LA SEARCHIn the ever-changing food industry, it’s vital to stay attuned to trends to ensure you’re fulfilling your customers’ needs and wants.
In this blog, we use our SEO expertise to analyse Google food trends and provide insights into how energy prices, the effects of caffeine and advancements in space travel could impact the food industry and consumer habits in the years to come.
6 Google food trends predictions
Food for the skin
With global warming causing changes in weather all over the world, it’s thought that consumers will be looking for products with ingredients that will help protect their skin from more extreme conditions in the coming years.
It, therefore, makes sense to see ingredients like Collagen, which according to Google Trends, has increased in popularity sharply since 2016 and continues to grow, being introduced into more food products.
In fact, the keyword “collagen” garners around 49,000 searches per month, making it a hot commodity. And it’s no wonder why; collagen supports skin hydration, elasticity, and resilience. It retains moisture, preventing dryness in harsh conditions.
Consumers can benefit from the effects of collagen by consuming foods rich in it, like bone broth, fish, chicken and leafy greens.
Energy saving food
As energy prices soar, we’re seeing people turn towards more energy-efficient ways of preparing meals. Searches for energy-saving tips spiked last September just before the energy price cap increased from £1,971 to £2,500. This bodes well for products aimed at helping consumers save energy, like microwaveable meals.
But some brands take the idea of efficiency one step further, providing self-heating food which, true to their name, eliminates the need for external heat during preparation. Self-heating food uses exothermic reactions triggered by the introduction of room-temperature water to powdered minerals like magnesium, iron, and salt.
This reaction generates the necessary heat for cooking or heating the food, providing a convenient and portable solution for on-the-go meals.
Brands that are championing this approach include Adventure Nutrition and Hot Pack, whose meals include flameless meal heaters which can heat the meal within 10 minutes.
Low caffeine drinks
The link between caffeine and productivity is well known. But so too are the negative effects of the drug, like sleep interference, increased heart rate, palpitations and dehydration.
Given its bad press in recent years, the search term “low caffeine” has seen an increase in searches and has been growing in popularity since November 2021. In reaction to a growing low caffeine appetite, producers are turning to options like Laurina, a low-caffeine variety of Arabica coffee which is naturally low in caffeine and drought resistant, future-proofing its use.
Matcha is also a great option for those looking for a lower dose of caffeine. Its popularity has steadily grown on Google trends since the early 2010s, but has seen a surge in interest since 2015.
Around 40,000 people in the UK search for matcha per month alone. And the reason has much to do with the way it offers the benefits of caffeine with fewer side effects. While the way coffee releases its caffeine has the potential to cause a sudden surge in adrenaline, as well as impact your glucose and insulin levels, resulting in potential feelings of shakiness and hunger, matcha offers a notably different experience with caffeine.
It provides a “cleaner” high due to the gradual release of caffeine, providing a more sustained energy boost. This effect is all down to the presence of L-Theanine, an amino acid that slows down the body’s absorption of caffeine.
Brain food
Building on growing consumer knowledge of nutrients that provide cognitive and psychological benefits, it’s likely that more products will capitalise on our desire to stay sharper for longer.
This means that more foods that contain ingredients such as magnesium, B vitamins and zinc and omega 3 are likely to grace our supermarket shelves. The search term “brain food” has been popular in the past few years, currently garnering around 2,400 searches per month in the UK.
Space themed food
With space travel drifting closer towards our reach thanks to the commencement of Virgin Galactic’s space tourist flights this summer, expect to see more space-themed products on our shelves in the months and years to come.
Coca-Cola’s Starlight is one example, a “Limited edition Coca-Cola Beverage inspired by space”.
While searches for terms like “space travel” are currently lower than they were in the same periods for the past few years, keep an eye out on Google food trends once these flights start operating and you may well see a spike in interest.
Climate conscious labelling
Back on earth, and with the climate crisis much higher on the lists of many, there’s a growing trend of climate-conscious labelling of food products aimed at educating the consumer about the effects of their purchases.
Much like what digital product passports are doing for the fashion industry, climate labelling will help consumers find food with lower climate footprints, meaning the ever-conscious buyer can make more informed decisions on what and where to buy their food.
Even though searches for terms like carbon footprint and global warming have waned in recent months, the pace at which we reach crisis point has not, which means these kinds of interventions are necessary to help people make the best decisions for the planet.
