Every year brings a whole host of new trends. Thought you’d seen it all? Not quite. We’ve got soufflé pancakes, boozy kombucha and voice command ordering on the way. From plant-based products and healthy alcohol to new technological advances, these are the food trends to expect in 2020.
Say hello to soufflé pancakes, plump, pillow-like pikelets currently trendy in Tokyo and on their way to a café near year. The batter has whipped egg whites in it which makes them rise like soufflé. Served with maple-flavoured whipped cream and powdered sugar, you can find them at Japanese chain Flipper that has just opened in New York.
This year Miami Fruit in Florida grew 3lb (1.4kg) long neck avocados big enough to feed 12 people. Avocados which were a cross between West Indian and Guatemalan varieties and five times the size of normal went on sale at Tesco in Ireland. Then a family in Hawaii broke a world record with an avocado that weighed over 5lbs (2.3kg) – and they plan to grow more. Expect big things from the veg aisle in 2020.
In 2019 we had some ground-breaking developments in the meat-free industry with the Impossible Whopper landing at Burger King, the Impossible Slider at White Castle and the Beyond Meat taco from Del Taco. But until now Impossible Foods wasn’t widely available in shops. All that’s about to change in 2020, when it will arrive in supermarkets in all 50 US states.
We’ll do anything for a reason to drink and in 2020 it will be healthy alcohol. Watch out for wellness cocktails containing wheatgrass, beer for athletes, Namaste Rosé which is yoga followed by wine tasting, boozy fun runs and liver-friendly vodka. And just remember no matter how alcohol is packaged it’s not healthy.
Spiked seltzer is something you’ll be seeing more of in 2020 – and we don’t mean with alcohol. CBD sparkling water is now widely available online and in some shops. The legalities are blurry but it undeniably has a following. A popular brand is DRAM which contains 20mg of CBD and healing herbs. It comes in flavours such as lemongrass and ginger.
For more controversial food trends check out from giant avocados to ketchup caviar: 2019’s most controversial foods so far
In 2020 say goodbye to being envious of your non-vegan friends' food, because dairy-free ice cream is about to get a whole lot better. Manufacturers such as Eclipse have worked hard to realistically recreate dairy’s texture with plant products which in the past has been difficult. The final product is said to be rich, creamy and indistinguishable from the real deal.
The Swiss multinational has revealed it’s creating vegan alternatives to bacon and cheese, plus a range of vegan sauces. The announcement follows the launch of its soy-based Awesome Burger. It will supply the trio of plant-based products to professional kitchens in Europe and America – vegan double bacon cheeseburgers here we come.
The search for healthy treats will continue into 2020 as the global protein snack market experiences a hike in growth. Expect to see more added protein yogurt, kefir, meat snacks such as jerky, protein bars and energy balls on the shelves. Meanwhile, experts say no added sugar snacks still have a lot of the sweet stuff in them and eating whole foods is a wiser choice.
Now discover America's most surprising sugary foods
This fizzy, natural, low ABV wine is the next big thing in drinking. Technically not wine, it’s made by adding water to leftover skins, seeds and stems and fermenting it. Traditionally drunk by vineyard workers, it’s affordable and suitable for all occasions. This beautiful collection of piquettes from Wild Arc Farm, Hudson Valley will keep us busy in summer 2020.
The fast food giant sells one billion lbs (454 million kg) of beef each year in the US and currently offers no veggie or vegan options. Whereas McDonald’s outlets across the pond are a different story: there’s a veggie Happy Meal in the UK, vegan nuggets in Norway, and McFalafels and a soy-based McVegan burger in Sweden. The latter of which is tipped to cross the ocean to the States in 2020.
Read more: The Impossible Whopper and other eye-opening fast food menu changes
Spiked seltzer was undeniably the drink of 2019 in the US, but what about 2020? Experts are predicting something called alcoholic water. Pura Still is a brand that takes fermented malted barley and cane sugar and filters it to become water. It’s clear, gluten-free, flat, alcoholic and comes in flavours such as mango, blackberry and mandarin. There’s a market for people who prefer plain drinks and this might well be the next big thing.
In 1990 the American tea industry was worth £1.43 billion ($1.84bn), whereas today it’s £10.11 billion ($13bn) and growing. We don’t mean builders tea, but speciality tea such as avocado leaf, Kenyan purple tea and white Champagne raspberry tea. Reasons for the growth include the wellness movement and also the gaming industry embracing it as a hobby. Where do we sign up?
These days you can walk into your favourite fast food joint and walk out with a burger, fries and milkshake without so much as speaking a word to a member of staff thanks to touch screen kiosks. Now things are about to get even more hi-tech with experts predicting voice command ordering. Not only will the technology place your order, it will remember you next time.
In the last few years fast food outlets that didn’t previously offer home delivery such as McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Subway now do through third party services such as Uber Eats and DoorDash. The annual growth of which is expected to triple by the end of 2020. So expect to see more of your favourite restaurants online over the coming year.
At one point you might have been laughed out of the bar for sipping on mocktails, but now ordering non-alcoholic is the cool thing to do. A new study shows people in London, Los Angeles and New York want more alcohol-free options and believe the trend is growing. We’re not talking boring soft drinks either, but booze-free cocktails made with egg whites, smoke, shrubs and homemade syrups.
As well as protein snacks in 2020, there will be more healthy alternatives to crisps made with ingredients such as chickpeas, beetroot and kale. Puffed and extruded snacks will also become more popular, think cheese puffs but good for you. For example Vegan Rob’s offers flavours such as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, jackfruit and mushroom.
This thorny green plant with its yellow fleshy centre felt like the fruit of 2019. It featured in tacos, burgers, on pizzas and in vegetarian curries, as its fibrous, meaty texture is a good vegan substitute for pork. And it won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, it’s only set to become more popular as people increasingly embrace plant based lives.
Now read our complete guide to jackfruit
Tracking food from manufacturer to shop floor is known as traceability and the market is set for rapid growth in 2020. This will make the food we eat safer and reduce problems with contamination and food fraud. Say goodbye to horsemeat scandals and E. coli outbreaks in 2020.
In efforts to decrease food waste, buying ‘ugly’ produce usually rejected by customers is all the rage. Tesco sells a line of juices called Waste Not made from unwanted fruit and veg. Companies such as Misfits Market offer ugly vegetable subscription boxes. While a New York pop-up serves cocktails using the juice of wonky plums and leftover fruit parts.
America-based Mexican chain Del Taco is dipping its toes in the wellness sector with a range of food-scented essential oils. Put on a face mask and relax to the sweet smells of churros, chocolate and cinnamon. This isn’t the first time a brand has ventured into this arena either, remember Burger King’s Unhappy Meal? As long as the self-care trend survives we can expect more of this.
A banana wrapped in Styrofoam and cling film. Pasta in cardboard boxes with plastic windows. We all know unnecessary food packaging is something that needs to end, with plastic production contributing to climate change and contaminating our ocean. So why is it still available? Hopefully, we’ll see less of it in 2020 as supermarkets pledge to decrease use.
We’ve all heard about insects tipped to be the future of sustainable food, however, the barrier to this trend taking off was the creepy crawly factor. A new company Critter Bitters is aiming to turn this around with cocktail bitters made from roasted crickets. Apparently it has a nutty flavour and crickets are less gross in liquid form. We’ll all be drinking it next year...
Read more: Meatless meat and other food trends taking the world by storm
OK so it won’t be in the shops next year, however progress has been made in bringing the time nearer. The obstacle to widely available lab grown meat has always been cost, but Future Meat Technologies has lowered this from £39 to £8 per lb ($50-$10). It could be on shelves as soon as 2022.
The fastest-growing functional drink has a new boozy cousin: alcoholic kombucha. While kombucha was always slightly alcoholic, it’s made by fermenting tea and sugar, it usually clocks in at 0.5% to 2.5% ABV. However, brands like Wild Tonic are changing the game with properly hard versions of the gut-friendly drink which reach 7.6% ABV.
Not shy of meat options Disney is known for its notorious giant turkey legs, but has revealed it will be adding vegan options to every dining location at its US theme parks by spring 2020. That’s more than 400 dishes including this plant-based sausage, kimchi slaw and pickled cucumber pita from Ronto Roasters. There will even be Star Wars-inspired Tatooine Two Suns Hummus.
For more thrilling snacks check out Alligator bites and other theme park eats
Eating sustainably was a big trend in 2019. This means food from sources that can be maintained and don’t damage the environment. For example, less meat, fish and dairy, more local and in season foods, fair trade products, food with less packaging and reducing food waste. The great news is we’ll see more of this in both supermarkets and in restaurants in 2020.
Read more: Food trends we're glad no longer exist