IFT First 2024: Cargill’s TrendTracker spotlights mindful eating, healthy aging and guilt-free indulgence

18 Jul 2024 --- From inflation to the lingering effects of the pandemic, a myriad of forces impact food consumption patterns. Cargill leverages technology to analyze consumer behavior through its TrendTracker 2024 solution, which offers insights to F&B companies to drive innovation, NPD and business growth.

The FMCG giant highlights four macro trends this year — “healthy for me,” “conscious consumption,” “experience it” and “simplify my life.”

Food Ingredients First spoke with Keith Albright, Cargill’s marketing insights and analytics manager for North America, at IFT First 2024 in Chicago, US, to learn more about these standout trends and how the analysis can help companies develop products that enable  consumers to balance their health and indulgence goals.

“Cargill uses a TrendTracker, which is a combination of our proprietary insights combined with many of the vendor partners’ points of view on what’s driving marketplace behavior with our consumers,” he tells us from the show floor.

“We want TrendTracker to drive meaningful discussions with our customers when we go right to the ingredients we sell or the ingredients in their food.”

Holistic health goals
The first macro trend Cargill highlights is consumers’ inclination toward mindful eating and avoiding certain ingredients. It focuses on consumer scrutiny and avoidance and the desire to maintain good health throughout life.

This includes “embracing positive nutrition,” with a focus on immune health and brain food. Exploring the health benefits of plant-based ingredients and tapping into new technologies is another idea gaining ground.

We spoke to Keith live at the event to discuss the stand out trends in F&B.Consumers are also increasingly “eating to live” and taking a proactive, personal approach to healthy aging.

Value accelerated trade-offs
While the basic macro trends of health, convenience, value and experience still prevail, their evolution over the years is what surprises Albright.

“The trends started to manifest in a different way due to the pandemic. One example of that is the value. Value is not defined only by price,” he explains.

This is in line with Cargill’s second macro trend, “Conscious consumption,” which highlights how value is becoming increasingly important to what a consumer “gets out of investing in the food” and how they are looking to make those trade-offs.

“The trade off that’s going on generationally by consumers and on category to category is fascinating to me, and a good example of that is in the plant-based area. I might be seeking plant-based foods in one category, very different than I would seek plant-based foods in another category. They need to do two different things.”

Consumers are also willing to pay more and cut back on other areas to allow themselves to fulfill their desires.

“A good example of that is we’re seeing a lot of growth in the designer milks. The designer milks that are plant-based have double-digit growth, not only in dollars but what I like to qualify it as healthy growth.” This is despite a very tight, inflationary environment, he adds. This is because they deliver on the main barrier to consumer acceptance of designer milks, which is “taste.” 

Besides affordability, the trend also includes sustainability extended choices like opting for brands that support the planet, people and transparency.

Social media impact
Albright also observes the impact of digital media on younger generations, who turn to social media to learn more about the brands they purchase.

Cargill showcased reduced-sodium Salsa con Quesco featuring its Alberger fine prepared flour salt at the event.“They expect the brands that they purchase to have the same values as them, how they identify that is they will go on social media, and they will trust that as a source of truth much more than the older Millennials, Xers, and of course, the Boomers.”

He believes the younger generation will drive continuous change toward using social media to “get the voice out there” and see that voice as truth, so companies need to understand their mindset.

Balancing health and indulgence
The third macrotrend reveals consumer interest in “delightful” sensory experiences and guilt-free indulgence, for which Cargill develops high intensity natural sweeteners with its partners that “balance the tension between indulgence and health.”

“In the area of health, we’re seeing a lot of people wanting to put good in and take bad out. So as they try to balance the amount of sugar that they have, one very clear example of that is our natural sweeteners.” One example is the company's plant-based sweetener developed in partnership with dsm-firmenich using fermentation that received positive safety opinion from European and UK authorities earlier this year.

However, he points out that reducing sugar in products like ice cream is not a “one size fits all” approach as consumer needs vary.

The trend also spotlights the anticipation of the emotions of indulgent and elevated experiences such as tapping into multiple senses and novel experiences.

Lastly, the fourth macro trend shines a light on the demand for faster and easier ways to procure and prepare meals to “simplify life.” This includes exploring all dining support options, technology and tools to increase efficiency and elevate recipes.

By Insha Naureen, with live reporting from Missy Green in Chicago, US