Last year we snapped our insta-worthy poke bowls, took another step towards reducing our plastic use and loved all things gut health and more.

Now that it’s officially a new year, trend spotters have been working tirelessly to forecast what to expect on our shelves & in our bellies this year.

What Others are Predicting

Flavours from the Pacific Rim

Continuing from 2018, the food industry is expecting to see more flavours and ingredients from the Pacific Rim area (i.e. around the Pacific Ocean – think Asia, Oceania and the western coast of North & South America). Ingredients will include tropical fruits such as guava, dragon fruit, passion fruit, and jackfruit.

Monkfruit (a round green fruit) and its extract is also said to be on the rise due to its functionality as a low-carb sweetener option. This extract is already popular among keto-fan and like stevia, is incredibly sweet but does not raise blood sugar levels. Before you dive right into purchasing this sweetener, be sure to check the other ingredients included as many products that contain the extract can also contain preservatives and stabilizers.

Faux Meat Snacks

Plant-based foods are on the rise yet again but this time in the form of snacks. Whilst there are plenty of ways to incorporate more plants into your diet, faux meats are easy for those transitioning into meatless diets. Most are made from a variety of soy, textured vegetable protein or wheat gluten but this year we’ll likely be seeing more faux bacon and vegetable jerkies.

Frozen Treats

Innovators in the ice cream department have also been working hard. Exciting new frozen treats to come will include ice cream bases involving avocado, tahini and coconut water. Companies are also looking into other creative processing techniques such as Thai Rolled Ice Cream which uses a milk-based liquid poured over a cold metal plate and Turkish ice creams that carry a unique texture.

To keep it interesting, we at Dineamic also decided to predict what we think could be big in the world of food for 2019.

Our Predictions

Imperfect Vegetables

The struggle with reducing food waste is increasingly on everyone’s radar. According to OzHarvest, over 5 million tonnes of food ends up in landfill.  We’re predicting that ugly vegetables or ‘imperfect vegetables’ will soon be a go-to for consumers and manufacturers alike. Awareness has been building on this over the last couple of years, with a push for the major supermarkets to relax their stringent requirements on everything down to the curvature of a banana.

We think this is great news because we’ve been passionate about reducing food waste since the beginning which is why we source our produce seasonally and operate on a ‘just in time’ model so that minimal produce goes to waste.

Tart Cherry Juice

In the sports nutrition world, tart cherry juice has been slowly making its way into athletes and gym-fanatics’ diets. Recent research has highlighted that tart cherry juice favours performance and acts as a recovery aid for individuals. The Montmorency Cherry variety also carries more anthocyanins and phenols which contribute to anti-inflammatory properties.  We’re taking a punt that we’ll be seeing more and more of these juices heading into your health shop this year.

Chocolate Hummus or Chommus

At first, you might be thinking chocolate what now? But hear me out on this. Consumers are constantly on the lookout for healthier desserts and we’re always looking for high protein this and that so mixing the two-up sort of makes sense. We haven’t seen these products reach the stores down under but they’ve definitely been making its mark over in the US (e.g. Tribe and Boarshead). We don’t think it will be long before it reaches our supermarkets as well.

Harissa

Last on our prediction list is harissa, a hot chilli pepper paste with added spices. It’s a staple over in Tunisia and across North Africa and commonly used in Moroccan Tagines. It packs a flavour punch without the added salt and can be used in recipes from grilled chicken or fish, to tomato-based casseroles & Bolognese. Right now, you can find them in your deli or local supermarket, but we think it won’t be long before we see it used more on restaurant menus.

Let us know in the comments below what your predictions are and what you’d like added to our Dineamic menu!