Mintel at The Flavor Experience

You might notice that I tagged the previous post with “renovation”. After speaking with a few other attendees, and cross-referencing the “Top Ten Trends” road map assembled by our friends at Flavor & the Menu, I am trying to distill everything I have heard here down to a framework of 5 or so trends. For the most part, this is to help me think about and interpret the proverbial fire-hose of information this week.

One of my personal Top 5 Trends, then, is “renovation” – in other words, an attempt by a food manufacturer or operator to update or refresh a dish, brand, or product to respond to ongoing pressures in the marketplace and from consumers while not investing in a full innovation process or an entirely new product and (again) staying true to the core brand message.

While this may sound less exciting than innovation, I think it could be important. Innovation, as we know, is expensive and time-consuming. Renovation, however, may be an acceptable alternative to literally buy time, stay relevant, and in some sense “fresh”, while trying to determine a more long-term direction.

Renovation, then, may be an appropriate response to some (yet not all) of the pressures identified by Lori Daniel in her opening presentation.

Keep an eye out for the remainder of the Top 5 throughout the rest of the week.

ML