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The food of the future? It is not a question of ingredients, but consumer behaviour: it will be increasingly a question of sharing, a relationship with which to attempt a “cross” between history and multi-sensory aspects. This is the first indication that emerged from “Future is now! The new global values of sweet food service: experience, quality and sustainability”, the talk show that opened the calendar of events at Sigep 2020, the 41st edition of the Trade Show of Artisan Gelato, Pastry, Bakery and the Coffee Word and the 6th A. B. Tech Expo by Italian Exhibition Group. In the Vision Plaza, which until 22nd January will host meetings with the sector’s key experts, Bob O’Brien, Global Senior Vice President Foodservice NPD Group, Caterina Schiavon, expert in social semiotics and partner at Kkien Turin and Francesco Bruschi, Strategy Director Futurbrand Milan, were interviewed by journalist Sergio Barducci, and outlined the fundamental scenarios for understanding the evolution of consumers’ tastes and market response and the evolution of brands and digital services connected with the food service experience on a global scale.

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“The Vision Plaza”, IEG CEO, Corrado Peraboni stressed in his introductory greetings, “is a sign of the direction Sigep will take in coming years: knowing all the market’s latest aspects and combining them with moments of reflection.

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Caterina Schiavon, partner at Kkien, stated, “As far as sweet food is concerned, a real metamorphosis is under way, not just a mere change. The time has come to come to terms with ourselves and change from a logic of sacrifice to one of acceptance and gratification. From a logic of exclusion to one of growth, in which ‘good’ does not exclude ‘healthy’. In this scenario, even regarding the most indulgent highly gratifying food – sweets – we shall abandon intransigent behaviour, because its quality will enable us to feel good with ourselves: super food, special flour and coffee have a great future.”

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The perspective of change was also shared by Bob O’Brien, of NPD Group who outlined a general overview of the orientation of food service on a global scale. “Among the many changes that have surprised me”, said O’Brien, “such as the spread of food delivery or the progressive reduction of cash payments in restaurants, with the spread of digital platforms such as WeChat in China, there is also definitely the development of non-functional motivations among consumers. These have passed from factors such as economic convenience to factors such as health or venues’ experiential elements. This is a puzzle in which the development of technology and keeping clients’ attention must fit together perfectly. What was striking in all this, between 2002 and 2018, was the upward trend of the breakfast market on all markets; in particular in Italy, Canada and Spain.”

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And how are brands reacting to these new inclinations on behalf of clients? For Francesco Bruschi, Strategy director di Futurbrand Milan, two general guidelines can be seen. Bruschi said, “The first is a tendency for a return to the origins, particularly as far as raw materials are concerned – from coffee to pastry produce. The second is transparency – from the production process to packaging. With four indications for the future construction of a brand. Highlighting the process, in a shareable manner, also on the social networks. Exploiting the past, but with a modern slant. The Taste explosion, in which colours are a means for communicating food on digital platforms as far as both the actual food and the packaging are concerned. Lastly, multi-sensory aspects, which go from the consistency of the paper chosen for the packaging to the aromas that fill the air in points of sale.”Among the topics that will be discussed at upcoming appointments at the Vision Plaza there will the price of a cup of coffee, the Spanish gelato market as a case study and trends in the chocolate sector.

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SIGEP AND A. B. Tech Expo 2020

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