Our biannual blog into the world of forecasting data returns, with food and beverage trends to weave into your daily specials through the first half of 2020. As consolidation in the app-based home delivery market rages on, we now know that Chinese cuisine has regained the crown for most searched flavours (over pizza and Indian) however, Greek vegetarian dishes made a late entry into the list (+150%)!
There are also clues that this was the year the industry began truly preparing for forthcoming additional legal responsibilities. The UK’s food producers, retailers and the public will soon experience changes to food labelling under Natasha’s Law. This helps explain the breakouts in a query list under the food allergy topic; training, signage, hospitality industry, HACCP, milk, Worcestershire sauce.
Back in June, the data also spotted the summer’s alcoholic drink trend, many months earlier than the industry’s reporting of on-trade numbers. We highlighted that rum-based cocktails had made their way into the top five – but have they stayed there? Read on to find out.
As we begin 2020, what is the picture this demand data paints for caterers and hospitality businesses? and which of these ingredients and dishes will you decide to add to your daily specials?
As before, we’ve mined twelve months of Google Trends, so you don’t have to. This combines the breakouts and top rising queries from the lists; recipes, ingredients, dishes, meals, menu, cuisine in the category Food & Drink.
Home Cooks
With gnocchi and samosa pastry heading up summer 19’s new entries, we’d expected more hearty Italian dishes to show in the home market’s top five. Whilst these appear later on, in fact the data showed just how adventures with food production continues. How to make‘s rising stars of 2019:
| Cheese Oat milk Prawn crackers Halloumi fries Marmalade Scotch broth Apple crisps |
Special mention goes to beeswax wraps (+130%) as the move away from plastic food packaging continues to gain momentum.
2020’s Trending Ingredients
Aside from what’s expected of a balanced meal (carbohydrates, proteins, fats and vitamins), these are the specific ingredients most sought after, again using 12 months of data.
| Indian yoghurts and curds Cucumber Rainbow chard Broad beans Octopus Samphire Tofu Squid |
Whilst not in the top ten (it peaked in January 2019) it would be foolish to ignore the rise of jackfruit as a meat alternative. The top jackfruit queries include; curry, pizza, burger, fajita, and pulled pork.
2020’s Trending Dishes
What are the dishes guests are willing to pay to be chef produced?
| Louisiana Creole cuisine Irish cuisine Beyond meat (vegan) Falafel Jam roly-poly (+110%!) | Katsu Curry Egg foo young Lasagne Spaghetti bolognese |
2020’s Drinks Trends
Whilst rum topped the list back in summer 2019, (and Aperol continues to ride a wave) it’s vodka that’s won two places in the top five.
| Sexy beast cocktail (tequila) Pornstar martini mocktail (passionfruit) Aperol spritz Espresso Martini (vodka) White Russian (vodka) |
Iced coffee and pink gin also made the top ten.
Who were the most searched chefs of 2019?
- Gary Usher, with his crowdfunding ’empire’ documented through a Channel 4 series
- Pam Brunton, named Chef of the Year by The Good Food Guide
- Adam Reid, Head Chef at The French, winning the main course of the Great British Menu
Food businesses save time and money with Caternet software. Learn more about our tools for forecasting demand, or click here to read last year’s trends list.
James Waldron is Content Manager at Zupa