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FOODBYTES DECEMBER 2016 | ISSUE 36 | YOUR FREE DATASSENTIAL TREND REPORT

2017 TRENDS FB

Is the having an existential crisis? In fact, for many companies redefining the very concept of food is an opportunity. These companies are calling every assumption into question and rethinking the very foundations of the industry. They’re breaking food down into individual and building it back up again to create something brand new. In the process, they’re giving us a glimpse of how differently we may define food in the future.

The changing definition of food is just one of the trends we’ll be watching in 2017 and beyond. This month’s FoodBytes covers 14 different trends that will impact the industry – 5 macro-level trends WHAT IS that are making waves in every segment, both at restaurants and at retail, and 9 micro-level trends that will affect particular ingredients FOOD? and segments. We look at how molecular is trickling down to the , with core concepts and technologies in use at QSRs, fast casuals, and even home . We discover how advancements How will these trends impact in robotics and artificial intelligence will make delivery services your business or product line? even more of a force to be reckoned with. Restaurants aren’t going to lose those dining occasions without a fight, however, and we Contact Datassential for a see how operators are using “eatertainment” and other types of presentation that dives deeper technology to entice consumers to dine out or stop into their local supermarket. Finally we see how the definition of healthy food into these trends with even more continues to evolve and seek out the next generation of functional examples and more data, all superfoods. designed to help make your At the micro level, we look at why fat is back, how Southern concepts and brand more mashups are combining together to create new concepts, personal and relevant to today’s and how operators and consumers are embracing taboo . We consumer. Contact Dave Jenkins dive into the social media-worthy foods that are taking over Instagram and Snapchat, the distinctive flavors and textures of at 847-903-5744 or Japanese desserts, and the next-level that are adding [email protected] unique qualities to the menu. We also meet the local fishmonger, to put the presentation on your reduce food waste, and break down the barriers to beverage purchasing with new formats. team’s calendar.

We’ve also expanded one of our most popular features – our list of the flavors and ingredients that should be on your radar. This year we feature everything from dukkah to umeboshi to gose.

Let’s get started…

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MACRO 1 MOLECULAR FOR THE MASSES

REACHING A AUDIENCE WITH author J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, are dropping below MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY $100.00 now, and companies like Sansaire, Anova Culinary, and ChefSteps’s Joule are racing to get In recent years, many of the restaurants that the appliances into home kitchens. Anova now has spearheaded the molecular gastronomy displays in stores like Best Buy and Target to movement have closed (elBulli, wd~50), will close educate consumers on the product, specifically (noma, which fused molecular gastronomy with placed near the slow cookers to provide an easy New Nordic foraging), or have reconcepted reference point. These appliances and techniques (Alinea), prompting both chefs and writers to ask, are particularly popular with the “lifehacking” “Is molecular gastronomy dead?” Are the days of movement, which is constantly seeking better, spherified , liquid nitrogen “berries,” often contrary, ways of , organizing, and edible balloons over? working, etc. In fact, the best may be yet to come as elements from the molecular gastronomy movement make EARLY ADOPTER their way to the average consumer. Like any French chemist- Hervé This has been called fashionable movement, some elements fall by the the “patron saint of molecular gastronomy.” Now, What will be the next big wayside while those with broader implications go with what he calls “note-by-note cooking,” or trend in at-home food on to become a part of the wider culture. NbN, he’s aiming to take his focus on pure technology? “The combi- molecular compounds to the masses. “This Now much of the equipment that powered oven!” author and envisions grocery stores of the future selling molecular gastronomy is dropping in price, making molecular gastronomy peachy hexyl acetate and cucumberish trans,cis- it within reach for a wider range of operators, expert 2,6-nonadien-1-ol; no crazier than a bottle of including QSRs and fast casuals, as well as home told PopSugar. “I really vanilla extract or oil of oregano found in most consumers. There are now a number of operators hope that’s the next big homes,” notes the New York Times. While bottles that make customizable, rapidly-cooled ice cream thing after .” of compounds can be found in the kitchens of the with liquid nitrogen, while New York’s HI B3AR The combo oven/steamer world’s temples of molecular gastronomy, there’s makes on-trend Thai rolled ice cream using the is a staple in restaurants, no reason they can’t be used by home cooks; anti-griddle. but up until now it has they’re “very simple and very cheap,” This says. been too expensive for Nathan Myhrvold, who is behind the molecular home cooks. That’s gastronomy bible “Modernist ,” has been WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS changing. Cuisinart has a adapting molecular gastronomy techniques for the Proponents and stakeholders in the next countertop model average person and extolling the virtues of blow generation of mass molecular gastronomy will (above), the Tovala home torches and pressure cookers for the home continue to educate a wider variety of chefs and smart oven is currently in . “I just had the best carrot soup of my life, home cooks on how to adapt the techniques. In beta testing, and a with the recipe taken from ‘ at particular, they’ll make the case that molecular number of appliance Home’,” one reviewer of Myhrvold’s home version gastronomy shows off ingredients at their best in manufacturers are adding wrote on Amazon. “[The recipe] uses order to win over skeptics who think that foams steam functions to home caramelization techniques well known to pros, but and gels have no place in the current “clean ovens. heretofore unknown to me.” eating” movement. Sous vide cookers, a favorite of Serious Eats Managing Culinary Director and “Food Lab”

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MACRO 2 WHAT IS FOOD?

CONSUMERS & STARTUPS RETHINK THE sold.” New York’s Ocean Hugger Foods has DEFINITION OF FOOD created Tomato Sushi, a natural, eco-friendly alternative to raw tuna. The tomatoes used in the Would you consider a multivitamin pill to be food? sushi, which are high in the glutamic acids Most consumers would say it’s not. But if it’s not, responsible for much of the savory flavor in meaty what is Soylent? The company calls its products foods, are cooked sous vide with ingredients like “Food, intelligently designed,” yet founder Rob tamari and vinegar. And Copenhagen’s To Øl Rinehart specifically created them because “food Brewery worked with technology company GEA was such a large burden,” he said in “The End of Group to develop a sublimation process for its Food” in The New Yorker. He even introduced the beer, which transforms it into a powdered product original Soylent in his blog post, “How I Stopped that the consumer mixes with water. Eating Food.” EARLY ADOPTER Today a number of companies are questioning the In 2013, Mark Post, a professor at the University of very definition of food, fundamentally changing Google is partnering with Maastricht in the Netherlands, introduced the our thinking of what qualifies. Many are taking the Chopt Creative Salad Co. world’s first cell-cultured hamburger to the world. “break it down to build it up again” approach to a to rethink plant-based Last year New Harvest, a research institute range of products, but applying it to ethical or menu items at concepts focused on cellular agriculture, invested in Post’s values-based issues like sustainability, health, and like Relish, “part lab to “do more research on a completely animal- animal welfare. incubator, part free system for growing cultured meat.” Now Post laboratory” that The trend may be most apparent in the number of and New Harvest are getting some competition as experiments with -based meat-free alternatives hitting the new companies get into the cultured meat game. envelope-pushing market, from Beyond Meat (tagline: “The Future “In just a few years, we expect to be selling preparations like of Protein”), which Tyson purchased a 5% stake in protein-packed pork, beef, and chicken that tastes fermented, freeze-dried, this year, to Impossible Foods’ lab-grown, identical to conventionally-raised meat but that is and powdered “bleeding” Impossible Burger, which is just cleaner, safer, and all-around better than meat vegetables. It’s not just starting to reach restaurants across the country. from animals grown on farms,” Uma Valeti, co- startups looking to create These companies are using an understanding of founder and CEO of Memphis Meats told the the next generation of food at its molecular level to create alternatives Washington Post. meat-free foods. The that have the same texture, taste, structure, and or “meat case” at The cooking abilities as the foods they are trying to WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS Herbivorous Butcher in mimic. Impossible Foods calls heme, an iron-based Some big names are putting their money behind Minneapolis (top) is filled compound found in red meat, its “magic these companies that are fundamentally rethinking with options like Italian ingredient,” allowing it to smell and taste like food. Though we are still many years away from sausage, BBQ ribs, beef. lab-grown meat burgers becoming the new Mexican chorizo, beer normal, industry changes continue to speed up. Meanwhile, at this year’s Food+Tech Meetup in brats, deli ham, filet You can’t take anything for granted these days – San Francisco, startups like Perfect Day (a mignon, and Korean ribs, the very idea of food is being questioned. company which inserts 3D-printed cow DNA but it’s all 100% vegan. sequences into yeast to create a milk alternative) exemplified how “new companies are radically rethinking how food products are developed and

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MACRO 3 THE FUTURE, DELIVERED

THE FUTURE OF FOOD DELIVERY earlier this year with built-in refrigeration and oven units; customers punch in a code to retrieve the In last year’s trend list we noted that next- pizza when it arrives. The company may not need generation consumers are using technology to even need the car if it meets its goal of becoming bring the best parts of eating out into their home. the first company to launch regular drone delivery. delivery services, including kits like Blue “We’ve always said that it doesn’t make sense to Apron and HelloFresh and restaurant delivery have a 2-ton machine delivering a 2-kilogram startups like UberEATS and Caviar, continue to order,” CEO Don Meij said. grow, while restaurant visits keep declining. Recode, the technology website founded by And now consumers can order that pizza from the journalist Walt Mossberg, projects that robot in their home – they can use Amazon’s will surpass $1 billion in revenue over the next digital assistant Alexa to ask for a pizza to be year. The company currently sells over 8 million delivered, while Google is allowing companies to meal kits per month. The meal delivery space is create their own chatbots to work with its Google moving fast and future advancements will only Assistant. A Domino’s chatbot, for instance, could make on-demand options even more accessible to have a conversation with a consumer about the the average consumer. crust type, size, and toppings that he or she wants Zume, based in delivered. Mountain View, CA, In October Facebook added a delivery button to aims to completely its app, which alone could be a gamechanger for a EARLY ADOPTER remove humans from service that has 1.7 billion users. There are now so Startup company Byte asks if it even makes sense the many food delivery services that a Chicago-based for a drone to deliver food to one consumer at a process. Right now a startup created the Bootler app to function as a time. “The economics of vending machines made robot named Marta sort of Expedia for food delivery, allowing a lot more sense than single meal deliveries,” adds to the customers to compare prices and options across founder Lee Mokri told AgFunder News. The and Bruno the services like and EatStreet. company places Byte refrigerators in offices that robot places it in an are stocked with regular deliveries of healthy Software companies like Kahuna are using oven (top). Soon Zume options like kombucha and fresh salads. RFID tags machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, hopes to have a robot charge employees automatically while also to deliver push notifications to phones when a to add cheese and allowing the company to track inventory, and user is most likely to order. That same technology toppings and self- artificial intelligence is used to personalize the is being used in the autonomous vehicles that are driving trucks to bake contents over time based on customer demand. already on the roads. Uber launched Uber AI Labs and deliver pizzas this year after it had already begun testing self- (which means free WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS driving cars in Pittsburgh, a service it recently delivery and no tipping Robots. The floodgates have opened and self- expanded to San Francisco. The division’s for customers). driving cars are already on the road, delivery innovations are not only designed to improve its drones are in the sky, and personal digital ridesharing business, but also its UberEATS assistants are in consumers’ phones and speakers. platform, which it has expanded aggressively both Now it’s just up to the food industry to harness nationally and internationally. these technologies in unique ways. Domino’s Robotics Unit, or DRU, tested an autonomous pizza delivery vehicle in Australia

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MACRO 4 HOME AWAY FROM HOME

RESTAURANTS ARE CREATING COMFORTABLE, customers in and out in under 30 minutes. A SOCIAL, FOOD-CENTRIC EXPERIENCES TO GET number of brands, retailers, and startups are CONSUMERS OUT OF THEIR HOMES aiming to make the payment process invisible through ticketing systems, payments tied to While delivery companies are doing everything reservation accounts, e-watch payments, or possible to make it effortless for a consumer to Amazon’s now-testing “Just Walk Out” have their next meal delivered, the restaurant technology. In the end, operators are trying to industry isn’t going to lose millions of dining make eating out as easy as pulling some food out occasions without a fight. When a traditional of the fridge, while also offering up social, dining experience is no longer enough to lure destination-worthy experiences that consumers diners, operators are going to great lengths to can’t get at home. bring traffic back, creating engaging social experiences and “everyday special occasions.” EARLY ADOPTER Next-generation “eatertainment” venues continue While golf participation has declined for over a It’s not just restaurants to spread across the country, fusing arcade decade, eatertainment venue Topgolf continues to that are trying to games, ping pong, or bowling with food and add locations and attract Millennials, which entice shoppers to drink. account for two-thirds of the brand’s customer leave their homes – base – and over half of them are new to the game. supermarkets are also Punch Bowl Social, which has eight locations and “The Millennials are there to have fun, not adding more social and nine on the way, offers up bowling alleys, necessarily to get good at golf,” CEO Ken May experiential options to shuffleboard, foosball, and arcade games. But told White Hutchinson, a consulting group compete with meal those games make up only a small part of the dedicated to the travel and leisure industry. and grocery delivery business – they’re just there to lure people in and Playing golf is just part of the social, hangout services. In our August convince them to spend over three hours hanging experience visitors associate with Topgolf; the issue of Creative out and buying food and drinks. In fact, about other part is the food and drink. In fact, food and Concepts: Healthy 90% of the concept’s revenue comes from food beverage make up more than half of the Supermarkets, we and beverage according to crowd-investing site company’s revenues. covered supermarkets CircleUp. The Punch Bowl Social team takes the gastropub menu very seriously, even hiring Top that offer cooking WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS classes, food hall-like Chef judge Hugh Acheson this summer to To entice customers, restaurants and retailers will prepared foods areas, overhaul all of the menus and lead the culinary add more social, destination-worthy dining wine bars, community direction of the company. experiences while also breaking down any barriers group meetings, Operators and startups are also using technology to entry. Because saving money is a key reason custom robots, to decrease any friction in the dining experience. that consumers eat at home, operators will need you-pick gardens, With the Allset app, which launched last year, to make a clear case for their value proposition. store concierges users don’t just reserve a time and table at a (above, at New restaurant, they also order their meal to be Seasons Market), and delivered to their table within five minutes of even full-service sitting down. All payment is done in the app, so restaurants. diners can get up and leave as soon as they are finished eating – the app promises to have

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MACRO 5 THE NEW SUPERFOODS

SEEKING OUT THE NEXT GENERATION OF also used in craft cocktail programs, in this case to FUNCTIONAL FOODS mimic the frothiness of egg white cocktails. Meanwhile, condiment manufacturer Sir Two years ago Datassential covered the evolution Kensington’s uses aquafaba for its Fabinaise mayo of “healthy” in our annual trend list, noting that substitute. the consumer’s definition of healthy foods had shifted again, reaching “Healthy 3.0.” If Healthy Whole grains are making way for sprouted grains, 1.0 was focused on – low calorie, low fat, which allow the seed to germinate but not bloom. high fiber, cutting out trans fats – and Healthy 2.0 Many believe sprouted grains are not only easier shifted to feel-good terms like natural, organic, to digest, but that they have a wealth of beneficial sustainable, local, and fresh (still in use functions depending on the variety. Now there are concurrently), Healthy 3.0 had evolved to embrace sprouted , flours, , popcorn, cereals, functional foods and ingredients. Now consumers crackers, pizza crusts, and beyond. Kashi’s Organic want foods that do something for them – give Promise Sprouted Grains Cereal features sprouted them energy, keep their heart healthy, boost wheat, spelt, and amaranth. brainpower. Consumers are on the lookout for EARLY ADOPTER positive nutrition that makes them feel good Panera became one of the first chains in the about the food they are putting into their bodies. industry to offer sprouted grains when it Two years after first covering the trend, what are introduced its Sprouted Bagel Flat in 2014. the new superfoods that could become the next The chain marketed the product as a “power” quinoa or acai, driving continued Healthy 3.0 to highlight its functional, protein-rich innovation? benefits. Sprouted grains “offer all the health Look out for the next generation of supergreens benefits of whole grains without the problems that could become the next kale. The growth of many people have digesting them,” the brand 19% green smoothies and cold-pressed juices has led noted. to growth in functional ingredients like , including spirulina and chlorella. Chlorella is often WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS considered to be a detoxifying ingredient and it The definition of “healthy” is always evolving. The Datassential covered regularly shows up in detox drinks and juice current evolution – Healthy 3.0 – will continue to aquafaba in our May cleanses. Some mixologists are even using focus on functional benefits and positive nutrition, issue of On the Menu – superfoods to cancel out at least a little bit of the but the superfoods that chefs and manufacturers nearly 1 in 5 consumers sinful spirits found in cocktails. At New York’s use to showcase these benefits will shift to include told us they want to try Dimes, customers can order the Chlorella Shrub new options. this unique ingredient, featuring a house-made chlorella mixture and though very few were vodka. “Adding ingredients with nutritional familiar with it and it’s benefits such as chlorophyll provides a healthy still rare on menus. boost,” Dimes mixologist Arley Marks told Vogue.

Some chefs are taking chickpeas to the next level with aquafaba, the thick chickpea-soaking water that is an uncanny substitute for egg whites. It’s

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The tide has been turning away from imitation fats for some time, but now the pendulum is swinging far in the other direction and fats are coming back. Options like butter, whole milk, and lard are becoming trendy, even healthy options. Earlier this year Time magazine declared that “the case against low-fat milk is stronger than ever,” noting that “the body of data is beginning to reveal that full- fat dairy has a place in a healthy diet.” Consumers are downing a number of fats by the glass, adding grass-fed butter to Bulletproof coffee or sipping a fat- 25% washed cocktail at the bar. Fats and oils like ghee, avocado oil, and coconut oil are also key parts of paleo and ketogenic diets. This trend is a prime example of 1 in 4 consumers consumers equating “natural” with health and quality. wants to try fat- EARLY ADOPTER washed cocktails, according to At Trentina, in Cleveland, OH, the bread features wild fermented pane this month’s pita served with an edible beef suet candle. On the Menu. WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS MICRO 1 More operators will embrace natural fats – look for baked goods made with rich French butters; hearty meats basted in animal fats cooked over the hearth; whole FAT IS BACK milk yogurts and ice creams; and health-driven products and ingredients that feature natural alternative oils.

After the resurgence of Southern on menus across the country, it’s time for chefs to start getting more playful and adventurous. Now they are combining classic Southern ingredients and flavors with global cuisines, creating new dishes and restaurant concepts. Many of these restaurants embrace the commonalities that exist between cuisines. At a Southern/Asian concept chefs This trend is also may experiment with ingredients like pork belly or fried chicken, topping them influenced by the with Asian-inspired flavors like fish sauce, hoisin, or togarashi. Southern/Latin fact that trendy, operators may feature sweet potatoes, chicharrones, tomatoes, corn, and beans – food-driven Southern think fried green tomatillos or chili lime-spiced boiled peanuts. Memphis’ award- cities are attracting renowned chefs who winning Hog & Hominy combines Italian dining with Southern roots in dishes like use local flavors and biscuit gnocchi and “grits al forno” topped with an amatriciana sauce, embracing ingredients in the the commonality between grits and polenta. cuisines they know or want to work with. In EARLY ADOPTER Dine Around we’ve covered on-trend What better place to combine Southern favorites with global cuisines than cities like Charleston, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport? At One Flew South, the Asheville, Nashville, airport’s first fine dining concept, executive chef Duane Nutter offers up options and Atlanta; this like a pimento cheese plate served with lavash and soy-glazed grouper served month we’ll feature with Sea Island red peas, okra, and bok choy. Birmingham; and 2017 will feature an MICRO 2 update on New WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS Orleans. As the lines between ethnic cuisine and American cuisine continue to blur (last SOUTHERN year we noted that, for Generation Z, ethnic cuisine is simply ‘cuisine,’ and instead of going out for Mexican or Japanese they go out for tacos or ramen), MASHUPS expect to see more Southern fusion mashups, particularly Southern/Asian combinations.

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California’s Suja Juice, the fastest-growing food and beverage company on Inc.’s “2016 Fastest Growing Companies” list, produces cold-pressed, organic juices in a range of flavors – carrot- orange, lemonade, strawberry, apple with almond milk, and charcoal. Yes, charcoal – the company produced a limited run of its Midnight Tonic in September, made with activated charcoal, lemon, stevia, schizandra berry, and ginger. It sold out in three days. A few Tobacco, which we weeks later the company introduced another batch, which sold out covered in our again. Chefs and consumers are beginning to embrace foods and September issue of On ingredients that had once been taboo or seemingly inedible, like the Menu, is showing charcoal, cannabis, and tobacco, following the embrace of other up in cocktails, ingredients that were previously off-limits to many, such as insects desserts, and beyond, and offal. These ingredients may be viewed as healthy, functional, both in smoke and leaf or even just edgy and attention-getting, like a jet black charcoal ice form. But it’s still a cream cone or a cocktail overflowing with tobacco smoke. controversial ingredient – it’s EARLY ADOPTER unclear how much Award-winning pastry chef Mindy Segal, of Chicago’s nicotine ends up in the HotChocolate, isn’t waiting around for federal marijuana laws to resulting dish or drink. catch up to changing state laws. She launched Mindy’s Edibles last year, which sells products like strawberry sparkling wine hard candies and citrus dreamsicle caramels, all infused with THC and sold at dispensaries in states where marijuana is legal.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS Many of these ingredients may not move past the Inception phase MICRO 3 of the Menu Adoption Cycle, but that doesn’t mean manufacturers and operators won’t look for new ways to create that feeling of “I TABOO can’t believe I’m eating this” in the years ahead. INGREDIENTS

DATASSENTIAL’S FOODBYTES: 2017 TRENDS TO WATCH 9 There’s another reason that jet black ice cream cones became a hit this summer – FB they were a perfect fit for social media, specifically the “disembodied hand holding an ice cream cone in front of a brick wall” trend that took over Instagram. Rainbow bagels, galaxy donuts, artfully-arranged smoothie bowls, raindrop cakes, and over-the-top milkshakes were all hailed as the latest food trend at one point this year. Now chefs and operators are designing food that is specifically designed to go viral, uploading their own videos of chefs pouring colorful glazes over cakes, melting chocolate sphere desserts, scraping raclette over a plate, and spreading and scooping up Thai rolled ice cream. Ukrainian pastry chef Dinara Kasko has become an international sensation for the geometric cakes she posts to Instagram which make use of her architectural design background. Dinara Kasko cake

EARLY ADOPTER Earlier this year Sonic Drive-In created square-shaped milkshakes specifically designed for Instagram as part of a marketing campaign tied to the Coachella music festival. “We wanted to be the first brand, and especially the first food MICRO 4 brand, to have a product that was designed for Instagram,” president Todd Smith IS IT told AdWeek. WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS INSTAGRAM- It’s not enough for brands to consider how their products will look on sites like , Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram (which means no more burgers Sonic Drive-In WORTHY? that look nothing like the one in the ad campaign), now chains and manufacturers will create products specifically for their visual, social media-worthy appeal.

Japanese dishes and flavors are ubiquitous in America today – sushi is becoming a mainstay at the convenience store – but they have yet to fully make their mark on the dessert menu. That’s beginning to change. Matcha has doubled its presence on the dessert menu in just the past year and now soft, fluffy Japanese cheesecakes are arriving on the U.S. food scene. The trend is partly driven by the fact that U.S. consumers are becoming more open to unique flavor profiles in desserts – last year we noted that the “New, New Savory” was transforming traditionally sweet desserts into savory-dominant versions. Japanese desserts may feature flavors like red adzuki beans, black sesame, or edamame, plus unique textures that may be new to the American palate, like chewy mochi or jelly-like kanten. It also helps that many of these desserts are worthy of social media (which makes sense considering the omnipresence of social media in Japan) – videos of wobbly Uncle Tetsu cheesecakes being “branded” with the company mascot (there are now two locations in New York) or jelly koi fish swimming in an sphere. This year Japanese candy brand Pocky noted that its U.S. sales have been taking off, leading the company to launch a food truck tour and expand its distribution network to include retailers like Target and Costco.

EARLY ADOPTER New York’s The Dessert Kitchen became a media sensation after it transformed an on-trend Japanese dish – ramen – for the dessert menu. The translucent ramen noodles are made with jelly kanten and served with mixed fruit and a choice of MICRO 5 like green tea milk or a brown sugar sauce. SWEET WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS Dessert ramen Asian flavors have already become mainstays on the American menu, but they still JAPANESE have a way to go on the dessert menu. Look for Japanese sweets to begin to impact dessert menus and products in the coming years.

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Now that vegetables are cool again and moving to center-of-the- plate preparations like cauliflower steaks and zucchini noodle bowls, chefs and operators are starting to ask, “What’s the next kale?” 1-year Here are a few growing options: menu growth

Parsnips: Winter vegetables continue to grow on menus, with parsnips showing up in purees, soups, and roasted side dishes. +38%

Spaghetti Squash: Pumpkin is still moving to the savory side of the menu and now operators are seeking out new varieties, including +36% spaghetti squash, which is being used as a naturally-occurring “vegetable noodle” option.

Piquillo Peppers: Following the rise of Calabrian and Shishito peppers, operators are embracing this Spanish sweet pepper which can be roasted and used like roasted red peppers or stuffed with +34% cheeses, meats, and other vegetables.

Maitake Mushrooms: There isn’t a section of the menu consumers won’t find this Japanese mushroom on (which is also called a Hen of the Woods mushroom, found in many foraging baskets) – over +32% steaks, in pastas, flavoring soups, stuffed into omelets, wrapped in sushi rolls, chopped and sprinkled on fish, even in mushroom tea.

Hatch Chile: These all-American peppers are becoming a go-to seasonal, regional flavor on menus, topping dishes like chilaquiles +26% and burgers or added to salsas, sauces, even chocolates.

Sunchokes: These sweet root vegetables with an artichoke-like flavor have long been used in purees and soups (they are often used like a potato), but now they are popping up in a wider variety +23% of dishes – sunchoke hashes, ravioli and tortellini, fried into chips, or pickled and served in a bloody mary.

English Peas: Whether it’s muffins, cucumbers, cheddar, mustard, or peas, adding “English” to an ingredient’s name always seems to give it a little cachet. On menus English peas are often a fresh sign +20% of spring, showing up in vegetable pastas, , and minty pea “guacamoles.”

EARLY ADOPTER Chef Amanda Cohen opened her New York restaurant Dirt Candy in 2008, a time when pork was all the rage and veggie-centric restaurants had yet to open in every major city. After the world caught up with her, she relaunched the restaurant last year in a bigger space with options like a ginger and kale rutabaga cake with mustard tuile and smoked cream cheese or a shareable cabbage hot pot.

MICRO 6 WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS Veggie favorites like kale and cauliflower will continue to grow on VEGGIE- menus, but operators will begin embracing the next generation of MIGHT produce, particularly spring and winter varieties.

DATASSENTIAL’S FOODBYTES: 2017 TRENDS TO WATCH 11 Move over hip butchers, with your knife tattoos and denim aprons, the FB fishmonger is becoming the new star of the food scene. As the sustainable seafood movement continues to grow, with its focus on bycatch fish and aquaculture, fishmongers are now the movement’s ambassadors, helping consumers navigate these changing waters. It helps that a number of seafood dishes and concepts are trending, from the meteoric rise of poke this year to 38% Cajun seafood boil-in-the-bag concepts to next-generation oyster bars. Now fishermen are working directly with restaurants and even consumers. Dock to 38% of chefs think Dish, an organization that connects chefs to local fishermen, has programs in New menuing trash fish York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Costa Rica. Local Catch connects over 300 will be a long-term fisheries and small-scale harvesters directly with consumers who can sign up for trend (which is community-supported fishery (CSF) programs, allowing them to purchase a share related to our trend of the season’s fresh, local, low-impact seafood. below), according to last winter’s EARLY ADOPTER issue of TIPS. But Chef/owner Jamie Mammano opened Ostra in Boston’s Back Bay in 2013, hiring education from an in-house fishmonger who visits the docks each day to make certain the fishermen and restaurant has access to the best ingredients, all supplemented with fresh fish fishmongers will be flown in from the Mediterranean. MICRO 7 essential to introduce WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS MEET YOUR consumers and In the same way that the artisan butcher movement has led to butcher counters in operators to these modern steakhouses and packaging inspired by craft butchery at retail, the FISHMONGER unique species. fishmonger will make a comeback.

The zero-waste philosophy is reaching a tipping point. This year chef Marcel Vigneron opened two zero-waste restaurants in Los Angeles – Wolf, a rustic seasonal restaurant, and Beefsteak, a plant-based fast casual concept. Darden, which is working toward a zero-waste model, says it diverted 29% of its waste from landfills in 2015, double its 2008 rate. Two former Microsoft employees have raised nearly $35 million for their WISErg startup, which harvests nutrients from supermarket waste, while New York startup Spacious rents out restaurants as co-working spaces during the wasted off-hours. But it’s not just about eliminating waste – in order to show off their environmental credentials and change consumer mindsets, many operators are celebrating waste. The Wall Street Journal called Dan Barber’s wastED pop-up restaurant, which served veggie burgers made from juicing waste and salads made from damaged Hungry Harvest, a produce, one of last year’s “most influential moments in dining.” Compass Group “recovered produce” says its chefs are even asking for the next generation of trendy ingredients in its delivery startup, Imperfectly Delicious Produce program so it’s looking for new options that might offers an Ugly not fit the standard look for produce. “Why is the standard for cauliflower Produce! app which white?” the company is asking. “What if the vegetable’s natural color – warm features ugly fruit yellow – were allowed to shine?” and vegetable emoji to bring attention to EARLY ADOPTER food waste, while the While some markets feature “ugly produce” areas and donate nearly-expired USDA’s FoodKeeper food, the soon-to-open Zero Market in Denver’s Stanley Marketplace will not only app aims to reduce sell package-free products like bulk goods and prepared food, but it will also food waste with offer products to support the zero-waste lifestyle, like reusable containers storage timelines and MICRO 8 and beer growlers, plus classes on making your own cosmetics or toothpaste. expiration notifications. EMBRACE WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS Look for major brands to begin offering more no-waste or low-waste foods and WASTE products in the years ahead – and to celebrate the fact. Every segment will begin getting into the no-waste game, including colleges, hospitals, hotels, and B&I.

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On the drink menu operators and manufacturers are looking for any way imaginable to lower the trial barrier for consumers. Suddenly Wine can still be an everything is on tap – wine, cocktails, nitro and cold brew coffee, intimidating category for kombucha, on-trend spirits like amaro. Quality wine is now available consumers. Discover new in boxes and cans, while preservation technology like the Coravin ways to reach them with our July issue of system allows operators to offer a huge variety of by-the-glass FoodBytes: The Wine options that would not typically be available outside of a whole- Opportunity. It’s free bottle purchase. San Diego brewery Ballast Point launched canned in SNAP! cocktails last year, aimed at Millennial consumers who crave convenience. “Now you can reach into the fridge and have a Ballast Point cocktail, in a can,” COO Earl Kight told Brewbound. Format changes like self-serve taps and canned wines and cocktails are proving to be particularly attractive with on-trend concepts and segments that want to offer alcoholic options without additional In June’s Creative operational hassle – fast casuals, food halls, movie theaters, Concepts: Hotels, we supermarkets, arenas, hotels, etc. discovered hotels with traveling cocktail carts EARLY ADOPTER and self-service wine bars (use your room key Fast casual pizza brand Zpizza added self-service tap rooms to a to pay). number of locations, allowing guests to open a digital tab, try an ounce or two of a beer, and easily fill up again (guests had typically been reluctant to stand in line at the register again for another drink). After the taps were installed alcohol sales went from about 2% of sales to as high as 20% at some locations and the platform has also driven more dine-in business. Many are surprised that senior centers and WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS retirement communities MICRO 9 Wine, beer, spirit, and cocktail format and packaging innovation will offer alcohol, but we only increase in the years ahead, while the lower barrier to entry for found numerous THINK both operators and consumers will increase the number of operators with unique operators offering drink menus and products – even segments beverage programs in last month’s Creative OUTSIDE THE where you may least expect them, like hospitals and senior living. Concepts: Senior Living. BOTTLE

DATASSENTIAL’S FOODBYTES: 2017 TRENDS TO WATCH 13 FB FLAVORS & INGREDIENTS TO WATCH

Egyptian DUKKAH blends like cumin, coriander, Mexican CAJETA is made by thyme, mint, and pepper with AGRODOLCE, Italy’s sweet-and- reducing goat’s milk until it’s toasted nuts and seeds like sour condiment, combines caramelized for a sweet, tangy hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds. vinegar (usually balsamic) and syrup that can be used as a next- It’s one of the highest-scoring sugar, often with flavor- level dulce de leche. ingredients on Datassential’s enhancers like wine and fruit. “What’s Hot” menu index. USE IT: Onions, squash, seafood USE IT: Ice cream, beverages USE IT: Bread dipper, rubs

AVOCADO OIL is prized as both Widely used in Southeast Asian a cooking oil with a high smoke cuisines, GALANGAL looks and Seaweed isn’t new to consumers, point and a healthy alternative to acts like ginger, though it has olive or coconut oils. The more citrus and pine undertones. but operators are embracing popularity of avocados (+21% on Ginger appears on over half of NEXT-LEVEL SEAWEED options, from shio kombu to menus in 4 years) and alternative U.S. menus today, so galangal farm-raised American wakame. ingredients (milks, nut butters) is can step in as a more driving interest. unique option. USE IT: Salads, bowls, seafood USE IT: Dressings, cooking oil USE IT: Soups, sauces, syrups

Fine dining chefs have been fans Pickled and fermented Japanese Think of CHERMOULA as the of FINGER LIMES for years and UMEBOSHI plums, with their North African version of pesto or now Australian farmers are sweet-and-salty flavor profile, are chimichurri. According to World meeting demand for this natural a next-generation Asian Bites: Morocco, 36% of citrus “caviar.” According to our ingredient to watch. According consumers said they would July 2016 issue of On the Menu, to the June 2016 issue of On the purchase chermoula from a over 30% of consumers are Menu, 1 in 4 consumers is restaurant or supermarket. interested in finger limes. interested in trying the plum. USE IT: Grilled seafood, USE IT: Seafood, desserts, USE IT: Rice, Hawaiian dishes vegetables cocktails

GOSE, pronounced gose-uh, is a ZHUG, a Yemeni hot sauce that Flying fish roe, or TOBIKO, has German top-fermented wheat is ubiquitous in Israel, combines long been used on sushi, but beer that is brewed with fresh herbs like cilantro with now U.S. chefs are using it – and coriander and salt – it has a spices like cardamom plus some its many colors and flavors – in distinctive tart/salty taste. It has olive oil and plenty of hot chilies new ways, topping Asian- gone from nonexistent to 2% of to give it a spicy kick. inspired bowls or unique beer menus in just 2 years. USE IT: Falafel, grilled deviled eggs on the bar menu. USE IT: Beer menu, vegetables USE IT: Sushi, poke, seafood beer cocktails

SAMBAL refers to range of The tiny Ethiopian grain Hot-and-spicy Japanese TEFF sauces and relishes in Indonesia, has been a staple for the can be KARASHI MUSTARD but sambal oelek is the most country’s famed runners and now used in place of wasabi for an in- common in the U.S., typically it’s being hailed as the next your-face flavor. It also indexes made with fresh chilies, salt, ancient grain superfood in high on our “What’s Hot” citrus, garlic, and a bit of sugar. the U.S. menu index. USE IT: Condiment, sauces, USE IT: , baked goods USE IT: Japanese sauces, meats vegetables

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Contact Datassential for a presentation that dives deeper into these trends with even more examples and more data, all designed to help make your concepts and brand more personal and relevant to today’s consumer.

Contact Dave Jenkins at 847-903-5744 or [email protected] to schedule a presentation for your team.

PUT THESE TRENDS TO WORK FOR YOU

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WHAT YOU MISSED IN LAST MONTH’S TRENDSPOTTING

DINE AROUND INTERNATIONAL In November’s Dine Around CONCEPTS we took to you Dallas, TX, In November we traveled to one of the fastest-growing Malaysia, where consumers cities in the country. You’ll eat more than 90 pounds of find old favorites like Tex- chicken a year per capita. Mex nachos and steakhouse Discover the country’s many chops and new ideas like chicken-centric chains Berkshire pig head carnitas. offering everything from fried IN JANUARY: chicken to chicken porridge. Minneapolis/St. Paul IN JANUARY: Nigeria

ON THE MENU FOODBYTES In last month’s On the Menu Last month’s FoodBytes took we looked at trends like you inside our newest striking squid ink, sweet MenuTrends Keynote prickly pear, and aspic, a Report: Breakfast, with the nostalgic dish making its way latest data and research from back to menus. We also both consumers and checked in on crepes, operators on this all- reubens, and toast. important daypart. IN JANUARY: Khachapuri, IN JANUARY: Year in smoothie bowls, and falafel TrendSpotting

CREATIVE CONCEPTS In Creative Concepts we dove into the senior living segment, which has been rapidly changing and evolving in recent years. Discover new trends, concepts, and ideas at senior living communities across the country. IN JANUARY: Cocktail bars

For information about an issue or to subscribe to a title, contact Datassential Business Development Manager Susan Cohen at 312-219-6428 or [email protected]

DATASSENTIAL’S FOODBYTES: 2017 TRENDS TO WATCH 16 Every issue of Datassential’s Trendspotting reports, searchable and ready to download in SNAP!

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