The scene is set for this year, with consumers clear on what they want from their favourite restaurants and beverage manufacturers.
Chrissy Beedle, executive manager of research and product development at Slo-Jo said, “South Africans particularly love classics with a twist – they love to feel connected to their heritage through a familiar flavour, but they expect menus to offer a 21st-century dimension to keep things interesting.”
There are some intriguing influences which guide consumers’ choices when they are eating out or shopping and consumers are insisting on knowing where and how products are produced.
Innovation in technology and agriculture is likely to see the emergence of new flavours and textures – from the land and from the oceans:
- Wild about water: South Africans are increasingly conscious about their health. There is already a range of flavoured waters and local palates can look forward to international influences that add the likes of aloe, maple, artichoke and cactus flavours to their H2O.
- War on waste: Restaurants need to adapt their approach to the ‘take-away’ solutions that they offer customers, making sure that containers are recyclable or reusable. They could even offer reusable containers to their customers for a small cost. Glass containers such as mason jars are still on trend and are also starting to become the next big thing in lunch containers for the office.
- Coffee culture club: Coffee is also no longer just served in mugs. It has become as Instagrammable as cocktails, with the likes of coffee in a cone, the world’s most Instagrammable coffee, taking the world by storm.
- Artisanal is everything: In keeping up with other trends that see consumers wanting to know the origins of what they consume, artisanal products that are (or are perceived to be) made in small batches with care are getting the right kind of attention.
- Put sugar on the shelf: There is an increasing pressure to reduce our sugar intake, whether it is for health reasons or in the face of an impending sugar tax.
- Cocktails, mocktails and freakshakes: People experience food and drinks as much through our eyes as we do through our taste buds. Cocktails, mocktails and freakshakes all tick the ‘visual taste sensation’ box. Deconstructed cocktails pay due homage to the wonderful ingredients by presenting them as visual heroes, while freakshakes, apart from being freaky and outrageous, take customers on a rollercoaster ride of sight taste and touch. No freakshake worth its chocolate or cream can simply be consumed through a straw.
There’s no doubt that this year is going to be an interesting and exciting year globally when it comes to food and drinks.
Read: City Buzz March 2017
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