21 Trends in Food Marketing for the 21rst Century

The following trends are from Dr. John Stanton’s presentation at the Western Canadian Conference on the Food Industry.

1. Convenience foods will become even more convenient.

2. Eating out will be an adventure.

3. Regional food and ingredients will rise in popularity.

4. Upscale casual dining will move to center stage.

5. Everyone will try to sell consumers their next meal.

6. Expect a backlash against “healthy foods”, all food should be and is expected to be healthy.

7. Exotic fruits and vegetables become the norm.

8. Vending will be ubiquitous.

9. The supermarket labyrinth will disappear.

10. The “minority” consumers will become the majority.

11. New beverages will replace traditional choices.

12. Look for more meatless meals from non-vegetarians.

13. Meals become social opportunities again.

14. A renewed interest in physical fitness.

15. Retailer brands will become the new “gold standard”.

16. Delighting consumers will be the new frame of reference.

17. High tec becomes common place.

18. Supermarkets will finally discover their customers.

19. Schizophrenic food shopping behavior will be normal.

20. Different foods become more important than more food.

21. More strategies will be based on generational segments.

If you read this list you will see that several of these points should be paid attention to and related to our industry.

Number 10 - very important to us. The meat and dairy industries in the goat sector should pay attention to this and expand to meet a need that will only increase if the proper development is done.

Number 18 - when supermarkets discover their customers, they will no doubt find that their customers are wanting more products like goat milk, goat cheese and fresh, not frozen goat meat. It is up to the industry to develop and be able to supply the products that are going to be needed.

Number 20 - As we all know, goat products, whether they be dairy products or meat products are not the norm. As the food marketing industry changes to reflect consumers wants and needs, this will include our sector and the products our producers can supply.

Sandy Larocque