10 Food Trends to Watch

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Washington Post recently featured “10 food trends you’re about to start seeing everywhere” and here’s what they found:

1. Collagen: This protein provides structure for skin, hair and organs and it’s about to go mainstream. Both food and beverage companies are adding it to their products, marketing them to women age 30 and above.
2. Boozy and booze-adjacent tea: To give a little marketing boost to tea, some companies are adding alcohol. Owl’s Brew is a canned sparkling beverage that combines tea (white tea, English breakfast or Darjeeling) with a malt base, for a 4.6% ABV light, summery drink.
3. Focus on sober living: Being “sober-curious” or living a sober lifestyle is catching on. Beverage companies are producing mocktails and fancy non-alcoholic drinks.
4. Puffed snacks: Puffy snacks have now taken shape as beets, quinoa, chickpeas and kale. The Washington Post says it’s making you feel like it’s acceptable to eat a whole bag.
5. Popped lotus and water lily seeds: Lotus seeds have long been a part of traditional Indian and Chinese medicine, and the Post says that “when they’re popped and coated in flavors, they become a crunchy and addictive snack, sort of like popcorn.”
6. Fancy Gatorade: Created for those who want a sports drink without the added sugar or artificial colors, these fancy Gatorades include herbs, Stevia and organic ingredients.
7. CBD: If you’ve been following NACS Daily, you know how popular this has become. It’s one of the fastest growing categories of the year.
8. Oat milk: This is the hottest of all the alternative milks, and coffee shops are having a hard time keeping it in stock. Canned and bottled coffees are big right now, and it looks like the next moves might be in ice cream.
9. Cheese in new shapes: Moon cheese is a popular brand right now, and companies are redefining how we eat cheese through sweet, savory and crunchy options.
10. Balls: You’ve likely already seen these snacks either in the store or on social media. Made of ingredients like dates, nuts, peanut butter and coconut, these are often marketed to the paleo or keto dieting folks.