Position pleasurable food as ‘occasional necessity in tough times’

Marketers are being advised to stop marketing certain foods as guilty pleasures and rather show them as “pleasurable food” which is a necessity in tough times, stated a recent report highlighting the expected food trends of 2023.

“Pleasure must be taken seriously, especially with the tough times ahead,” Mintel’s director of food and drink, Rob Beckett says, adding that the alternative, marketing such as “naughty, guilty or frivolous” will turn shoppers right off their food.

“There is an opportunity to position pleasurable food and drink as an occasional necessity in tough times – or an essential,” i quoted Beckett as saying.

The report further listed air fryers, pressure cookers and frozen food as some trends expected to shape the consumer-buying habits in 2023. 

According to the Price Runner website, air fryer sales are up by 2,000 per cent since summer, and by 3,000 per cent since October 2021.  

Frozen food is surging in popularity as shoppers cut costs. Tesco found that a fifth (19 per cent) of adults had not even bought frozen food before 2022, while a third (31 per cent) have been buying more of it in recent months to cut costs, report stated. 

“Frozen food can be just as nutritious as fresh,” says Tesco executive chef Jamie Robinson. “There’s never been more choice, or innovation in the sector, from frozen rice to avocado chunks, gyozas, diced chorizo and even Portuguese tarts.” 

Among drinks, rum is being poised to booze choice of 2023.  

Rum sales have shot up by 107 per cent at Waitrose, with the UK now the third largest rum market in the world. While white rum is praised for its versatility – it blends well with most flavours from tonic to cola and coconut water – it’s also great for sipping, according to drinks market analyst IWSR.

Other drinks trends include swigging from tins (wine, G&Ts and other cocktails) and bins (innovation in using waste and surplus to distil spirits, look out for Hyke, Greensand Ridge and Toast, a stale bread-ale), stated i.