It is the time of the year for trend watching. Here are the trends for 2020 that I found most interesting.
1. Green – from eco-status to eco-shame
Almost like non-alcoholic options in the drink business, sustainable and green alternatives are widely available, becoming more affordable and not inferior in quality to the regular versions. It becomes less about the status of being green and rather about being shamed when not going for the green option. For instance, I’ve seen PR and wine delivery companies being shamed on social media for using too much packaging material in their media wine drops. Read more.
2. Food – from Cabbage to Kimchi
Green stays relevant, but now the green is on your plate. Low carb and Keto trends continue and leafy greens stay popular. Uber reports an increase in cauliflower orders for 2019 – from cauli-pizza to cauli-gnocchi. The fermentation trend stays hot, from fermented cabbage or kimchi to fermented drinks like kombucha. Healthy and wholesome stays important, so think ginger, hummus and bone broth. Read more.
3. Restaurants – locavore to quinoa for kids
Restaurants follow through on the health-focus of food trends. Even kids menus are predicted to move from chicken nuggets to quinoa! The local, sustainable and responsible focus continues. With food delivery services going from strength to strength, they are forecasted to increasingly extend to restaurant food and not only fast food options. The experience stays important, so going out to a restaurant – especially when there is an open kitchen – stays popular. Read more.
4. Drinks – less but better
According to the Drinks Business it is all about big flavours and low alcohols. Pink drinks – from gin to Prosecco – stays popular in the UK and Eastern European wines and English Whites are hitting the market. Choice is very important – regular, low alcohol, low calorie, no alcohol, flavour-infused, etc. – it is all about options.
5. Wine – what we want
As with all industries, the economy has a definite impact on how a category performs. In South Africa, the negative economic sentiment might have an effect on the performance of premium wines, but I think the middle of the range categories will continue to perform well as wine as a lifestyle product becomes increasingly popular, despite the rise in alternative drinks.
6. Tourism – from train to insta-trips!
Big budget, extensive travels are what we all dream about, but it is accessible to only a few. Many of us get our travel fix through Instagram feeds, but luckily it doesn’t have to stay here – micro-trips is the answer. Short, jam-packed itineraries making the most of your budget and leave days are predicted to be the travel trend for 2020. At the same time, though, for those lucky enough, luxury train trips and visiting the land of your ancestors are very much the in-thing. Read more.
7. Wellness – helping ease the challenges of the rat race
Smart brands will address the global burnout. According to TrendWatching.com: “86% of British people say they have experienced anxiety due to work pressure in the last year. 87% have difficulties switching off from work, and 79% cite feelings of failure as a result (Microsoft, September 2019).
Two thirds of working parents in Australia struggle to care for their health due to the tension between work and caring. One in four are thinking about quitting their job (National Working Families Report, October 2019).
71% of women and 66% of men in Singapore feel they work in an ‘always-on’ environment, with a constant need to access work emails, answer calls or check phones (Cigna, March 2019).”
8. Social media – moving from more to meaningful
Social media is no longer about the number of posts or pictures on your profile. It hasn’t been for a while. As social media is part of our everyday socialising, meaningful relationships become more important. Social media communities, local targeting and personalisation continue to be important. More than photo albums, content is increasingly ephemeral, online word of mouth through influencers continue to be popular and social media is expected to be a service delivery platform. Read more.
9. Marketing – platforms and personal touch
Google Analytics and email lists will stay relevant, but to be successful, we will have to explore other platforms. Have you for instance activated voice search on your website? As in other fields, personalisation and automisation are essential. Read more.
10. Technology – creating your digital twin
Hyper-automisation seems to be the number one technological trend for 2020. This includes augmentation and autonomous things like drones and robots. All these developments obviously requires training for those who have to manage them and ethics such as traceability and transparency. And then there is of course security… Read more.