Plant-based meat, non-alcoholic drinks: What the future of food in UAE looks like

From plant-based meat and non-alcoholic drinks to packaging made of bamboo and the flavours of chilli crisp, the future of food is going to be very different. That is according to experts at the 29th edition of Gulfood.

Daniel Levine, a well-known trends expert and director of the Avant-Guide Institute said in a keynote speech at the conference that there were several trends which in the food industry that reflects global events.

“We see what is happening in the food industry is impacted by everything that is happening around the world,” he said. “Trends are what is in the environment right now. It is not that consumers are looking for different trends, they want the same trend for every part of their life. The food they eat, the cars they drive, the technology they use are all impacting each other.”

The 5-day event, one of the world's leading food trade fairs, kicked off in Dubai on Monday and has brought together thought leaders, F&B experts and futurists in one place. Here are the top five food trends that will dominate the market over the next couple of years.

Vegan meat: Plant-based meat has become extremely popular in the region, with some brands even coming out with plant-based shawarma meat. This was confirmed by Jean Ordureau, chef at French company Linck that has been selling plant-based meat in the UAE for 12 years. “We started small but recently, we tied up with a local company to ship in bulk to the UAE and package the products here,” he said. “The demand has been going up a lot in the country and region. It stems from people being conscious of the environment and what they eat.”

Alcohol-free: Alcohol-free beverages have become the rage globally, in a trend that was first begun in the region. This was reflected in the sales numbers of local company Drink Dry. “Our revenue for the first two months of 2024, from January to the end of February, is forecast to be 5 times that of last year’s revenue,” said Erika Blazeviciute Doyle, founder of the company. She said that the best sellers were the zero alcohol version of already known alcohol brands like Corona Cero and Peroni Nastro Azzurro.

Green packaging: Levine said that globally more customers are looking for green packaging as it makes recycling easier for them. “There are several companies that are manufacturing packaging that can be recycled along with paper,” he said. “This makes it easier for consumers when separating their waste. Ahmed Yahya, from Agthia company that sells Al Ain water, said that in the UAE, more corporates were willing to spend 30 per cent extra on their bamboo-packaged water as opposed to the usual plastic bottles.

Transparency will be more common: From restaurants that share the names of everyone in the kitchen to canned fish companies that allow people to track their catch, more companies are being honest and transparent about their operations and practices in the age of social media. Levine gave the example of local restaurant Boca. “The restaurant shares their carbon footprint report publicly, which shows people what steps they have taken to reduce their footprint,” he said. “This gives their clients a certain level of belief in them.”

New flavours and tastes emerging: According to Levine, consumers were being more open to new flavour profiles and tastes. He gave the example of hydroponically grown leaves. “They are crisper, newer, cleaner and fresher,” he said. “That is because they are locally grown and more people are liking that texture because these leaves don’t travel half the world to get to their plate.” He also shared the latest flavour profile that has taken the world by a storm - chilli crisp. From chips to pizza, many leading brands are cashing in on this trend by introducing special dishes.

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