09 Dec 2011US food expert, Phil Lempert, also known as The Supermarket Guru, has presented his thoughts on what 2012 holds for the [American] food industry, a year that he says may be one of the most exciting – and game-changing in the food world... [and some really interesting insights, even if the focus is very much US of A]
Trend #1: Food Prices
There is little doubt that in the coming years, we will continue to see food prices rise based on environmental conditions as well as higher production costs. The costs of fuel, feed, packaging, food safety coupled with a higher demand for export all will factor into the retail price on the shelf.
Many of the savings tactics most shoppers deployed in 2007 as the recession began are still being used each time they shop for groceries – using coupons, frequent shopper cards, shopping lists, shopping at non-traditional foods stores and even trading down their choices to less expensive brands are part of the regular routine. Look for consumers to shave costs by augmenting their recipes by decreasing the amount of the more expensive meats and seafood and adding more non-meat proteins that are filling and less expensive, including whole-wheat pasta, tofu, lentils, brown rice and vegetables to recipe.
http://www.foodstuffsa.co.za/index.php/food-trends-mainmenu-119/food-trends-2011/1661-food-trends-to-watch-in-2012
