Buzz-less spirits, yuzu, 'reducetarianism,' and functional beverages made with prebiotics and botanicals are among predicted food influences
Whole Foods Market is sharing its predications for what will be popular in grocery aisles next year by unveiling its seventh annual trends report.
Each year, a trends council of more than 50 Whole Foods team members, including local foragers, regional and global buyers, and culinary experts, compile trend predictions based on decades of experience and expertise in product sourcing and studying consumer preferences, as well as in-depth workshopping with emerging and existing brands.
“Last year, we saw tremendous pandemic-related shifts in grocery-buying habits as the world adjusted to spending more time at home. As the food industry slowly adjusts to a new normal, we expect to see consumers prioritize food and drink products that deliver additional benefits — like functional sodas and tonics — and products that support their sense of well-being, like urban garden greens and products grown with farming processes that help address soil health,” said Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, chief marketing officer at Whole Foods. “We look forward to watching these trends take form in grocery aisles and on our plates in 2022.”
For the first time, Whole Foods is offering the Trends Discovery Box, a curated assortment of 10 products to represent each of the 10 trends in the forecast. The box, available for $30, although valued at more than $50, allows consumers the chance to taste all of the trends at once. Boxes are available for a limited time only at wfmtrythetrends.com.
Whole Foods Market’s Top 10 Food Trend Predictions for 2022
1. Ultraurban Farming
In 2013, a Whole Foods store opened in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a Gotham Greens greenhouse on top, providing fresh and sustainably grown herbs and salad greens in greenhouse systems using sunlight and 100% renewable electricity. Since then, innovation in indoor farming has ballooned, from hydroponics and aquaponics to mushrooms grown above the retailer's grocery aisles — and even fresh produce grown by robots. Producers are finding new, boundary-pushing ways to grow hyper-local crops and maximize efficiency.