Yekaterina Lomakova, Vice President for Commercial Activities of Azbuka Vkusa, highlighted the possible vectors of changes in consumer preferences in the coming year of 2021.
More experimentation for health
Taking care of your health leads to experiences with intuitive eating. The consumer explores alternative diet options, but does not completely go into them, listening to himself. For example, instead of cow's milk - plant milk, but without giving up meat or cheese. Extreme diets and food shortcuts are a thing of the past.
Manufacturers respond to the buyer's request: Russian companies release the first keto and paleoproducts, and large brands are developing healthy lifestyle and vegan directions. The pandemic has also sparked a resurgence of interest in any immunity booster and nutritional science in general.
More prepared food
In Russia, the segment of prepackaged cooking has long caused the client's mistrust - it was associated with mediocre quality, dubious benefits and lazy people. But over the past two years, both the quality of ready-made meals, and the demand, and the volume of supply have grown sharply. Thus, in Azbuka Vkusa, 2019 was a breakthrough year for prepackaged cooking: the segment grew by more than 35% compared to the previous year and continues to grow steadily. This is part of a global trend: the consumer seeks to reallocate his time - spend less on cooking and more on himself. He is especially interested in easy-to-eat breakfast cereals and exotic dishes - a way to effortlessly create new experiences.
Cooked food is no longer the opposite of homemade food. Now they coexist in the same kitchen. Even the pandemic could not stop this trend: in the first wave, everyone tried their hand at the role of chefs, and then returned to their old habits.
Less meat and more alternative sources of protein
2021 will be the year of the “different” protein. This trend combines consumer interest in healthy lifestyle, experimentation and ethical consumption. Therefore, next year, even more will appear on the market: seafood, shrimp, shellfish, crustaceans; fish (the number of enterprises engaged in fish farming has increased significantly); vegetable proteins, meatless sausages, dairy-free cheeses, "alternative" milk. If at one time the brand of alternative meat Beyond meat was the only one on the market, then soon it will have competitors.
The consumption of protein foods is also increasing. From an attribute of sports nutrition, they are turning into an ordinary food for the modern city dweller.
Careful about safety
Another trend associated with attention to their own health. In search of products that can be trusted, the buyer turns to farm-based, organic, sustainable. Thus, he associates farm products with "natural" products. Organic certification guarantees a certain level of safety. The attention to safety is also reflected in the non-food segment. Retailers are seeing a growing demand for internationally certified organic household chemicals and hygiene products.
And more environmentally friendly
The complex multi-faceted request of the buyer to the retailer - minimal impact on the environment. In particular, the requirement for packaged products in sustainable packaging or packaging that can be recycled.
Sustainability is a long-term trend that will take several years to fully unfold. The retailer is forced to redirect the request to the manufacturer, but the larger it is, the more difficult it is to rebuild the production process. In addition, there are practically no proposals on the market for packaging that would be both environmentally friendly, compact and shatterproof. Therefore, the buyer will not receive an answer to his demand soon.
More (less) caffeine
A small but curious observation: the rapid growth in the number of coffee houses forced manufacturers to offer new patterns of coffee consumption in order to maintain sales volumes. For example, additional USP of decaffeinated coffee for evening use or alternative brewing methods. In the coffee category, we act with this demand in mind. So, we have tested our own lines of coffee for making filter coffee at home, and soon we plan to introduce coffee in drip bags, like tea bags, into the assortment.