Dive Brief:
- Consumers are rediscovering a love for the grains that fed the ancient world — particularly amaranth, buckwheat, chia, hemp and quinoa, according to data from Innova Market Insights.
- Food and beverage manufacturers are responding with a slew of product launches. New products made with quinoa, for example, rose 50% in the 12 months ending in September 2013 — part of a fivefold increase during the past five years. Chia product launches rose nearly 50% in 12-month period ending in September.
- The surge is driven by consumers' sense that the old-time grains are safer and more nutritious than their modern counterparts.
Dive Insight:
No one who has been out of the house in the past year or so will be surprised by the Innova data. Ancient grains are everywhere these days. An increasing number of consumers have come to see mainstream food sources as tainted. And those folks are seeking shelter anywhere they can find it — organics, farmers markets, homegrown foods and ancient grains. Last week, we sat in a little family-style restaurant with some friends and our kids. Among the foods that wound up on the table were two bowls of amaranth porridge, a platter of quinoa patties and a kale salad. It's not a meal our own parents would have recognized. But our great-great-great-etc grandparents would have. Because as the song says, "everything old is new again."