanic Consumers
• Looking Ahead
• Latin Lives On
• Cuban
• Pan-Latin
• Asian, Asian, and More Asian
• Japanese, American Style
• Sushi Sells
• Indian Increasing
• Mediterranean Going Strong
• Debutants
• Korean
• Moroccan and North Africa
• Ethiopian and Somalian
• Crossover For Maximum Flavor

Chapter 3 Local - The New Organic?

• Organic Still Growing
• Organics at Retail
• Table 3-1 Organic Food Sales by Category (2006 and 2007 Projected)
• Organic Seafood
• Organics On-the-Go
• Organic Shortage Drives Global Sourcing
• Chinese Ingredient Worries
• Unsavory Ingredients
• No Small Potatoes
• Table 3-2 Select Agricultural and Seafood Imports from China (2006)
• Food Safety Paramount
• Looking Ahead
• Converging on Local: Eco-friendly and Ethical
• Looking Ahead
• Production, Delivery, and Promotion
• Looking Ahead
• More Locavores
• Local Rumination
• Country of Origin Labeling
• Food Miles
• 100-Mile Menus
• Carbon Footprint
• Food Mile Math
• Tap vs. Bottle
• Beyond Fine Dining
• Rethinking the Drive-Thru
• Organic vs. Local: Forced to Choose?

Chapter 4 Tracking the Trends

• Snacking
• Crossover Foods - Flattery at its Best
• Savories into Sweet
• Coffee
• Pomegranate
• Wasabi
• Takeout or Bring In?
• Restaurants as Supermarkets
• Supermarkets as Restaurants
• Meal Assembly - Takeout or Frozen Entrée?
• Bring in the Chef
• Baby Boomers Drive Bold and Spicy Flavors
• Table 4-1 Reports of New Products Launched: "Hot", "Spicy", or With Select Sensory Irritants (2004 - 2007)
• Umami - Discover the Fifth Taste
• Fresh and Natural Here to Stay
• Table 4-2 Natural and Organic Food Purchases by Outlet Type (2006)
• Table 4-3 Number of New Product Launches with "Fresh" and "Natural" Related Package Tags - All Categories (2004 - 2007)
• Steaming Gets Hotter
• Niche Dining
• Tempting Textures
• Small Plates: Entrées Under Threat?
• Sandwiches Sell

Chapter 5 Health & Wellness Winners

• Superfoods - Time to Check-In
• Nutrition Moves to the Front
• Downsizing Expands
• Live Longer, Feel Better, Enjoy More
• At the Heart of It
• The Salt Connection
• Seeing is Believing
• Beauty - No Longer Skin Deep
• Stress - Sip It Away
• Avoidance Behavior
• Trans Fat
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Gluten
• Ecologically Unfriendly Fish
• Antioxidants Still Battling Free Radicals
• Antioxidant Combinations
• Entire Foods vs. Components
• Antioxidant Herbs and Spices
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids
• Probiotics and Prebiotics - Now Easier to Digest
• Fiber - From Regularity to Weight Control

Chapter 6 Beverage Bonanza

• On the Menu
• Mocktails on the Rise
• Tis the Season…
• Appealing to Ethnic Tastes
• Functional Beverages
• Enhanced Water
• Packets of Enhancement on the Go
• Energy Drinks
• Soft Drinks Reinvented
• Coffee
• Beverages for Kids

Chapter 7 Functional and Flavorful Fruits

• Superfruits: Race to Mainstream
• Table 7-1 Number of Products Launched Containing Select Superfruits (2005 - 2007)
• Superfruits Take Functional Beverages Mainstream
• Beyond Smoothies
• In or Out?
• Blood Orange
• Clementine
• Guava
• Lychee
• Mango
• Papaya
• Pomegranate
• Pumpkin
• Dried Fruit - Or Not
• Dates and Figs
• Grill-Friendly Fruits
• Fruit Salsa

Chapter 8 Protein Power

• Egg-ceptional
• Organic and Cage-Free Gaining Ground
• Cheese - Now The Main Event
• Artisanal Goes Mainstream
• Artisanal Italian Fresh Cheese Goes Gourmet
• Iberian Artisanal Cheeses Still Hot
• Blends: More Complex and Sophisticated
• Organic & Pasture Grazed on the Rise
• Innovation and Marketing
• Meat and Poultry
• Beef and Chicken Still Dominate
• Chicken's Charm
• Organic, Natural and Grass Fed Increasing
• Meat is COOL, Chicken is Not
• American "Kobe" Gaining Ground
• Angus Going Strong
• Steakhouses: U.S.A. vs. Brazil
• Goat
• Niche Pork
• Functional Pork?
• American Charcuterie
• Seafood - "Sustainable" Matters
• Table 8-1 Top 10 Seafood Consumption by Species (annual pounds per capita) 2000, 2003, 2006
• Fish Fixins

Chapter 9 Sweet Endings

• Cupcakes - Is the Party Over?
• Bite-Size Still Big
• Building with Bite-Size
• Samplers and Flights
• Dessert Tasting Menus on the Rise
• Dessert-Only Served Here
• New Takes on Old Favorites
• Apple Pie
• Cheesecake
• Ice Cream
• Chocolate Desserts
• Bread Pudding
• Gastronomic Rearrangement (a.k.a. Molecular Gastronomy)
• Animal, Vegetable or … Dessert?
• Chocolate Still Strong
• Geography Lessons
• Organic and Sustainable
• From Less Guilt to Better-For-You
• Predictable to Premium
• Ethnic Desserts

Appendix A

• Best and Worst Seafood Selector