Tetra Pak, a world-leading processing and packaging solutions company, unveiled the findings from ‘Trendipedia’ 2021 — a targeted study of consumer trends. Looking back at the year 2020, “the year unlike any other”, Tetra Pak explains how the acceleration of all macro forces had an impact on consumers’ major concerns. In the world where “No Normal” is the new normal, key market trends have been re-prioritized by the pandemic.
Consumer behaviour and purchase patterns are constantly changing, and the food and beverage industry needs to be agile enough to reach a more enlightened consumer, innovate with ever-evolving technology and address real challenges such as health and food safety. So which trends currently present the biggest possibilities and challenges? Tetra Pak’s ‘Trendipedia’ identifies eight major trends for 2021, which are classified as: ‘Health First’, ’Responsible consumption’, ‘Convenience In-Home’, ‘e-Food Experience’, ‘Social Reconnect’, ‘Heritage and provenance’, ’Intentional indulgence’ and ‘Personal data’.
Tetra Pak particularly emphasises the importance of the first four trends. Number one is ‘Health First’, which has been placed in the spotlight by the Covid-19 pandemic. With physical and mental wellness becoming the focus for consumers, people look for products with added vitamins or specific nutrients to improve their health & happiness. Immunity boosting foods and vitamin D are popular, as are foods that help to promote mental wellbeing.
The second trend, ‘Responsible Consumption’, highlighted the concerns about the planet, people and communities. With social considerations becoming more and more important for business success, brands continue to innovate in this space to bring greater transparency to their products, processes and their social impact. Food is expected to be carbon neutral and zero waste, while packaging needs to be clearly labelled and easy to understand.
The third trend is ‘Convenience In-Home’ – it acknowledges how in-home routine convenience for cooking and anytime eating takes preference in the world where people expect working from home to become a long term change. Food and drinks are increasingly shopped and paid for online, which is automated and contactless. Ready-portioned and ready-made food and drinks with foodservice packaging developed for storage in-home demonstrate increasing innovations in the luxury-convenience space.
This growing preference towards convenience is closely connected to the ‘e-Food Experience’ trend. Life moves online, and virtual becomes the new reality not only for entertainment, but even for food and beverages. An example of this trend are AR scanning codes, which are now used to create food tourism experiences, providing an opportunity to engage with the culture around food when travel and tourism opportunities remain restricted.
“We believe that consumer trends are extremely important to monitor and analyse, particularly during turbulent times. Trends are a tangible expression of change which are driven by wishes and desires”, said Supanat Ratanadib, Marketing Director, Tetra Pak (Thailand) Limited. “Trends which emerge now can change or evolve in the future, creating new behaviours over the years. With Tetra Pak’s Trendipedia we help businesses to see these trends as opportunities to create new products for consumers”.
The full version of our 2021 consumer trends report will be shared with Tetra Pak’s customers to ensure they are onboard with the new trends.
