After an unprecedented year, there’s much that has changed in the food world. With the help of data from Sous Chef, an online shop for specialist ingredients and cooking equipment, we’ve narrowed down the trends and ingredients dominating the industry, based on search and sales last year. From ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes and miso to trends like outdoor eating and plant-based diets, this is what everyone is talking about (and eating) now.
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Upgrade the basics
More people had to eat in rather than dine out in 2020 and this trend has continued into 2021, especially with the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing. People might be staying local but they still want to eat globally so basics like tinned tomatoes, pasta flour and black pepper are all getting an upgrade to help transport home cooks to far-flung corners of the world. For example, San Marzano tomato sales are up 900% on the year before, making it Sous Chef’s top-selling product of 2020, while 00 flour, used for pasta, outsold every other flour variety this year.
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Cookbooks on the rise
A positive to come out of more time spent at home is our eagerness to return to cookbooks. Sous Chef reports a 700% increase in cookbook and ingredient sets this year. As many of us spend hours each day staring at screens, it’s no surprise we’re keen to flick through the pages of a book for some inspiration and much-needed escapism.
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Spice up your life
Things are definitely heating up in 2021. Branded chili products have seen huge growth over the last 12 months, according to Sous Chef, and show no intention of stopping. Among them are Sriracha, with sales up by 700% on 2019, and Lao Gan Ma Crispy Chilli in Oil, with sales up 1600% on 2019. Traditionally served with Chinese dishes, the oil’s popularity has soared in Western cooking, seeing it drizzled over steamed vegetables, mixed into a stir-fry or used to top oozy fried eggs.
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Miso takeover
Our love affair with this fermented bean paste saw no boundaries in 2020 and it’s set to continue well into 2021, with miso sales up by 500% year on year. Key in many Japanese dishes, miso’s umami flavor means it’s excellent used in sweet and savory recipes, whether on cod and in ramen, or in fusion dishes like miso crème brûlée and miso pasta.
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Food subscriptions
As many of us were confined to our homes in 2020, cooking became both a fun activity and a chore. Subscription boxes came to the rescue, offering a selection of ingredients and recipes delivered straight to the door. Whether veg boxes delivered direct from farmers or meal boxes with everything you need for delicious dishes at home, subscription boxes are here to stay in 2021.
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Grow your own
This year saw a lot of ingredients fly off the shelves to reappear only weeks, if not months, later so it’s hardly surprising we started our own herb gardens wherever we could, from balconies to windowsills. The therapeutic effect of gardening is another reason why Sous Chef’s grow your own category was up 450%. Whether it’s mint and dill or tomatoes and strawberries, it sure looks like we’ll be growing a lot in 2021.
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Sous vide cooking
Home sous vide machines have been around for years but as people looked for ways to make restaurant-quality meals at home, the sales of sous vide products skyrocketed. Offering perfect results by precisely controlling the water temperature and the cooking time, it’s a foolproof way to enjoy top-notch food, from steak and fish to crème caramel.
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Edible insects
Edible insects have widely been lauded as the food of the future and sales have increased by 500% in the last year. From a sustainability standpoint, farming insects requires far less energy, land, water and pesticides than animals. Edible insects are also considered to have huge health benefits as some contain as much as 80% protein. As our attention switches to sustainability, it’s unsurprising they’ve graced lists of top food trends for a few years now.
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No and low-alcohol drinks
Another area that’s been slowly growing in popularity in recent years is no and low-alcohol drinks. In the UK, low and no-alcohol drink sales increased by 30% during shutdown. Often called ‘nolo’ drinks, the trend is largely set by the growing demand from the younger generation. A report published at the start of 2020 revealed that one in three young adults (18- to 24-year-olds) has cut down on their alcohol consumption, while a record 23% are now teetotal – it’s unlikely this trend is about to stop.
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Products built to last
Sous Chef also reports an increase in demand for quality cookware that comes at a higher price point but will last for decades. It’s another trend driven by more cooking at home. Products like cast iron spice grinders, leather aprons and copper pans have all seen an increase in demand as we’re looking to invest in the best.
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Sustainable brands
Not just a trend but a change in mindset, sustainability has increasingly been a hot topic over the last few years. Consumers are now not only paying attention to where ingredients are sourced from, but also a brand’s credentials in terms of ethical labor, a transparent supply chain and eco-friendly packaging.
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Say no to food waste
Food waste is another issue that people are becoming more conscious of. As we pay more attention to what, when and how much we are buying (and throwing away) in our homes, more companies are finding innovative ways to use food that might have otherwise gone in the trash. For example, Montréal-based company Loop Mission uses surplus produce to make cold-pressed juices while UK-based Oddbox offers ‘wonky’ and surplus fruit and vegetable in subscription delivery boxes.
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Outdoor eating
Dining outside has proved a safer option than sitting indoors during COVID-19, and the alfresco trend looks set to continue in 2021. Sous Chef reports an increase in searches for barbecues, smokers and outdoor cookware for hosting open-air dinners in colder weather as well as summer.
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Booming food e-commerce
Unsurprisingly, a lot of the shopping we’ve done this year has been online and the food sector hasn’t been an exception. Even when lockdowns eased around the world, we continued to shop online and that’s sure to stay in 2021, whether it’s ordering groceries or looking for speciality ingredients.
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Plant-based dining
It’s no surprise that plant-based foods have been the biggest trend of the decade. As people consider the impact of their eating habits on the environment, the shelves have started to fill with creative plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products. Sous Chef reports that 50% of customers who bought their Tasting Box (a subscription box with speciality ingredients) in November 2020, requested it to be vegetarian or vegan.
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The slow-food movement
Sorry, but sourdough isn’t going anywhere! With a larger population working from home, people have often turned to their kitchen to fill the time in 2020 and next year we can only expect an even bigger focus on slow food. For many, nurturing a sourdough starter has become a part of day-to-day life. To put the sharp rise in popularity into perspective, for every sourdough kit sold in 2019, Sous Chef sold 80 in 2020.
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