Global influences including ongoing concerns about climate change and events such as the pandemic have massively impacted our dining habits over the past two years.
On the food front, the shadow of Covid-19 has brought with it vaccination passes for entry to restaurants, shorter menus and the extension of street architecture to accommodate the city’s increasing move towards outdoor dining.
The coronavirus is also credited with accelerating the use of integrated technologies, with cooking robots, QR codes and ‘Food ATMs’ now used in dispensing everything from pizzas to hot drinks to salad bowls.
So what’s new for twenty-two? Futurologists tracking changes in our food and drink consumption patterns tell us that all of the above remain relevant, while the preference for plant-based foods we’ve witnessed over the past few years is likely to continue unabated.
We’re already seeing this reflected in global takeaway menus offering meat-free options such as meatless chicken nuggets and burgers, while dietary lexicons have been updated with two new ‘isms’ to describe those still tentatively eliminating animal products from their diet. ‘Flexitarianism’ is the term currently in vogue to describe those who follow a mostly vegetarian diet, but occasionally eat meat or fish, while ‘Reducetarianism’ references the practice of reducing the amount of animal and dairy produce.
Drinkswise, the popularity of bottled cocktails looks set to grow further as barflies increasingly opt for imbibing at home over boozing in public houses.
Conversely, ‘sober-curiosity’ is fast becoming a thing, with added interest in low or no alcohol bevvies. Watch out too for Cold Coffee and Potato Milk, both of which are likely to feature more prominently on shopping lists as the year progresses.
Retro food and big brekkies are also back on the menu, while Mushrooms, Moringa, Hibiscus and Yuzu (the citrus fruit not the Nintendo Switch emulator) are all about to have a moment.
CBD, Levantine food, and Japanese flavours are also set to trend in 2022, but on the downside, expect a continued escalation in the cost of the food we eat, and a proliferation of irritating TikTok Food trends. Here’s the list in full, hit us up on social with any we’ve missed…
22 food trends and flavours for 2022
1. Outdoor Dining
2. QR codes
3. ‘Food ATMs’
4. Plant-based Foods
5. Meat-Free Options on Takeaway Menus
6. Flexitarianism
7. Reducetarianism
8. Bottled Cocktails
9. ‘Sober-curiosity’
10. Cold Coffee
11. Potato Milk
12. Retro Foods
13. Big Brekkies
14. Mushrooms
15. Moringa
16. Hibiscus
17. Yuzu
18. CBD
19. Levantine Food
20. Japanese Flavours
21. Rising cost of food
22. Even more TikTok Food Trends
Words: Martina Murray
