Tate & Lyle, a global provider of food and beverage solutions and ingredients, has pinpointed six trends shaping consumer product innovation in the food and beverage market both currently and in the future. 

Consumers expect more from their favourite brands, the company says, not only offering them products that are healthier and tastier, but which have been produced in a responsible and sustainable way. 

Beth Nieman Hacker, Market Research Director at Tate & Lyle, said: “By understanding how values, behaviours and appetites are changing, and the drivers behind these shifts, food and beverage brands can launch products that meet the needs of consumers today and better anticipate how these will evolve.” 

The company’s global market research team has conducted its own proprietary consumer research, studied research papers and data points and, together with Tate & Lyle’s commercial teams worldwide, has identified several key trends in consumer purchases. These trends are transparency, plant-based, sugar reduction, gut health, better-for-you snacking and convenience. 

The clean label movement has continued to evolve, moving from all-natural claims to communicating how products are made, while consumers are also reportedly drawn to products that are plant-based because positive health outcomes and environmental impacts are associated with plant-based eating. 

Research suggests consumers are looking for ways to get healthy and stay healthy. One recommendation to achieve better health is to reduce the amount of sugar in their diet, however consumers are torn between reducing sugar and maintaining a great taste experience. 

As awareness of gut health and the benefits a healthy gut can provide continues to grow, more consumers will look for products with gut health benefits. Modern consumers are digitally connected and time poor, seeking ease, efficiency, and instant gratification from the products they buy, including food and beverages. However, as previously noted, consumers are also prioritising their health. “Better-for-you” snacking products are one way to meet these consumers health needs.