In presence of the experts of India’s culinary world, Tanya Dubash – Executive Director & Chief Brand Officer, Godrej Industries Limited, released the sixth edition of The Godrej Foods Trends Report 2023 – India – An Atlas of Flavours.
The report saw the coming together of over 350+ thought leaders that included celebrity chefs, home chefs, professional chefs, food bloggers, health professionals, media professionals, mixologists, nutritionists, restaurateurs, sommeliers, food producers, and more, all of whom shared deep insights about their respective areas of expertise.
Some key insights from The Godrej Foods Trends Report 2023 are:
- EXPLORATION OF CUISINES: 64% panel foresee the yearning for adventure for the palate will drive people to explore cuisines other than their own such as regional cuisines.
- LOCALLY PRODUCED ARTISANAL PRODUCTS: 62% panel sees a significant consumer focus on locally produced small batch artisanal products such as cheese, pickles, kimchi, dips and preserves to augment meals with flavour and textures.
- CONSCIOUS SPENDING & MINDFUL CONSUMPTION – 76% panel forecasts people buying from local farmers and food producers will be a top consideration. 70% predict seasonal and local ingredients like desi rice and millet varieties, doodhi (bottle gourd), tinda (apple gourd), bhindi (Okra) will see more demand in 2023.
- RISE OF TRAVELING BARS & RESTAURANTS -71% panel predict that traveling restaurant/ bar with chefs/ mixologists/ restaurants popping up in other cities to be a top trend.
- CUISINE-AGNOSTIC CHEF-DRIVEN MENUS – 65% of experts feel chefs are increasingly coming into their own as creators and artists patronised by a loyal following of diners looking for new adventures in cuisine-agnostic chef-driven menus. 64% panel forecast regional Indian cuisine concepts continuing to see traction.
- CULINARY TRAVEL – 75% panel believe Northeast states is where people will flock most to discover food experiences followed by Goa (73%), Tamil Nadu (60%) and Uttarakhand (58%). Globally, the panel predicts people will visit South Korea (53%) followed by Vietnam (52%) and Spain (45%).
- FOOD CONTENT – 75% expert panel predicts that Instagram reels and short-form video content will trend.
- CLEAN, HYGIENICALLY PACKAGED MEATS AND SEAFOOD – Hygiene being foremost since 2020, 43% of the expert panel predicts the demand for clean, hygienically packaged meats and seafood will continue to grow in 2023.
- GOURMET PREMIUM GHEE – With health, nutrition and immunity, all playing a significant role in choices when it comes to ingredients used in home kitchens and dietary fats and cooking mediums being the cornerstones of cooking in any home, their quality and provenance will always register change. No wonder that 50% of the panel predict increased focus on gourmet premium ghee.
- BEVERAGES – 72% panel predicts that 2023 will see a rise in gourmet Indian-origin, artisanal coffee and tea. 75% panel is firm in the fact that global fermented beverages (eg tepache, kombucha, kvass, etc) is going to be the top non-alcoholic choice in 2023.
- DESSERTS: Special diet versions of traditional Indian mithai will be in demand as per 99% experts. 75% panel also sees a rise in interest in hyper-regional sweet offerings (like the Chena Poda of Orissa or Pootharekulu of Andhra Pradesh). 75% of experts forecast a growing interest in gourmet and artisanal ice creams and an equal number of experts predicts a rising demand for clean ice cream that are transparent, simple, wholesome and understandable i.e. ‘clean’ labeling.
