The future of Food&Bev at SIAL 2018 Paris - 10 things I’m learning

With over 160.000 visitors and 7.000 exhibitors, SIAL Paris is often described as one of the biggest observatories for food & beverages trends and innovations. For the 2018 edition, this would be a bit of an overstatement, with “innovations” that are rather a continuation and confirmation of previously spotted trends (yes yes, Bio, Vegan, Gluten Free, Lactose free were all over the place). Nevertheless, I found 10 ideas, topics and products that I believe will shape the food and beverages business going forward!

1. Protein 2.0

By 2050, there will be 10 billion people to feed. It is expected that the protein demand will go up by 48%. Animal proteins are having an enormous impact on our environmental footprint, we can’t only rely on those. Yes, we’re experimenting with insects, but these might scare away the (European) traditionalists. Luckily there are alternatives.

Beans and peas are a good source of protein. The people from Good4you launched veggie edamame and peas snacks-to-go.  

More of a sweet tooth? Trufettes De France launched snacking chocolates with added quinoa. Quinoa is another good source of protein and was a key ingredient in many innovations. For more chocolate indulgence with proteins, there are the vegan protein chocolate spreads from SoVeganSoFine.

And there are also smarter ways to eat meat: I see a future for dried meat pieces (beef, veal, chicken and turkey jerky). With over 50% of proteins, low fat and no additives, this healthy snack provides all you need. The long shelf life will help to decrease food waste. One of the nicer brands at the fair was KUBDU.

2. Plants, trees and nuts

Power to the plants! Nuts and plants are not only a good protein replacer, they are also a healthy more sustainable alternative in a vegan or semi-vegan lifestyle. We see plant & nut based ingredients in many products, also in less obvious categories. The people from Dadu launched a range of ice popsicles based on Birch Tree water. The popsicles are organic and full of calcium and potassium.

Chia seeds are finding their way to the masses. Nice example are the Chia Drinks from Laboratoria Natury. There is a coffee, tea and Apple&Ginger variant, all providing natural energy.

And at Beyond Meat, we get plant-based burger patties that look like real burgers. They are soy free, gluten free and GMOS free.

3. Kefir waters and gut health

We have over 300 different kinds of bacteria living inside of our gut. Each person’s microbiota is unique and determined by our mother’s microbiota, our environment at birth AND our diet. With more and more research showing the link between our gut and our overall health and immunity, the F&B market is jumping on this opportunity.

Finding their way to the shelf, are the many kombuchas: fermented tea drinks. Kombucha drinks contain good gut bacteria that help your immunity system. However, none of the positive health benefits have been proven (yet). A nice brand, that focuses on great flavors and naturalness is SO KOMBUCHA.

If you want to dial up your gut help, forget the Kombucha and try Kefir Water! Namaste Water Kefir won the gold award at the SIAL innovation ceremony. Kefir claims to be helpful for the immune system and supports good bacterial balance in the gut. Water kefir has the extra advantage that it does not contain milk.

More probiotics can be found in ice cream innovations. Dadu launched two ice cream sticks each containing over 1 million bifidobacteria.

4. Food transparency and traceability

 Do you really know what you eat and drink? Consumers are asking for more transparency on what’s in their food and where their foods come from. More and more companies and producers are opening their doors to consumers and run “open productions”. And with new technologies such as blockchain, we will be able to track the full supply chain.

 Tracking is one thing, ethical sourcing another. Fairtrade, bio and sourcing labels will guide the consumers. The Belgian chocolate producer “Klingele” puts lots of focus on their “Chocolates From Heaven brand”. They combine an absolute passion for chocolate with a strong purpose: paying a fair price for cocoa and lending a hand to farmers in the Southern Hemisphere. No junk in their chocolates, but only carefully selected organic ingredients. Good for you, for the farmers and for the planet.

5. Sustainable packaging and rethinking the plastic society

It was surprising (and shocking) how little focus there was at the fair when it comes to more sustainable packaging. With plastic bans popping up all over the world, you would expect the industry to accelerate their efforts. Walking around SIAL, you feel the plastic wrapping around you.

One company that stood out, was Retap, a Danish hydration company that offers reusable bottles, carafes and water glasses designed to promote drinking tap water. They launched a range of all natural flavor sticks to add some good indulgence. What differentiates them from other companies, is that they think beyond the “reusable bottle”.

6. The quest for Energy

We’re all busy with our hectic lives. So many things to do, so many activities to choose from. To live our life to the fullest, we are on a constant quest for energy, hence the success of sleep applications, vitamin pills, mindfulness and a long list of foods and beverages that claim to turn us into superheroes.

Energy is a hot topic and is going beyond the sugary Redbull Energy Drinks.

BCAA drinks are the next level (example: SmartPower from EkoVit, that has put a lot of effort in trying to hide the medicinal taste of BCAAs). Natural energy drinks are the next big thing. At Wise, a power duo of entrepreneurs (of which one is a pharmacist) created the perfect blend of vitamins and minerals to help energize (and detoxify) your body.

Also (natural) coffee is pushing itself back to the top in the energy segment. Caffeine is present in almost all energy drinks, and coffee is very natural. The Coffee Ride brand created a cold brew coffee, fully fair trade and bio, in a hipster proof packaging. And also food brands come more and more with energy claims. The Jannis nut bars position themselves as a natural source of energy, and for once, they don’t look like the typical brown-paper-millennial-design-flowpacks.

7. Everything Avocado

Avocado has been around for a few years now. The fruit is prized for its high nutrient value and is often called a superfood. We all enjoy a good guacamole or chicken salad with avocado slices.

Clever avocado producers are widening their scope with avocado smoothies, ice cream and snacks. A nice innovation comes from Syros (calling themselves the New Food Specialists). Under their “Guacalicious” brand, they launched Guacalicious To Go avocado breaks: surprising avocado creams mixed with kiwi, acai or mango and topped with granola, truly rethinking the avocado.

8. Better for You snacks

Unsurprisingly, the health trend and attention to preventive medicine are having a big impact on our food and drinks. The snacking category still struggles with its unhealthy image and many players are trying to reinvent the sugary candy bar. SIAL presented tens of little companies pushing their latest protein bar, cereal bar or raw bar. But one that stood out was NoAdd from Belkorn. Their biscuits contain no additives and no worries, are 100% organic, have no palm oil and contain rice, spelt, oat, buckwheat, and a minimum of 35% fruit …

They tasted great, but in all this health madness, I start to feel lots of sympathy for trend 10 that’s coming up!

 9. Liquid functionality

Within the snacking trend, we also see a move away from solid foods. More and more beverages try to offer similar nutritional values as "real" foods. We see protein waters and milk drinks, oat drinks, fortified coconut drinks and so on.

At Feed, they try to offer a healthy and delicious meal that’s both quick to prepare and costs less than 3 euro. The Feed bottles contain a powder of high nutritional value. Just add water and shake for a liquid meal. At SIAL they presented their newest ready-to-drink range. Three tasty recipes that come pre-prepared.

10. Fuck-it-all indulgence

Getting sick of all these health trends, and fed up with chewy nut bars, sour kombucha waters and weird avocado mousses? Then you’ll love my final observation. Above all, SIAL is a colorful candy shop with tasty calorie bombs. Majority of players, mainly from Eastern Europe, breath artificial colors and ingredients but they are an absolute guilty pleasure.

However, if you go for the Fuck-It-All-Indulgence, then I believe you should do it properly. Being a little chauvinist, I can only recomend to go for pure Belgian chocolate. Or what about the Belgian premium quality waffles from SoWaffelous, two sisters that decided to make the best possible waffles with high quality ingredients, including real butter, wheat, eggs and milk.

No, SIAL 2018 was not the eye-opening food and beverages event of the year. Many trends have been around for a while now. But my marketing heart did make a little jump whenever I discovered a company rethinking their core product (Guacalicious creating avocado snacks), when a company rethought the drinks category (Retap) or when young entrepreneurs decided to focus on one specific product with the highest possible quality (the guys from CoffeeRide or the SoWaffelous sisters).