More great trends for the coming year, courtesy of the Food Channel's crystal ball...

This is a good thing -- food companies and simply people in the food biz are all about getting closer to the customer.  That warehouse, you’re-on-you-own-to-figure-it-out approach to shopping just doesn’t cut it any more. As anyone who works for a big corporation knows (or should know), the bigger your brand, the larger the target you may become.  Consumers are looking for more from a brand or an entity than just their product(s).   It’s all about authenticity, being real and meaningful and touching the hearts of customers. 
 

Though “pallet-shopping” for foods that last is part of the tough economy, there is a move toward fresh and frequent.  People tend to be shopping more than once a week, especially for produce.  They're picking up meats from the neighborhood butcher shop, breads and pastries at the corner bakery and shopping nearly everyday for ingredients for the evening meal.  
 

The Food Channel believes this will be the year we get serious about feeding children better, i.e. quality foods from the cafeteria kitchen.  Jamie Oliver stirred the pot with his TV show, and through Michele Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, thousands of chefs have signed up to work with school districts to put better, fresher foods on the cafeteria menus. But, once the camera lights and media attention dim, will these chefs stay engaged and committed to change. I sure hope so.
 

This trend is about consciously trying new things that stretch our food vocabulary and experience.  In 2011, the Food Channel says what's comforting will be less about mashed potatoes and more about roasted root vegetables. Eighty-five percent of the food we buy tends to be the same thing, week after week. Step out and step up – commit to trying one new food every week. It can be a new fruit for your yogurt, a new spice for your fish or a new soup for your pantry. Bottom line: Mix it up.
 

Boomers are booming and Mintel predicts they will influence nearly everything in 2011, including foods.   Because many will continue to work, they’ll be looking for foods that give them the energy and “strength” to get them movin’ and groovin’.   Look for more products to make claims on the issues boomers care about: bedroom performance, brain power, a stronger immune system and more.