New food trends to make you smarter, happier, younger
Blueberries and blackberries for sale at the Westmoreland Berry Farm stand at the Arlington Farmers' Market in Arlington, Virginia in this picture taken June 28, 2008.
Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
TORONTO (Reuters Life!) - When it comes to food trends, losing weight is yesterday's news. Consumers now want food that will give them sharper minds and tighten those wrinkles as well as help them shed a pound or two, a global report found.
Americans are looking to the cuisines of Japan and Western Europe for the secrets to better skin and digestion, the report by the Center for Culinary Development said.
Whether it is pigs' feet packed with collagen to combat aging or probiotic yogurt to aid digestion, Kara Nielsen, a trend spotter at the CCD, said Americans were trying to catch up.
"In American society, we're kind of catching up to some of these ancient cultures and looking at food and some of its medicinal and wellness properties," Nielsen said.
The "Culinary Trend Mapping Reports", compiled by San Francisco-based CCD and its 80-member chef council, is based on international market research that examined what was actually consumed, sold or advertised in restaurants, specialty cafes and gourmet food magazines.
The CCD reports, released every two months by publisher Packaged Facts, are used by the U.S. food industry to help develop new products.
The latest issue coined one trend "heutrition," a term used to encourage consumers to eat a variety of different colored fruits and vegetables.
CCD found trends ranging from Japanese stress-erasing candy and collagen-infused elixirs to orange juice and eggs enhanced with Omega-3 fatty acids found in North America.
"We're seeing this dichotomy appearing between 'natural, good, local, seasonal, eat your colors,' versus a very manufactured 'get my vitamins with the food I'm eating normally' with food that's not necessarily natural," said Nielsen.
"Consumers are trying to balance out these two sides of where's the natural goodness, but where can I get a little extra boost with some of this 'nutraceutical' food."
But the food trends and marketing efforts have met resistance.
EU legislation last year banned the use of the term "superfood" on products unless they carry a specific, authorized health claim. In January, a California consumer filed a lawsuit against Dannon, a leader in probiotic dairy, for making unsubstantiated claims about the health value of its products.
(Reporting by Claire Sibonney; editing by Leslie Gevirtz)
