Lentils, beets, and bee-less honey. These are some of the foods that are predicted to become growing trends in the natural and organic food world, says a trendspotting report out of the U.S..
In their top 10 list, the folks over at marketing and communications firm Sterling-Rice Group, offer up a prediction of health foods that will leave the fringes of the natural food world and enter mainstream, commercial grocery store shelves.
The biggest trend to look out for? Lentils, which the group predicts will appear in everything from pasta to waffles “...as the quest for new plant-based protein sources continues to rise.”
Here’s a look at the rest of the list:
10 Natural And Organic Food Trends
Foods for the gut: Consumers are continuing to seek out foods rich in prebiotics, cobiotics and probiotics.
Beets: The flashy red root vegetable moves beyond salads and appears in more juices, dehydrated fruit strips and yogurt.
Drinkable grains: The most popular example of drinkable grains are oats which, when ground, lend smoothies a creamy texture. Chia seeds are also being used the same way.
Bee-less honey: Born from concerns of bee colony collapse -- a phenomenon in which whole colonies of bees are dying en masse -- food companies are creating fruit-based, imitation bee-less honeys.
Sauces: Look for dessert sauces like chocolate and caramel toppings to come calcium-enriched, and cake frosting to be high in protein.
Happy animals: In line with grass-fed cows, social and ethically responsible consumption is also driving up demand for pastured chickens and pen-free pigs.
Cradle of superfoods: Africa is being described as a “hotbed of exotic superfoods” for vitamin-packed foods like baobab, moringa leaf and bissap tea.
Label: In the early 2000s, the stamp of approval sought by health-conscious consumers was the USDA’s organic certification. Today, it’s the GMO-Free Project Verified seal that holds purchasing power for health-conscious consumers.
Pond scum: Algae milk is now called “the new kid in non-dairy milk,” for being packed with vitamins, lactose-free and sustainable.