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GourmEt nEWS FEbruArY 2018 www.gourmetnews.com nEWS & notES 7 Food Values, Technological Innovations, Savvy Consumers Will Power Nutrition Trends Food waste, digital and online innovations, and consumer values are expected to drive some of the major food and nutrition trends in 2018, according to the Interna- tional Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation. "The rise of the connected consumer and technological advances will help redraw the food landscape in 2018," said Joseph Clayton, CEO of the IFIC Foundation. "As our values move to the forefront in our de- cisions about what to purchase and con- sume, we will find a marketplace that is enhanced by innovation and is more aligned with our individual needs and de- sires." Drawing from its in-house survey re- search and health professional expertise, along with other data and observations, the IFIC Foundation has identified several hot topics for the New Year: Waste Not, Want Not By some estimates, about 40 percent of food produced for our consumption never reaches a human stomach. IFIC Foundation research suggests that food waste is both an educational challenge and opportunity among consumers that more players in the food system appear poised to embrace, with food purveyors stepping up their own commitments to address the problem. Growing awareness and concern about sustainability in general and the impacts of food waste in particular — environmental, economic, humanitarian — are indicative of broader interest in food values. Seafood sustainability is a specific area of concern, as consumers better appreciate the health benefits of seafood but also want it to be produced responsibly and sustain- ably. Virtual Shopping an Increasing Reality While the food sector as a whole notes rel- atively modest gains year over year, busi- ness is booming online. There are more ways than ever before to buy groceries. New players and familiar retailers are rush- ing to meet the demand. Vertical integra- tion and consolidation, along with the startup culture and a strong economy, will yield new choices and added convenience for consumers. Some of the key trends include more diversity and continued evolution in home-delivered meal kits; the use of con- nected, voice-controlled digital assistants to facilitate consumer decisions and pur- chases; the increasing speed of food de- liveries with a wider variety of options from packaged to perishable; and even recipes on demand. Blockchain Promises Total Transparency "Blockchain" is an emerging buzzword in the digital realm. The technology leverages data to improve business efficiencies and supply chains, and it holds great promise for the food system, especially food safety. Harvard Business Review calls it a "foun- dational technology" that is poised to re- make many of our financial and social transactions and industries. Blockchain will help give consumers unprecedented information about where their food comes from. Nutrigenomics: The Impacts of Food at the Molecular Level Nutrigenomics, broadly speaking, studies how our diets influence our genes. A grow- ing body of evidence and scientific interest in the field have put us on the brink of rev- olutionary advances in personalized nutri- tion. Nutrigenomics has begun giving us an- swers about why people respond differ- ently to different diets — especially why some people and not others become obese — which are factors that have long bedev- iled nutrition research. New insights will help improve the quality of future scien- tific studies – not to mention the quality of our diets and health. Flavor Savorers Take a Walk on the Wild Side Taste has been the top driver of Americans' food purchases for the entire history of the IFIC Foundation's annual Food and Health Survey. In 2018, our palates will be treated to ever more exotic and esoteric options. Restaurants and retailers in urban areas in particular are seeing the proliferation of choices from areas in the world where taste is abundant but Americans' familiarity is lacking. As social media and our daily lives become more and more inextricable, ex- pect to see your friends and family chasing the "next big thing" when it comes to fla- vors. Less Is More: Clean Labels and Clean Packaging While the clean label movement will reach new heights, the food system will continue to grapple with exactly what the term means and how it will affect claims being made about foods. In a possible backlash to label clutter, in- cluding the proliferation of certifications, as well as marketing and health claims, some food producers are developing mini- malist packaging to help set them apart and reduce consumer confusion. GN Tea Industry Continued from PAGE 1 different countries and it's an agricultural product, so Millennials can get involved." He added that Baby Boomers have gotten involved in the conversation, too, and are increasingly joining the public discourse with Millennials. Topics to share include the teas' origins, and how different processing yields differ- ent kinds of tea. Pu-erh tea, for example, is aged and pressed into cakes, making an extremely dark brew that exclusively contains the cho- lesterol-lowering compound, lovastatin. Specialty teas use the best leaves, while low- grade teas consist of fan- nings, or what amounts to dust left over from process- ing high-grade leaves. Farms throughout the world em- ploy their own growing tech- niques, which also yields a different product. Enthusi- asts can learn nearly everything about the origins of a specialty tea, and share their preferences through endless social net- works, online and offline. Entrepreneurs and tea chains across the globe are taking notice of this trend. While large tea exporters like Zhejiang Tea Group have expanded more into U.S. markets, small tea businesses in North America are beginning to flourish as they adapt to the growth. "With everyone on social media to dis- tribute content for social reward, tea is the budding connoisseur's dream," said Stuart Lown, National Sales Manager of Takeya USA. "There's so much to learn about tea, fresh fruit and herbs — so much to learn about healthy hydration, to share with friends and family." Takeya specializes in tea infusers and pitchers that simplify home brewing and improve the flavor of the tea. One of their products, the fruit infuser, allows con- sumers to add new flavors outside the tea itself. By pro- viding an easy method for making homemade iced tea, Lown said, Takeya makes quality tea more accessible to the everyday consumer. "We specialize in bringing loose-leaf tea home, allowing consumers to quickly and easily brew premium teas and to chill those quickly, which allows people to get the health benefits from the tea," said Lown. "When you brew the tea with a Takeya system, which is an airtight chamber, you're getting the best taste and nutrient content." The airtight Takeya system ensures pre- cious nutrients and flavors don't evaporate with some of the water before the tea cools — and those nutrients are key to tea's growth. "Over the last decade, several thousand articles have been written about the healthfulness and important phyto- chemicals and antioxidants that improve human health," Goggi said, adding that the public has grown increasingly aware of these studies. Cleansing, lower cholesterol, heart func- tion and mental acuity are some of the nat- ural benefits of tea drinking. Flavonoids, a compound produced by tea plants, are thought to have antioxidant properties and help neutralize free radicals. Tea also has no sodium, no fat, no carbonation and is sugar-free. It's also calorie-free and provides hydration — and some studies have shown that tea drinking improves cardiovascular health. A Harvard study found that individ- uals drinking one or more cups of black tea per day have a 44 percent reduced risk for heart attack. A U.S. Department of Agricul- ture study showed that a low-fat diet com- bined with five cups of tea per day reduced LDL cholesterol by 11 percent, after three weeks. Also shown in the studies is that drinking black tea reduces blood pressure and helps blood flow after a high-fat meal, and tea also carries with it a reduced risk for rectal cancer, colon cancer and skin cancer. Along with health benefits, tea naturally boosts cognition. While antioxidants in tea protect brain cells from free radicals, an- other compound found in tea, L-theanine, along with caffeine, is known to enhance attention and complex problem solving. Still, not all tea drinkers are seeking a mental boost, and not all of them are inter- ested in learning about tea beyond the basics. "Seventy-eight percent of consumers drink tea for the taste, and 50 percent drink it for the function," said Patrick Tannous, Presi- dent and Co-Founder of Tiesta Tea. "We take the basic functionality of the tea and educate the consumer. We aim to make tea accessi- ble, understandable and affordable." Tiesta Tea's approach is to educate the consumer about how to make the best tea, rather than about the tea's journey from the farm to cup. On the company website, the owners drive this point home: "Does it re- ally matter to you which farm in China pro- duces the best green tea in February or how to correctly pronounce rooibos? (It's ROY- bos, if you care.) That's our job to do, not yours. We believe what matters is what your tea tastes like and what's it's going to do for you. We take care of the nitty-gritty details." Ready-to-drink tea also has made tea more available and visible to consumers. Some markets dedicate an entire shelf sec- tion to kombucha alone, increasing tea's vis- ibility, while other varieties of tea can be found all over stores, rather than in one sin- gle beverage area. Goggi wrote in his 2014 report that ready-to-drink tea is expected to continue rising in popularity, with annual dollar increases from 12 to 15 percent. There are a lot of factors driving tea growth, from public knowledge of specialty tea to Starbucks buying the Teavana chain. As Millennials age, their interest in tea is expected to continue and get passed down to the next generation. This growth will keep the market growing for years to come. After all, tea is inexpensive, simple and ac- cessible. "It's something anyone can do, and it's something all people can enjoy," said Lown. "Tea is not exclusive to a certain class; it's something everyone can enjoy, no matter your diet, your religion, your age or your income." GN

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