Free-from food is top food trend in 2017

CGA has revealed the top 12 food trends from its Business Leaders’ Survey this year, which includes chicken, small plates and superfoods alongside free-from options in the top five.

Commercial director Graeme Loudon said: “Consumer frequency of eating out has remained flat over the medium term. However, average spend is on the rise."

Rising food prices

He added: “This is as a result of consumers looking for provenance and quality, and willing to pay a premium for this but also, no doubt, as a result of food prices rising by 7%, according to the CGA Prestige FPI Service.

“Consumers value speed of service, with retailers in our industry adapting to this by bringing through express and food-to-go versions of their operations in order to capture this consumer need.”

He outlined how a healthy lifestyle is now crucial to diners and that pubs have reacted to this by adapting menus accordingly: “In terms of what’s cooking, the health-conscious consumer is becoming increasingly important in menu construction."

Responding to demand

Loudon added: “More than half (65%) of consumers are proactively looking to lead a healthy lifestyle, and retailers are responding by including more free-from, superfoods, vegan and vegetarian dishes on their menus."

“All four of these items appeared in the top 10 food trends according to business leaders in the out-of-home market. Beyond the health conscious consumer, we see chicken and Indian street food as key trends within the market when consumers are looking to indulge and try something new.

“The rotisserie and new wave Indian concepts in our market now are examples of retailers trying to exploit this trend.”