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Food Trends May 2011

This month we look at restaurant trends, organic vending machines, influential front-of-pack labels and other developments.

By Denise Shoukas

Influential Front-of-Pack Labels

The days of turning a product over to read its nutritional attributes may be over. At the request of First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. food and beverage manufacturers and retailers have developed the Nutrition Keys initiative, a voluntary front-of-pack nutrition labeling system. Summarizing important nutrition information—such as calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugars—in a clear and easy-to-read format, the new icon and label changes adhere to current U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines and regulations, ensuring that consumers receive consistent and reliable information.

The nutrition keys are already appearing on labels across the country, and consumers are responding well. According to a recent study from HealthFocus International, nearly half of U.S. shoppers say food manufacturers should be required to disclose information, such as calories, saturated fat, trans fat and sodium, clearly on the front of packaging labels. When shown packages with and without FOP labels, purchase intent for products like frozen pizza and pasta fell when they had the label, while the purchase intent for some cookie brands actually rose.

Chefs Lead the Way

Pie Because food trends often start with inventive chefs, we took a look at San Francisco restaurant consulting firm Andrew Freeman’s list of intriguing restaurant developments to watch. Here are a few highlights:

After a long run, cupcakes are being upstaged by pies made in every size, form and format, from savory and sweet to deep-dish and individual deep-fried varieties.
Small, niche restaurants will be launched specializing in one main dish or ingredient such as mac & cheese or fondue.
With the bacon craze firmly established, goat and lamb belly will start showing up on more menus as a pork belly alternative.
Vegetables that suffer lower popularity than others, such as cauliflower, turnips and brussels sprouts, will show up on menus fried so they’ll have broader appeal.

Citrus Caviar

A fruit the size of your little finger filled with “citrus caviar” has become a new inspiration for chefs and retailers. Known as finger limes, the fruit hails from Australia where it was domesticated about 30 years ago. Shanley Farms in California is one of the only growers of this fruit in the country. “Finger limes grow to be a few inches long and an inch or so in diameter, and come in every shade of red, pink, yellow and green,” says Megan Shanley, daughter of the farm’s founder.

“There’s no texture quite like the exploding pop rock texture of the finger lime. It provides diners with a random explosion of citrus flavor in their mouth as opposed to a classic drenching of citrus juice,” adds her father Jim. Currently, only a few growers in the U.S. are cultivating and selling finger limes, while the rest are imported from Australia. The fruit is in season in the U.S. from September to January.

Distribution of Shanley Farms finger limes is currently limited, with the bulk going to foodservice customers. Chefs are pairing the fruit with seafood, in salads or in cocktails, while Valerie Confections sells a Pomelo & Finger Lime Marmalade at L.A. farmers markets.

Monk Fruit Gets Support

Manufacturers looking to reduce the sugar content of their products should check out monk fruit, which has been used for its sweet taste and healthy qualities for hundreds of years in China and Southeast Asia. The small, vine-grown, subtropical fruit gained the U.S. FDA’s GRAS status in 2010 (which denotes food that is generally recognized as safe). It is packed with healthy antioxidants and vitamins, but it’s the calorie-free sweetness that makes it an ideal ingredient for manufacturers. Powdered monk fruit concentrate is 150 to 200 times sweeter than sugar and its sweetness comes from unique natural antioxidants called mogrosides. Because it’s concentrated, there’s room to add other functional ingredients, like complex carbohydrates, fibers
and whole grains.

New Zealand-based BioVittoria offers a GMO-free monk fruit, Sweet Delicious, cultivated exclusively by the company’s network of growers, and has launched MonkFruit.org, an educational portal.

Vending Machines Go Organic

With one-third of consumers now buying organic products monthly, according to the Organic Trade Association, it was only a matter of time before grab-and-go organic got even easier. San Diego–based company Fresh Healthy Vending, which sells organic vending franchises, has generated $3.8 million just four months after it sold 36 franchises, placing machines in 331 locations nationwide, including 32 schools. Sales are also hot for newer vending machines that maintain specific temperatures for fresh fruits and snacks. The vending industry has also launched its Fit Pick program, which uses stickers to indicate snacks and drinks that are low in fat, saturated fat and sugar. This new organic and healthy vending sector comprises primarily small, locally owned businesses, giving specialty food manufacturers who make healthy organic snacks a leg up in joining forces with them.

Cauliflower Goes Green

Because of its vivid chartreuse color, Romanesco cauliflower has sometimes been marketed as broccoli, but it’s actually just a mutation of regular cauliflower. It naturally grows in a conical shape and produces angular, pyramidal curds. The Romanesco variety, which typically grows around Rome and Naples, dates back at least to the 16th century and has a sweeter and nuttier flavor than regular cauliflower. Grown commercially in the U.S. for only the past 10 to 15 years, hybrid varieties have emerged such as the Veronica, Minaret and Natalino. While the hybrids bring more of this beautiful vegetable to market, it remains less available as its florets break off easily in transit. A best bet is to find it where it’s grown, like at California farmers markets, mostly during fall and winter.

Sugary Cereals Take a Back Seat

Sugary cereals Contrary to what many parents believe, when given a choice—and with fruit available to add more sweetness—most kids are happy with low-sugar cereals, according to a new study published in the January issue of Pediatrics. There’s good reason to take note—many big-brand kids’ cereals have about as much sugar as a glazed donut, according to Consumer Reports. This has prompted giants like General Mills to announce a reduction in sugar levels in its cereals geared toward children, which have much more sugar than adult cereals.

In this new study, researchers offered different breakfast cereal choices to 91 urban children, ages five to 12, who took part in a summer day-camp program. Forty-six were allowed to choose from one of three high-sugar cereals, while the other 45 chose from three cereals that were lower in sugar. When given a choice between the three low-sugar cereals, 90 percent found a cereal that they liked or loved. According to the authors, the biggest challenges for manufacturers are taste and marketing. The study suggests trying to get kids’ attention with fun colors and cartoon characters, and encourages parents to suggest topping low-sugar cereals with fruit and yogurt.

Denise Shoukas is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine.

This article was featured in the May 2011 issue of Specialty Food Magazine. See other articles in this issue at: May 2011 Specialty Food Magazine.