Dive Brief:
- Anuga, held in Cologne, Germany, had record attendance and exhibitors for its show with leading themes that included convenience, clean label, and "free-from," in particular gluten-free and lactose-free. Every food category also boasted a number of vegan and vegetarian options, and many new products targeted consumers eating on-the-go.
- Many vegan and vegetarian products were aimed at consumers who are not exclusively vegan or vegetarian but who choose to eat fewer animal-derived products in their diets. This so-called flexitarian diet arises mostly from health and wellness concerns followed closely by animal welfare and environmental concerns.
- A number of these products won a Taste 15 award, where judges pick the best new debut products at Anuga.
Dive Insight:
With more than one-third of U.S. consumers saying they use either dairy or meat alternatives, products debuting at the show are responding to demand.
"The growing ranks of novel protein sources and potential replacements appeal to the everyday consumer, foreshadowing a profoundly changed marketplace in which what was formerly ‘alternative’ could take over the mainstream," wrote Jenny Zegler, global food and drink analyst for Mintel, in the company’s Global Food and Drink Trends 2016 report.
