2021 Food and Beverage Trends

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From news to new products, to trends and research, our audience found itself engaged with specific pieces of content throughout 2021. Here is a look what you, our audience, found most useful and inspirational in 2021.

During the Fi Europe Innovation Award Ceremony, which took place on the first day of the world's leading ingredients trade show Fi Europe, co-located with Hi Europe, in Frankfurt, six companies received a coveted award recognizing their achievements. 

Nightfood claimed a sweet victory as grand prize winner of the Real California Milk Excelerator dairy innovation competition during a live pitch event. The competition, created in 2019 by the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) and VentureFuel to fuel innovation in new dairy product development, is a global search for the best emerging products to bring to market using California milk and dairy ingredients. 

Each winner was selected based on their validated business model, track record of commercial viability, collaborative mindset, and a robust and diverse team to drive meaningful change in their respective sectors - AgTech, Food Tech and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG).

While the alcohol-free cocktail trend started a good half-decade or more before the 2020 onset of social disruption, lockdowns, and domino-like closings of clubs, pubs, and restaurants, those upheavals certainly contributed to the rapid rise in consumers choosing to teetotal. Somewhat. Throughout the past two years, consumption of alcohol beverages also rose markedly.

When it comes to the Nutrition Facts label on the back of food packaging, sugar ranks at the top of what adult consumers look for on the label. Consumers look for calories after sugar on the label; 45% look for calories. Sodium ranks third, with 38% of adult consumers searching for sodium content.

Flavorchem, a key supplier of coffee extracts including cold brew concentrates, released some of the top trends fueling premium coffee innovation.

Prepared Foods talks coffee ingredient and beverage trends with Chef Eric Nakata, a 20-year food and beverage industry culinary expert.