Introduction: Our Wellness Series

WELLNESS SERIES – PART 3: WELLNESS IN FOOD & BEVERAGE

Consumers are increasingly pursuing products and experiences that encourage wellbeing and healthy habits, with today’s “wellness” referring to holistic, healthy lifestyles reflected as physical, mental, social, and spiritual wellbeing. Wellbeing has become a pivotal aspect of peoples’ lives and has subsequently affected various industries. Acknowledging the broad meaning of wellness and its ties to consumer lifestyles – Here we analyse 3 core sectors: Finance, Hospitality and Food & Beverage to explore how brands are catering to this ever-growing consumer expectation. This third part will explore wellness through the lense of food and beverage encompassing dining experiences, leading dietary and consumer trends.

Whilst the restaurant industry along with many other sectors have taken a major hit amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, we believe wellness will only increase in importance following this crisis. People are experiencing a fearful phase on the wellbeing front, from health to financial concerns; brands have an opportunity to support the sense of wellbeing, calm and transparency which we think will be most welcomed by consumers.

The Global Wellness Institute valued the global wellness economy at $4.5 trillion in 2018, with ‘healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss’ worth $702 billion.

“A wellness mindset is starting to permeate the global consumer consciousness, affecting people’s daily decision-making — whether food purchases, a focus on mental wellness and reducing stress, incorporating movement into daily life, environmental consciousness, or their yearning for connection and happiness. Wellness, for more people, is evolving from rarely to daily, from episodic to essential, from a luxury to a dominant lifestyle value. And that profound shift is driving powerful growth.” said Katherine Johnson, GWI Senior Researcher (12th annual Global Wellness Summit, 2018).

To understand how the ever-growing wellness trend affects the F&B sector, we examined macro trends and evolving consumer lifestyles. Across generations, wellbeing is having an important effect on how we eat and drink. Wellbeing and wellness have directly influenced the F&B market, mainly driven through consumer habits. Younger generations are drinking a lot less alcohol, and wellbeing is having a fast-growing impact on technology. The rise of the health-conscious consumer will show how wellness will continue to influence the food and drink industry.

Conscious Consumption & Mindful Eating

Following the environmental challenges surrounding palm oil, overuse of plastics, and slow progress to address climate change, consumers tend to be more conscious and cautious of their food supply.

Origin, source and seasonality of foods, as well as packaging and the brand’s values, now really matter. Food and drink companies that integrate or embody wellness are growing faster than other categories. There is a growing sense of urgency from consumers with elevating expectations; due to pure frustration from the lack of action shown across global issues.

“Conscious consumption habits will inspire more people to consider the environmental and ethical impacts of their diets.

Consumers will further prioritise plants in their diets, now with the planet’s health in mind as much as their own.

Consumption of animal products will be occasional and focus on ethically raised dairy and animal protein.” – Global Food & Drink Trends 2030, Mintel (2020)

As Mintel expresses, there is a link between consumption demand and ethical purchasing based due to environmental concerns, and it is growing. This support of conscious consumption is the notion of ‘mindful eating’.

As consumers seek more transparency and nutritious foods to support health needs, mindful EatingEating will only continue to dominate as customers want to embrace the holistic – good for the body, the mind and the environment. “Although the ideal mindful-eating food choices are similar to the Mediterranean diet—centred on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts, and vegetable oils—the technique can be applied to a cheeseburger and fries. By truly paying attention to the food you eat, you may indulge in these types of foods less often. In essence, Mindful Eating means being fully attentive to your food—as you buy, prepare, serve, and consume it.” Harvard Health Publishing

“MINDFUL EATING MEANS BEING FULLY ATTENTIVE TO YOUR FOOD—

AS YOU BUY, PREPARE, SERVE, AND CONSUME IT.” Harvard Health

Slow food is an excellent example of a company that showcases what Mindful Eating encompasses – as a global organization they believe that “Through our food choices we can collectively influence how food is cultivated, produced and distributed, and change the world as a result.”

‘Hemsley + Hemsley’ a concept launched in 2010 introducing ‘The Art of Eating Well’ offers “a bespoke service aimed at helping people with their digestion and relationship with food and teaching the importance of gut health.” Starting with a website with recipes, event catering and finally their successful cookbooks – consumer interest has led them to contribute to various publications and have a debut TV series on BBC ‘Eating Well with Hemsley + Hemsley’. Now a lifestyle brand, the company also has a café in Selfridges.

Another example of wellness leaders influencing the food and beverage market is Rhiannon Lambert a celebrity nutritionist, who since her bestselling book “Re-Nourish: A Simple Way To Eat Well” has opened a clinic in London assisting with weight management, sports nutrition and eating disorders while also engaging incorporate wellness events.

On a similar wavelength is Dr Hazel Wallace ‘the food medic’, an NHS doctor specialising in nutrition who has had two bestselling books focusing on approachable, healthy recipes and an understanding of nutritional benefits. Many other similar progressive influencers and wellness leaders have emerged, leading to a massive impact on what consumers decide to eat and drink; inevitably, the industry has had to react and adapt to these new cravings.

From Vegan to Flexitarian

Researchers at the University of Oxford found that cutting meat and dairy products from your diet can reduce an individual’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73%; to the National Academy of Sciences suggesting that a global reduction in meat consumption between 2016 and 2050 could save up to eight million lives per year and $31 trillion in reduced costs from health care and climate change.

“DATA REVEALS VEGANS AND VEGETARIANS WILL MAKE UP A QUARTER OF THE POPULATION, AND FLEXITARIANS HALF, BY 2025.” Vegan Society

It is no wonder that we are seeing plant produce overtake meat as the primary meal component – driven by scientific research, animal and environmental supporters, wellness influencers, progressive chefs, and more conscious consumers.

Moreover, Fiona Dyer, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData says: ‘The shift toward plant-based foods is being driven by millennials, who are most likely to consider the food source, animal welfare issues, and environmental impacts when making their purchasing decisions.’

According to the Vegan Society, vegans in Britain have quadrupled to 600,000 since 2014. Data reveals vegans and vegetarians will make up a quarter of the population, and flexitarians half, by 2025.

While Global Data already reported in 2017 that a full 70% of the world population was either reducing meat consumption or having no meat altogether.

As meat- and dairy-free diets go viral backed by health influencers, celebrities, star chefs and disruptor brands filling the aisles, these new eating habits are banking on the Internet to spread the word.

Veganuary, a vegan website that provides tips on how to live well without sacrificing taste. Healthy-diets and enhanced nutrition companies like Grateful Grazer, Well+Good, alive and Clean Eating and Plant-Powered Dietician are blogs that feature advice and promote gluten-free recipes, paleo diets, egg-free, ketogenic, nut-free, carb and sugar-free, anti-inflammatory diet, gut-health and other growing topics on the upsurge mainly due to health concerns.

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Wellness Series - Wellness in Food and Beverage

WELLNESS SERIES – PART 3: WELLNESS IN FOOD & BEVERAGE

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