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Five 2020 produce trends to watch

2020 food trends – BB

I keep an eye on food trends predictions, and make a few of my own, so this one comprehensive list of “Every Ridiculous Food Trend Predicted for 2020” from Eater is my favorite to watch.

It’s fascinating to see all of the different ways the food media comes up with predictions, and some of the newcomers out there, as well.

Here are my favorite comprehensive lists:

Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Whole Foods produces a list that I watch for every year, and every year it seems to come out earlier. This year’s edition was published Oct. 21, and featured some wacky stuff like Tigernut flour, and some items that I’ve been watching like moringa powder and other African foods.

Whole Foods also is predicting consumers will turned to the cooler for snack options, instead of cruising the Cheez-Its in center store. As an avid Extra Toasty Cheez-It fan…I’m going to have to reluctantly agree. As tasty as they are, I need to feed myself better snacks.

Key produce trends: Ginger, lemongrass, chili peppers, tamarind, mango chili, mushroom-blended meat

 

Uber Eats

In a recent edition of Produce Blueprints Magazine, I named five specialty items to watch, and got some flak for saying carambola, or starfruit, will be trending in the coming year. Here’s my validation: Uber Eats named it the No. 1 prediction for 2020. Take that, haters.

Uber Eats predicts its top trending items based on what people search for and have delivered.

Key produce trends: starfruit, Brussels sprouts, Pho, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, ginger

 

Grubhub

Vegan and vegetarian dishes made up seven of Grubhub’s Top 10 “Year in Food” dishes, which is kind of shocking considering only 3% of Americans identify as vegetarian. Tell that to the Veggie Delight sandwich I had at Thundercloud Subs here in Austin on Monday. Even us meat eaters try to clean up our act on occasion.

Cauliflower is still on a roll with Grubhub customers, with “cauliflower pizza” rising 650% in popularity from 2018 to 2019, claiming this year’s top spot.

Key produce trends: cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, jackfruit, potatoes

 

Fresh Direct

I like food trends lists that come from retailers, in general, because they seem a little more based in my reality. (Except that Tigernut flour – looking at you, Whole Foods)

While New York-based Fresh Direct’s list has a few “out there” items like biodynamic wine, the list includes some key eating trends that I’ve seen grow in popularity over the past few years, like Artisan cheeses, functional beverages (Bolthouse has 21 new ones introduced at Fresh Summit!) and on-the-go snacking.

Key produce trends: cauliflower, plant-based, functional juices

 

PopSugar

Ok, I didn’t pick this one because of the produce. This one’s my fun list. PopSugar’s 10 Food Trends You’ll Be Seeing Everywhere picked my favorite indulgence food of the moment: Nashville Hot Chicken (Thanks, SEPC for hosting Southern Innovations in Nashville!).

But it’s not all indulgence on this list. No. 1 was plant-based meat, followed by cauliflower, Ube (something I picked in my trends this past summer, too, btw), watermelon seed butter, mocktails, and kombucha.

Key produce trends: Cauliflower, ube, berries, mushrooms

 

 

 

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Pamela Riemenschneider is the Retail Editor for Blue Book Services.