Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1134223
38 POTATO GROWER | JULY 2019 How potatoes can remain a staple even as menus continue to evolve Eyes on the Fries fries cheddar ghost pepper sauce Diggin' In Diggin' In CONSUMER TRENDS | By Marie Molde It's a new age for the food industry. Will everyone be eating lab-grown meat this time next year? Will insects become the norm? Trends are moving faster than ever, and it's up to everyone at every point in the supply chain to uncover and maximize tomorrow's trends. Plants Powering On Ask any potato, and they'll tell you they did "plant-based" before it was even a thing. From nut milks to plant-based meat alternatives, plant-based eating principles are making waves. The rise of flexitarians, consumers who are looking to reduce the amount of meat they're eating in exchange for plant-based options, is gaining momentum as a lifestyle choice. This rings true for the 25 percent of consumers who report a desire to adopt flexitarianism as an aspirational goal for how they want to eat in the future—motivations vary, but health is a common denominator. Health's Many Stages Health claims have a way of moving with the times—from the 1980s to the trends of tomorrow, health trends have evolved through four stages: • Healthy 1.0 (1980s to early 2000s): Weight management. It was all about low-fat, low-calorie and low-carb choices. • Healthy 2.0 (early 2000s to today): Feel-good foods. Local, natural and free-from claims grew and the emphasis on weight management waned. • Healthy 3.0 (2010 to today): Functional foods. Foods that "do something for you" (aid performance, superfoods) and products with a positive nutrition halo are some of the fastest-growing items. According to Datassential's MenuTrends, functional foods like chia seeds, kombucha and turmeric have all seen triple-digit growth rates over the last four years. • Healthy 4.0 (2019 to today): Personalized nutrition. The next wave of nutrition is a tailored look at consumers and what their unique physiologies require, right down to their DNA. Potatoes have high potential in the functional foods race with opportunity to become the poster child of a new wave of nutrition. Operators can maximize the potential of potatoes by emphasizing the numerous health benefits or pairing potato- based dishes with other health-oriented ingredients that resonate with today's consumers. fries cheddar jalapeno ghost pepper sauce Traditional—"ubiquitous"—ingredients like potatoes are finding new life by combining with "adoption"-level elements in dishes such as Wendy's ghost pepper fries.