NEW YORK (Euro RSCG) — Global integrated marketing communications agency Euro RSCG Worldwide today issued an in-depth look at what’s trending in food for 2012-13. Marian Salzman, CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America, and one of the world’s leading trendspotters, curated the list, which is part of a catalog of more than 150 trends in 32 categories. They are intended to flag shifts in attitudes, beliefs, values and media preferences, as well as the broader geopolitical shifts that together are rewriting the landscape for brands, businesses and newsmaking.
Over the past 15-plus years, Salzman, who is PRWeek’s current PR Professional of the Year, has forecast companies profiting from the Internet, presidential elections being won online, “sleep is the new sex,” and the ideas that we now know as corporate social responsibility, helicopter parents and Facebook, among many other trends.
“On the food front,” said Salzman, “We finally accept that we are what we eat and start walking the walk. The government helps, by cracking down on our expanding waistlines, and we flock to farmers markets for artisanal and seasonal offerings. Even our new taste for Nordic cuisine is fueled, perhaps, by images of the lean, robust and outdoorsy.”
Here are the food trends to watch in 2012-13:
1. Fat Phobia As hate for overweight grips the globe—even the stylish French are seeing a disturbing rise in obesity--look for big names such as Pepsi to get in on healthy choices act.
2. Guilt-Free Snacks Healthy snack offerings—and their sales—leap off the charts as we get mindful about what we munch. Look for packaged baby carrots, and low-fat chips and salsa or hummus to be huge for slimming down.
3. Southern Fried There’s a fervor for down-home, Southern cuisine, perhaps in reaction to fat phobia. Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s Harlem eatery Red Rooster, for example, is wooing celebrities with okra, smothered pork chops and fried green tomatoes. Not exactly lean cuisine.
4. Zinging It Up Foodies are buzzing about Korean flavor that’s pickled and peppered. Tacos and kimchis made the food truck scene in L.A., and recently Michelin awarded its first star to a Korean restaurant in Manhattan. Expect more Korean eateries to come.
5. Mobile Eats As our mobile, pop-up and food-truck obsession grows, look for big brands/chains to jump on the bandwagon with mobile offerings. Hungry consumers have shown they’ll queue up anywhere for well-priced, innovative, multi-cultural fare.
