One of the times we went trendspotting in November was at the Nordic Organic Food Fair in Malmö; two of our local experts in this field, Torbjörn Andersson and Gea Alsterberg went along.
As the name suggests, the main focus of the fair was on organic products and there were many delicious things to taste and to hear about. Not surprisingly, sustainability, health and locally sourced products were also in the spotlight. There was a whole host of new locally sourced products on the drinks front, both with and without alcohol. It was also great to see so many small producers from countries that we probably would not normally associate in Sweden with organic food production, including people from Romania, Lithuania and Estonia. They were looking for opportunities to establish themselves on the Nordic market.
In this post we will share some of the results of our trendspotting, highlighting information that we think will be important in the future.
- Investing in sustainability for the good of everyone. We noticed a lot of pure natural materials, including drinking straws made of real straw and oilcloth instead of plastic wrap, and people were obviously very aware of the choice of packaging materials. One of the major investments in the future is believed to be in greater transparency throughout the supply chain, and many manufacturers presented a circular perspective with concrete proposals of how residual products could be used.
- More vegan options for everyone. Several innovative producers are finding new ways of making non-animal products. The target group included everyone from hardcore meat eaters to long-term vegans. There was even vegetarian cat and dog food on show (although Softronic could not say whether it was good or bad).
- Health-promoting products, mostly using plant-based ingredients with unique beauty and health-promoting properties. Of course it is preferable if they are locally-sourced, such as the cold-pressed camelina oil from Sörmland, which has an unusual composition of Omega 3, 6 and 9. Simris Alg is another example of Swedish product; it is a vegetarian variant of the omega oils that are in such demand at the moment. One common feature was that many beauty-related products on show could be used both internally and externally.
- Lower production volumes. The constant pursuit to reduce food waste and the stricter requirements for traceability are resulting in smaller production batches, which is increasing seasonal variations in production. Lower volumes and a more seasonal range could result in producers starting to change what they are offering and in some cases supplying more niche products.
- Smaller and smarter packages. The increase in the number of single households, a desire to try new products and greater awareness of the impact of food on the climate are leading many people to demand smaller package sizes and the option of resealing packages or being able to divide them up and freeze them for later use. Food producers are meeting this need from consumers with smaller, smarter packages and also many biodegradable ones.
Keeping up-to-date on the trends and development in the food industry is important for us to understand our customers’ situation. This is an essential element in our work to further develop our offering around Foodware 365 and to enable us to give good advice to our customers in this field.
Follow our Foodware page on LinkedIn to find out what is new in the food industry, and please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to know more!
Contact
If you have any questions about Foodware or would like to discuss your challenges, contact us.
Torbjörn Andersson
Torbjorn.Andersson@softronic.se
Tel no.: +46(0)708-813 261
Gea Alsterberg
Gea.Alsterberg@softronic.se
Tel no.: +46(0)709-343 461