So much has happened over the last 12 months that have challenged manufacturers and consumers. As a consumer, we have been challenged with new flavours, concepts and labelling changes, all of which have changed our usual ‘day shop’; the way we shop as a nation has evolved and will continue to change.
But what has been the most significant contributors to the eclectic mix of ingredients that have made nutrition such an exciting recipe for news over the last year? It hasn’t been an easy task to choose, but here are a few significant stories and popular trends that stood out for me.
‘Fair for all’ was the aim, yet controversy remains. The new UK front-of-pack labelling system, which is to be implemented in the UK to help consumers be ‘better informed’ in making healthier food purchases, was revealed in November.
I questioned whether it would be fair for all, or whether certain sectors of the food industry, such as the dairy sector, would be labelled as ‘unhealthy’, rather than fairly informing consumers of the nutritional content. It’s not yet clear as to whether this will be a confusing legislative change for nutritional education as a whole, or will result in a push to make a labelling system that will work for all concerned.
There has been a lot of investment in the beauty side of food and drink recently, with companies utilising the marketing impact that celebrities can have on brand awareness.
Over the last year, the industry has seen a vast range of unusually targeted products, from Skinny Sprinkles to iShot Collagen. The ‘funky factor’ has been used for packaging design, and unique marketing campaigns have smacked a modern punch that has helped keep the food and beverage sector fresh and trendy.
Satiety as a means of weight control started to become a big trend towards the latter part of the year, but I don’t think it has reached full throttle yet. Products are being developed that stimulate sensory receptors in the gut in order to magnify a cascade of hormones that trigger the onset of the sense of fullness, thereby hoping consumers will eat less in terms of calories.
I think the next 12 months will see this trend evolve and become a more common health claim on a number of different products, on-shelf and perhaps on a prescription basis.
Manufacturers are beginning to struggle to reduce ingredients (such as salt) any further, without compromising on aesthetics. As a result, replacement has become the new en vogue technique.
Developments will continue to reveal new technology to produce ingredients that replace elements usually seen as negative in terms of health. Salt, sugar and fat replacements will be interesting developments to watch over the next year.
The UK government revealed plans to tackle binge drinking on Britain’s streets by introducing a minimum alcohol price of 45p per unit this year. The aim was to reduce health costs related to alcohol over-consumption. This didn’t seem an easy plan to swallow for some, with Sainsbury’s suggesting that minimum alcohol pricing would ‘punish customers’.
Although the theory behind this proposal to improve health is positive, perhaps it’s just another move which is forcing consumers into decisions rather than educating them, which usually causes anarchy and a negative attitude towards the health and nutrition industry.
This, however, will be one of a number of changes that will be brought to the table of nutrition next year. 2013 will continue to be a feast of good, bad, ugly, tasteless and flavourful all waiting to be digested by critics, consumers and advocates of the health and nutrition industry.
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