MarketPlace’s proprietary research storefront, Nextin Research, announced the launch of its Food Category Trends research report, which features data from its survey of 1,235 US consumers. Building on MarketPlace’s 22+ years of strategy and research for the food industry, Nextin connects the dots between consumer insights and market dynamics to help industry professionals forecast trends and innovate for emerging market opportunities.

The research investigates consumer behaviors, preferences, motivations, and unmet needs to identify sustaining and emerging trends in packaged foods. These insights are applied in innovation, investment, and executive decisions that shape the trajectory of food brands. In addition to an overall picture of the packaged food space, the data and report cover hot topics, including protein and fiber fortification, opportunities in snacking, GLP-1 usage, and functional food insights.

“Protein remains a trending topic in food innovation,” said Jon Copeland, research manager for MarketPlace. “Consumers continue to seek it — 50% say they want higher protein in snacks — and R&D pipelines are motivated to deliver it. Designed to look ahead, our Nextin food research uncovers the protein sources consumers seek. In snacks, for instance, consumers are most likely to look for chicken [45%], beef [45%], and almond [44%] protein sources. On the other end of the scale, pea, soy, and whey are among the least sought proteins despite their prevalence in packaged snack formulations.”

Across packaged foods at large, consumers are most likely to look for the following when seeking “a good source of protein”:

- 63% meat or poultry
- 54% egg
- 43% nuts

Through protein fortification and beyond, snacks, ready meals, and functional foods emerged as key segments in which brands have an opportunity to address unmet consumer needs. Nextin’s report includes deeper dives into these subcategories and provides a closer look at where consumers shop, how they make their purchase decisions, and where they get their information.

“Audience segmentation can help brands meet their ideal consumer where they’re at,” said Nicole Hill, executive director of strategy for MarketPlace. “Given the fragmented media landscape, consumers are engaged in and influenced by multiple channels. While those aged 18-29 are most likely to get food information from TikTok, those who are participating in a weight management program or using a GLP-1 agonist are more likely to turn to recipe websites and apps [41%] or YouTube [41%]. We highlight these insights in our report, and our research packages include raw data for further segmentation analyses.”

Nextin’s consumer survey results are analyzed through the lens of MarketPlace’s engagement in the food industry across B2B and CPG landscapes. Its expertise in product innovation, commercialization, branding, and marketing strategies are integrated throughout its insights reports.

Nextin is currently conducting research on beverage trends, ultra-processed foods, the influence of ingredients, pet nutrition, and more. Each Nextin research set includes:

- An insights-rich report with key takeaways and forward-looking analyses.
- Ready-to-use PowerPoint tables and charts with embedded Excel data.
- Raw and normalized data from Nextin’s surveys of US consumers.