The Waitrose Food and Drink Report highlights the biggest culinary trends of the moment, and our PureSea™ range ticks many boxes
At the end of 2019, when companies were looking ahead to the biggest trends of the coming year, few of them would have predicted a global pandemic turning every single industry on their heads. But as we look ahead to what 2021 has in store, we do so having lived through a strange, stressful and ultimately redefining time. And, if truth be told, it looks as though we’ve still got a way to go until we can claim to be living a normal life once more.
But what will this new, long-term “normal” look like for the food and drink sector? COVID-19 has changed the way consumers interact with brands and products alike, which is what makes 2021’s Waitrose Food and Drink Report so interesting. In it, we can see how the pandemic has created a new consumer worldview.
In the past, consumer food choices were about style just as much as substance. Now, we see a shift towards comfort, health and home cooking. Factors like sustainability and local produce are more important than ever, and people are looking for quality from their ingredients, rather than just quantity.
In fact, 57% of respondents claimed to value food more now than they did in pre-COVID times.
As naturally innovative ingredients, PureSea™ allows consumers to benefit from seaweed in almost any food, drink or nutrition application. It ticks many of the boxes highlighted in the Food and Drink Report as important factors for customers.
Backing British & supporting sustainability
One of the key takeaways from Waitrose’s report is the importance of buying and supporting British produce. With more and more people worried about farming food and farming standards from overseas, 2021 is set to be a year of choosing to buy British wherever possible.
The report states that 74% of people want to see food businesses in the UK express their ongoing support for local British farmers, while 73% of consumers agree that while affordability is important, it must not come at the price of British standards.
This ties into the crucial issue of sustainability, which is also highlighted in the report as a key concern among consumers. 68% of people in the UK would like to see the government investing more in agricultural innovations, while 44% said they would consider subscribing to a service that sent fresh produce directly from farm to door.
PureSea™ excels in both of these key areas. The Hebridean Ascophyllum Seaweed which is core to our PureSea™ range is sustainably wild harvested from the pristine waters of the Scottish Outer Hebrides. These waters are carefully monitored and managed, with exclusive harvesting rights from the Crown Estate.
All things organic
As well as highlighting the importance of British and sustainable products, the Waitrose Food & Drink Report 2021 also reveals a move towards organic food. A growing number of consumers are showing that they are willing to pay more for better quality food items and ingredients, and this elevated quality goes hand-in-hand with organic options.
The seaweed used in our PureSea™ powders is both organic and fully traceable, as well as being rich in nutrients and DNA Authenticated. Among Waitrose consumers, sales of organic chickens were up 42% and vegetables rose 23%. In a year when the health of the nation was thrown into question, people were willing to spend that bit more on ingredients that promised to support their health and wellbeing.
Health as a priority
Speaking of health, this is a theme that runs throughout the Waitrose Food & Drink Report. One in five people strongly agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a ‘reset button’ in their life, in terms of their healthy eating habits, and a further 33% somewhat agree with this statement. Almost 60% of respondents have been trying harder to keep themselves physically healthy during the pandemic.
As such, Waitrose has seen searches for high fibre recipes rise 230%, and high protein recipes increase by 330%.
Thanks to the quality of the seaweed we use, as well as our unique drying and milling process, PureSea™ products boast a range of key health benefits. Not only can it act as a healthy alternative to salt, but it also contains a wide range of natural nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and more. Research using the PureSea™ range has demonstrated benefits of specific polyphenols and polysaccharides that may help with weight and blood management. It is also crucially a significant vegan source of iodine, which is important for metabolism, skin health, brain development, child growth and thyroid health.
PureSea™ is both timeless and very current. If you’d like to find out more about our organic, DNA authenticated seaweed powders, click here.
