Food and Drink Futures Forum 2016

Our panel of experts introduced the Food and Drink Futures Forum 2016 with an update on our latest market trends, including new developments in tea and coffee consumption, the backlash that is brewing against clean eating and how the soda market is responding to the growth of anti-sugar sentiment.

We sampled a custom-made menu created by bespoke caterer Blanch & Shock. The dishes embraced the current food trend Alternatives Abound, where alternative eating habits are moving to the mainstream, and incorporated ingredients from across the globe in the vein of our Culinary Diplomacy microtrend.

Hughie Duffie, co-founder of London-based cold-brew brand Sandows, talked about the difficulties in scaling up processes that are traditionally seen as artisanal for mass production and the challenge of innovating in the ready-to-drink sector.

‘The only criticals we have are eat, drink and sleep, and we’re losing touch with food basics,’ were the words of Camilla Barnard, co-founder of Rude Health, who stressed the importance of consistency in marketing food to consumers who are losing faith in food fads.

On day two, Jozef Youssef, chef patron of Kitchen Theory, Hew Leith of IntelligentX beer and Charlotte Calvet of online wine merchant Garmence Wine Studio all spoke. Calvet advocated the importance of changing wine selections according to the season. ‘Just as you don’t wear the same clothes every season, you don't drink the same wine every season,’ she said.