JWT, the world’s best-known marketing communications brand, has just released its ninth annual forecast of key category trends that will drive or significantly impact consumer mindset and behavior in 2014.
Some topics of interests include:
Edible Packaging
To make their goods more sustainable, marketers are harnessing new technologies to create edible wrappers. The Bob’s burger chain in Brazil now serves its burgers in packaging you can eat, while L.A.-based ice cream truck brand Coolhaus wraps ice cream sandwiches in edible material. And Harvard bioengineer David Edwards is behind WikiPearl, whose edible packaging can enclose any food or beverage, “like a grape skin,” he says. In 2013 the company launched a mochi-like ice cream and egg-shaped yogurt servings; no-foil cheese cubes and coffee servings are coming next.
Infused Ice Cubes
Taking cocktail culture to yet the next level, mixologists are starting to push the flavors of their concoctions with infused ice: cubes of different shapes and sizes that are made with juices, fruits, syrups and herbs. They enhance the look of the beverage, and as they melt, rather than dilute the cocktail, the cubes add complementary flavors. They also up the cost. At Chicago’s Trump hotel, for instance, the signature Opulence 5 includes five differently flavored ice cubes and can be had for $55; reportedly the taste changes completely by the last drop.
Silent Meals
In an effort to help diners eat more mindfully, we’ll see some restaurants hold silent meals. The Brooklyn restaurant Eat has been doing this periodically, asking patrons to remain quiet and focus on the taste of the food, sounds of the food prep and details of the room. In Mexico City, “anti-restaurants” have popped up where people eat in silence—no music, noise or waiter haranguing you. In the corporate world, Google holds silent “mindful lunches” bimonthly, implemented after a visit from the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh in 2011.
Ugly Produce
In line with one of our 10 Trends for 2014, Proudly Imperfect, the lumpy form of an heirloom tomato or gnarled carrots at a farmers market are gaining more appeal than the prettier produce commonly seen at supermarkets. And in Europe, there’s a movement afoot to reduce food waste by selling rather than discarding imperfect produce. Austrian chain Billa now sells a private-label line of “nonconformist” produce dubbed Wunderlinge, a made-up word that combines the terms for “anomaly” and “miracle.” German retailer Edeka has tested selling ugly produce at a discount, branded as “nobody is perfect.” U.K. magazine Delicious is encouraging readers to buy imperfect produce and speaking out against regulations governing the appearance of produce sold in stores.
