Leverage nature

What is "Leverage nature" all about?

With the plant-based movement and the demand for natural food & beverage products becoming mainstream, one out of our six megatrends identified for 2020 and beyond, “Leverage Nature”, is a natural consequence of these developments.

This can also be seen through product launches across food & beverage categories which have registered a 68% increase in the average annual growth of products with a “plant-based” claim (Innova Market Insights). With flexitarians representing one third of all consumers (i.e. consumers who only rarely eat meat), and still growing steadily, vegan and vegetarian offers are no longer niche.

We increasingly turn to nature as our source of powerful ingredients such as botanicals, superfruits, mushrooms, seaweed or algae to enhance food & drink products that provide a natural and healthy boost.

All of this is combined with the desire of consumers for all-natural products, greater transparency in processing and short ingredients lists.

Check out 3 of the most relevant subtrends

• Best of both: So far, alternatives for everything (e.g. for dairy, meat, fish, flour, etc.) have been THE thing. Today, it is all about hybrids – blending both to create the best outcome for the consumer: a tasty, natural and healthy product! We see hybrid sausages (50% meat and 50% meat alternative) and hybrid milk (milk with 50% cow milk and 50% plant-based milk) being launched as new products onto markets.
• Plant power: Utilizing mother nature as our go-to source for naturally occurring ingredients on land and in the sea to fortify food & beverage products. Botanicals, mushrooms, superfruits, algae, seaweed and many more can be used as a natural and healthy boost.
• #nomakeup: A new era of clean label has risen. There is a demand for all-natural, authentic products which are minimally processed or even homemade. Just as #nomakeup (more than 18 million posts on Instagram) means come as you are, these products are free from additives. We have witnessed a 15% growth in food & beverage launches with an “all-natural product” claim over the past 5 years and expect this to only continue growing.