Bidfood reveals its dining trends for 2021

Foodservice provider Bidfood has revealed its food and drink trends for 2021.

Bidfood’s report looks at what we will be eating and drinking over the next year, including cuisines, twists on tradition and new tastes. There are five food and drink dining trends:

• Wellness my way: Diet, exercise and weight management have become front of mind, with authorities such as the World Health Organisation driving the messages around healthy diets and the crucial role they play in fighting off coronavirus. For some consumers, that means adopting new diets and lifestyles; for others, it’s about subtle changes to their routine, for example, healthy swaps and additions to dishes.
• Careful consumption: Consumers are looking to support low-impact and local businesses, as well as brands and producers that align with their values on diversity and equality.
• Little luxuries: Consumers are looking for ways to elevate everyday experiences, such as upgrading simple rituals like tea to a rare tea with an exotic flavour. There is a growing appreciation for craft ingredients and techniques, such as truffle oil or natural biodynamic wine.
• Food for the soul: Consumers are looking to make their homes and family lives as comfortable as possible, with meal planning and cooking gaining in popularity. The need to seek comfort through food means that the once unpopular carbohydrates are now firmly back in fashion.
• The new normal: Places previously considered safe now carry the threat of a virus. Foodservice is going to great lengths to reassure consumers, but the pandemic has also signalled an acceleration in online solutions. Science has become the great hope: gene editing can make crops more resilient to pests and climatic stresses and produce higher yields, while acellular and cellular agriculture enables us to culture meat and dairy without killing (or sometimes, without even using) animals.

From a culinary perspective, Bidfood predicts our palates will continue to expand. Well-established cuisines, such as Italian, Japanese and Indian, are being explored in more depth, with rising influences from African and regional Indian or Middle Eastern cuisines. Global cuisine will be about a 'no rules' approach to culinary creation, taking formats, flavours, techniques and ingredients from anywhere and everywhere.

Bidfood’s social trend categories are Local Landscape; Ethics in Action; Whole Health; Safe & Seamless; and Faith in the Future. Read about these in the report, which can be downloaded here.