Health trends emerging as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic

Working from home during lockdown has sharpened people’s focus on changing their eating habits and adopting a diet that will improve their mental health.

That was the message from industry insiders speaking at the Gulfood conference, which is taking place in Dubai this week.

How food is made and where it comes from is a key part of consumer decision-making, which companies must now be acutely aware of, experts say. The National.

“Health and wellness is the biggest trend in the food industry right now,” said Helena Jannetta, marketing director of dairy company Fonterra.

“Consumers are increasingly concerned about what they put into their bodies.

“Interest in this sector has grown enormously since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

She said the past two years have made people more aware of the need to eat healthy, nutritious foods that don’t affect their sleep patterns or raise their stress levels.

“There’s definitely been a strong focus in that direction and people are more willing to try foods they might not have eaten before,” Ms Jannetta said.

Another trend shows consumers moving away from highly processed foods.

“People want their food to be cleaner than before. That means fewer ingredients and knowing where it comes from and how it’s made,” she said.

One of the key emerging habits has been the rise of the conscious consumer, she said.

This means that people are increasingly concerned about the ethical side of food production – from environmental impact to how packaging should be disposed of.

“Conscious consumers are dominating the roost right now because they’re pushing manufacturers to be more aware of what they produce and how they produce it,” Ms Jannetta said.

The rise of plant-based products is an example of changing eating habits, she said.

The global plant-based food market was worth more than $35 billion at the end of 2021.

This figure is expected to reach $162 billion by 2030, according to Bloomberg. This represents a 7.7% share of the global protein market.

According to another food industry expert based in the United Arab Emirates, the demand for plant-based meat alternatives has increased over the past six months.

“Traceability and sustainability are more important than ever to consumers,” said Simon Ritchie, creative director of burger chain Pickl, who was also speaking to Gulfood.

“We have seen a huge increase in the number of people ordering the Impossible Burger since we introduced it in September.

“We had vegetarian options before, but nothing was as popular as this.”

He attributed the success of the plant-based burger to the fact that people could trace what it was made from, which gave confidence that they were buying an ethical product.

Mr Ritchie said plant-based foods might have been seen as appealing only to vegans and vegetarians, but that was no longer the case.

His company’s data suggests that people are not turning their backs on meat but looking for alternatives to make their diets more balanced.

“They feel less guilty when they order the plant-based burger instead of the meat option,” Ritchie said.

“At the start of the pandemic, people were often stuck at home and eating more than they could have done before.

“Now they’re starting to try to go back a bit and one of the ways they’re doing that is by going for healthier options.”

One of the criticisms of eating healthy foods was that it was expensive, which meant that consumers often sought out less healthy alternatives to cut costs.

“People often perceived it was more expensive to buy local, and that wasn’t the wrong perception at the time,” he said.

“Now farmers have come together and are working with suppliers to bring prices down, which is great news for consumers.

“I think we’re only going to see more adoption, especially from companies that have been slow to adapt and realize that customers want these healthy options.”

Updated: February 15, 2022, 3:45 p.m.