2024 Food and Beverage Trends

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Globally, food and drink launches containing microalgae experienced average annual growth of more than 40% during a recent three-year period. Trends in plant-based proteins from the sea—as well as new technologies to produce seafood without the sea—also overlap with our second 2024 trend, “Nurturing Nature.” Indeed, both seafood companies and technology innovators can be ocean guardians.

In this episode of Reasoned Opinion, David Feder, Executive Editor–Technical, presents the more interesting ingredients, foods, and beverages that caught his eye at the 2024 Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California.

Listen to a new Prepared Foods interview with Editor Bob Garrison and Carolina Sasson, Chief Operating Officer at Mission Field, recapping trends, tastes and technologies seen at Natural Products Expo West.

Generation Z, known for their substantial spending on dining out and for regularly making dining choices based on social media content2, are influencing dining experiences around the world. The report highlights a demand from this generation for 'flavor Shock', characterized by unexpected flavor combinations and twists on classic dishes such as incorporating Mexican sauces to create modern pastas.

AQUA has chosen Ginkgo to help optimize its innovative fermentation technology to elevate the quality of its fish-free seafood products that authentically replicate the look, feel, and taste of fresh-caught seafood. Leveraging Ginkgo's microbial characterization and analytics, along with AQUA's proprietary strains and processes, the partners aim to transform the future of alt-seafood production.

The top snacking drivers are to “prevent feeling hungry” followed by “rewarding oneself” according to Innova Market Insights’ 2023 Snacking & Healthy Snacking survey.

Amid signs of progress after a few challenging years for the food and beverage supply chain, brands are planning to dial up product innovation efforts to meet consumer demand (42%), combat rising costs (46%), and stay competitive (51%).

The breakthrough will enable the company to produce cultivated meat significantly faster and at lower costs than industry norms, and is therefore an important step towards the commercialization of Meatable’s technology and large-scale production of cultivated meat products more broadly.

Negative farm-level margins in mid-2023, along with some adverse weather, pulled US milk production below year-ago levels and dairy farmers have been reducing the size of their herds. US milk production in 2024 is expected to increase 0.8%, with most of the growth coming in the second half.

Implementing this change across its entire beef hot dog portfolio is expected to contribute to the regeneration of six million acres of grasslands, which could increase the current regenerative acreage of Applegate suppliers by more than 2,200%.