Each month the Sharp team saves you time by delivering our snackable round-up of insights and some of the latest trends from the world of food and drink.
We’re back with a bang: September is a flurry of food and drink trade shows, new foodie discoveries, and exciting new conversations! We can’t wait to share them with you…..
Speciality & Fine Food Fair dishes up flavour sensations
Claire and Clare went along to Speciality & Fine Food Fair to uncover some of the latest trends and new products launching in the independent and fine food retailing sector.
Top Three Trending Takeaways:
- Flavours that pack a punch – lots of spice and heat and indulgent flavours like truffle
- Sauces, condiments and dressings with international flavour inspiration
- More no/lo alcoholic drinks with health at their heart and functional ingredients
Mandy Saven from Stylus, a trend forecasting service, talked about how brands should be commercialising moments in food much more to connect with Gen Z and the modern consumer.
Top takeaways:
· Gen Z are marketing savvy, so playfulness and relatability are best routes to take to build emotional connection with them.
· People are time poor; they want food on the go, they want more snacks these days, some even use snacking to replace regular meals. The culinary clock is changing.
· Gen Z are celebrating all the smaller moments or milestones in life, there are occasions for everything these days, and what do we need on special occasions – food and drink!
New products that you need to know about:
🍦Baboo Gelato – their Double Chocolate Gelato has 3 Great Taste stars, they have really nailed the texture of gelato and you can tell they use only the best quality ingredients.
🫐Honeyberries from the Scottish Honeyberry Growers – originating from Japan, honeyberries are now Scotland’s new homegrown super fruit. Sweet but zingy, they are jam-packed with antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and anthocyanins. We predict that they will be the berry of choice for anyone looking to eat smarter. We tried them freeze dried, they are super versatile, try them as a topping for your breakfast porridge or granola or a great addition to your favourite bakes. Also available chocolate coated, yogurt coated and as a jam.
🌶️Pimp your Mayo – a simple yet genius idea to elevate and personalise your mayo. A range of punchy seasonings made from toasted, roasted and ground fresh herbs, spices and chillies in small hand batches. Simply mix in a seasoning blend to suit your taste. Choose from truffle and porcini, garlic and herb, mango and habanero and a chipotle and lime.
🍋🟩All Dressed Up – a new generation of salad dressings made from all natural ingredients to appeal to those of us looking for minimally processed, natural products that still taste banging. All free from refined sugar, gluten and dairy, we loved the miso & sesame and the tahini & lime.
🫘Bold Bean’s new Baked Beans – we tried the Rich Tomato variety, and we weren’t disappointed – fresh zingy tomato flavour that will have you going back for more.
🫖Pink Tea 🫖 from Owl & Monkey Pink Tea – watch out for this new tea variety ticking all of the health and flavour boxes – lighter and smoother than Green Tea.
🧆Truffle hummus from Dands – chef’s kiss!
🫚The Matcha Yaad’s Ginger refresher – described as perfect for the Matcha novice, we found this to be a delicious entry drink for anyone wanting to embrace Matcha.
Stand-out Stand:
Seggiano’s Real Food from Italy showcasing their curated range of regional delicacies bringing the best flavours of Italy and championing artisan producers and premium ingredients.
What's Trending?
Lunch date with the Food to Go market
Clare was back on the road this time with AJ for a date at Lunch – the definitive event for the café, coffee shop and food to go sector – at Excel.
Our Top Three Trending Takeaways
- Healthy yet sweet snacking formats for kids from fruity bites to smoothies – made to be eaten on the move.
- Free from products that taste amazing
- Prebiotic and probiotic drinks and snacks targeting gut health conscious consumers.
Yoggies –probiotic fruit snacks that are set to be a great addition to the UK snacking marketing for snackers on the go – big and small!
Double-dipped Peppermint Cream Dark Chocolate Almonds from Forest Feast (we can’t get enough of the treats from these snacking trailblazers) will make the perfect delicious alternative to that well known traditional festive after dinner mint.
Little Smoothies from Three Robins are made with oat milk and packed with fruit and veg. They promise to boost nutrition with no added sugar, dairy, nut and soy free. Choose from two flavours, Totally Tropical and Super Berry.
Just Live a Little Granola available in Sainsbury’s now is a new tasty gluten-free offering
Another new squeezy portable lunch box pouch snack comes in the form of The Collective’s Suckies, made from British whole milk yogurt and real fruit with no hidden nasties.
Stand-out Stand:
Grind’s Grindgrocers– a playful immersive experiential take on grocery shopping, bringing the brand to life with Grind egg (pod) cartons and Grind baked (coffee) beans and the like!
If you loved this, then please do read all the latest news from Sharp HQ here. We exist to help the ‘good’ brands to grow. Book a call with one of our team to find out more.
