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NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com n MARCH 2018 n GOURMET NEWS N H 6 6 Top Trends in Grocery Shopping for 2018 More shopping options and mobile payments at checkout rank among the top trends for grocery in 2018, according to John Karolef- ski, former senior editor of Supermarket News who now blogs at www.grocery stories.com. He predicts the launch of super- market-branded meal kits, more wine bars and cafés in stores and easily-accessed prod- uct information for curious shoppers. Karolefski's top trends for 2018 are: More Shopping Options To serve their customers better, more grocers will offer several different ways to shop. For example, shoppers at Meijer stores in the Midwest can shop in the store, order online for in-store pickup, order online for curbside pickup and order online for home delivery. Mobile Payment at Checkout The number of supermarkets that enable shoppers to pay for groceries with their smartphones will expand rapidly in 2018. Safeway, Aldi and some smaller grocers al- ready accept Apple Pay in their stores. Look for many other grocers to follow by offering this payment service, in addition to Android Pay and Samsung Pay. Millennials will drive use of mobile payment at checkout. More Eating and Drinking in Stores Look for more grocers to add sampling sta- tions for wine and beer to their stores. Shop- pers will appreciate a beverage break from roaming the aisles for groceries. Also, more retailers will add in-store dining for shoppers to have a light lunch. In the Cleveland mar- ket, for example, some Giant Eagle stores are equipped with a wine bar and café. Its Mar- ket District supermarket in Strongsville, Ohio, has a full-size bar next to a large din- ing area. More Meal Kits Companies such as Blue Apron and Plated have popularized mail-order meal kits, which contain pre-measured ingredients, recipes and cooking instructions. Grocers such as Kroger and Publix Super Markets sell their own meal kits in stores. Expect more food retailers to do the same in 2018 as the $5 billion meal kit business continues to grow. More Access to Product Information Shoppers want to know more about the in- gredients in the food they buy than what is printed on the package. So, food makers over the last two years have made space on nearly 15,000 packages to place scannable QR codes, which take shoppers to a special web- site with detailed information. A major edu- cation campaign will take place in 2018 to make shoppers aware of the codes and prompt them to scan to learn more about the food they are buying. 2018 Sweets & Snacks Expo Sells Out in Record Time Booth space for the 2018 Sweets & Snacks Expo is sold out. This is the first time in the trade show's 21-year history that it has sold out so early in the year. Hosted by the Na- tional Confectioners Association, the Sweets & Snacks Expo (May 22-24) welcomes more than 18,000 attendees from 90 countries as more than 850 exhibitors display their most innovative products. "The high demand to be a part of an event focused on providing new and inno- vative product and category solutions speaks for itself," commented Barry Rosenbaum, Sweets & Snacks Expo Chair and President of Nassau Candy Distribu- tors. "Manufacturers exhibit because they want their product seen by 90 percent of the candy buying market and 75 percent of the snack buying market. The Expo is cu- rated specifically to address retailers' busi- ness challenges with products, merchandising practices and marketing so- lutions for meeting shoppers' needs and stimulating growth. No other event deliv- ers the breadth of new and innovative sweets and snacks, the latest industry trends, and so many opportunities for driv- ing business success." Although a wait list has been created for potential exhibitors, registration for retailers and wholesalers to attend the Sweets & Snacks Expo is now open. Those interested in attending should visit www.sweetsand snacks.com to learn more. U.S. Tea Industry Growth Makes Specialty Tea Accessible to Consumers By Greg Gonzales Tea markets are growing, and growth won't be slowing down any time soon, thanks to a multi-generational boost. The U.S. tea market has grown more than 15 times its size since 2009. The past two years have proven to be another year of growth for the U.S. tea industry, according to the Tea As- sociation of the U.S.A.'s State of the U.S. Tea Industry 2016 report. Loose-leaf tea in particular has gained popularity as a spe- cialty product, hydration alternative and health product, while ready-to-drink tea has seen similar success on supermarket shelves. Tea continues to be the second- most consumed beverage in the world, after water. The Tea Association of the U.S.A. report, compiled by Tea Association President Peter Goggi, cited Millennials as the major demographic driving market growth. "Sev- eral aspects of the market are driving Mil- lennial interest in tea," Goggi said. "The access to tea has been easier and much more common for them; they've grown up drinking tea, as preteens, and they also gravitate toward products that appeal to them. Tea fits in because Millennials want to be engaged with the products they buy — where it comes from, how it's made, its naturalness — tea fits into this beautifully because it comes from different countries and it's an agricultural product, so Millen- nials can get involved." He added that Baby Boomers have got- ten involved in the conversation, too, and are increasingly joining the public dis- course 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 con- tains the cholesterol-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 processing high-grade leaves. Farms throughout the world employ their own growing techniques, which also yields a different product. Enthusiasts can learn nearly everything about the origins of a specialty tea, and share their preferences through endless social networks, 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 providing 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 sys- tem, 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 pro- vides hydration — and some studies have shown that tea drinking improves cardio- vascular health. A Harvard study found that individuals drinking one or more cups of black tea per day have a 44 percent reduced risk for heart attack. A U.S. Department of Agriculture study showed that a low-fat diet combined with five cups of tea per day reduced LDL cholesterol by 11 percent, after three weeks. Also shown in the stud- ies is that drinking black tea reduces blood pressure and helps blood flow after a high- fat meal, and tea also carries with it a re- duced 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 ba- sics. "Seventy-eight percent of consumers drink tea for the taste, and 50 percent drink it for the function," said Patrick Tannous, President and Co-Founder of Tiesta Tea. "We take the basic functionality of the tea and educate the consumer. We aim to make tea accessible, understandable and afford- able." 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 visibility, while other varieties of tea can be found all over stores, rather than in one single beverage area. Goggi wrote in his 2014 report that ready-to-drink tea is ex- pected to continue rising in popularity, with annual dollar increases from 12 to 15 per- cent. There are a lot of factors driving tea growth, from public knowledge of spe- cialty 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 accessible. "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."