5 Trends Driven by Wellness and Aesthetics

Social media and wellness are two themes combining to drive five trends, said Megan Collins, a lead analyst at Trendera, a brand strategy and marketing firm specializing in trend forecasting, cultural analysis, and generational research. Collins was speaking at the conference Bitten: A Food Conversation, held Oct. 27 in New York City.

“Trends tell us more about the moment we are living in and what people care about,” said Collins. Consumers care about what they put into their bodies, and they also care if it’s Instagram worthy, she explained, citing matcha and turmeric as two recent examples that blended health benefits with aesthetics.

Here are five trends that are blending social media and wellness, according to Collins:

1. Beets. Their saturated color makes for an intense visual appeal that is helping beets trend. But they are especially popular for their high content of vitamin C and fiber and essential minerals like potassium and manganese. The colorful root is showing up in everything from juices to chips to hummus to snack bars.
2. Gothic food. Black is the new black, according to Trendera. Foods made with activated charcoal—produced by heating coconut shells to extremely high temperatures until they are carbonized--are becoming more prevalent, thanks to their dramatic presentation and reported detoxifying benefits. While items like activated charcoal pizza crusts and lemonade are hitting menus, the trend mostly has been a match for ice cream. Little Damage, a creamery in Los Angeles, has released a limited-edition soft serve made with charcoal, and New York City’s Morgenstern’s has developed a following for its coconut ash ice cream.
3. Homeopathic teas. Homemade teas made with roots and spices like dandelion, ginger, and rosemary, are becoming more common to brew at home or in restaurants, making for attractive photos as well as providing health claims like abilities to detoxify the body and regulate digestion.  
4. Moringa. What turmeric was to 2017, moringa will be in 2018, said Collins. A tree native to the foothills of the Himalayas in India, moringa can be used in a powder form that has an intense green color similar to matcha. Moringa is reported to have high anti-inflammatory and antioxidant health benefits.
5. Pink pineapples. In development for about 12 years, these pink-hued pineapples are starting to hit the market. Del Monte and Dole have begun selling the fruit, genetically modified to contain more lycopene. While some consumers will be concerned with the GM status, th FDA has approved the pineapples, noting that they were “engineered to produce lower levels of the enzymes already in conventional pineapple that convert the pink pigment lycopene to the yellow pigment beta carotene. Lycopene is the pigment that makes tomatoes red and watermelons pink, so it is commonly and safely consumed."

Bitten is a five-year-old annual conference that brings together a roster of producers, innovators, and thought leaders to discuss the future of food. 

Related: Food's Future: Alternative Seafood, Cooking at Home, Says Panel; How Important is Instagram to the Food Industry?

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