Uncategorized
Specialty Food Association Trendspotter Panel Predicts Top 2023 Specialty Food Trends
Specialty Food Association Trendspotter Panel Predicts Top 2023 Specialty Food Trends
PR Newswire
NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2022
NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — From Environmentally Friendly Foods to Alt Seafood and everything in between, the Spec…
Specialty Food Association Trendspotter Panel Predicts Top 2023 Specialty Food Trends
PR Newswire
NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2022
NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- From Environmentally Friendly Foods to Alt Seafood and everything in between, the Specialty Food Association (SFA) Trendspotter Panel has predicted what will be hot in specialty food for 2023.
"Specialty food consumers are looking to make their meal prep easy but exciting and that is driving many of this year's trends regarding convenience, packaging improvements, and global flavors," said Denise Purcell, SFA's vice president, resource development. "At the same time, they continue to care about how their food is grown and the health benefits it offers, giving rise to evolving sustainability, plant-based, and better-for-you trends.
Professionals from diverse segments of the culinary world comprise the SFA's Trendspotter Panel: Patsy Ramirez-Arroyo, food & sustainability consultant; Melanie Zanoza Bartelme, Mintel; Osei Blackett, Picky Eaters Restaurant, Ariapita and Chef Picky Events + Catering; Mikel Cirkus, Firmenich; Jenn de la Vega, Put A Egg On It; Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D., CHE, CRC, Drexel University; Victoria Ho, SherpaCPG; Lindsay Leopold, food stylist; Stan Sagner, We Work for Food, LLC; Kantha Shelke, Ph.D., CFS, IFT Fellow, Corvus Blue LLC; V. Sheree Williams, The Global Food & Drink Initiative, Cuisine Noir.
- CONVENIENCE IS KING
After honing their skills during stay-at-home mandates, many consumers have ambitions of continuing to cook, but collectively are tired. And people still want restaurant-quality food but without the price tag and the uncertainty associated with supply chain disruption and labor shortage. "Brands will focus on helping consumers go simple in their preparation and cooking routines, and assure would-be cooks that taking shortcuts is nothing to be ashamed of," says Melanie Bartelme.
"The coming year will pave the way for curated meal kits with specialty foods that one can make and serve at home without sacrificing authenticity, convenience, and taste," says Kantha Shelke.
Similarly, specialty food companies are making it easier for those who want to cook from scratch by cross promoting with the appropriate cooking tools and recipes. "Authors and media personalities are filling the education gap between ready-to-cook food kits and ready-to-eat. They're helping create artisanal products plus video tutorials, and cookbooks to go along with it," says Jenn de la Vega.
- ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY FOODS
If convenience is top, sustainability and environmental concerns is a close runner up. "With growing unrest over climate issues and their impact on the future food supply, products that feature some aspect of sustainable ingredients, upcycled ingredients, or environment-friendly packaging, are leading the way," says Jonathan Deutsch. Bold brand names, engaging visuals, and purpose-driven messaging are differentiating these products in several categories. Plant-based foods' continuing growth plays a role here. Ingredients like mushrooms, seaweed, and jackfruit have been developed into different products and pasta's pandemic-fueled comeback made room for more innovation with black rice, pumpkin, red lentils, lupini, and purple carrots. Expect to see more from visionary entrepreneurs engaging in regenerative agriculture who are creating seed-to-shelf future supply chains, funneling resources into the research and restoration of more localized, biodynamic food systems, carbon farming and indigenous farming practices, soil fertility, and seed diversity.
- ALT SEAFOOD
"The awareness of the meatless category is driving consumers to look for alternatives in seafood, too. Key to acceptance is aligning nutritional values, texture, and flavor to those of traditional fish," says Patsy Ramirez-Arroyo. New patents and technologies are populating the space, marine farming is rising as an option to traditional agriculture, and some specialty food brands are getting people to rethink seaweed and algae. As consumers are lured by more sustainable options, they are catching on to seafood alternatives.
- HEALTH IN BALANCE
Consumers will seek more balance between their desire for health and sheer indulgence. Functional foods won't suffer as a result: with interest in immunity, gut health, memory and so many other health components, manufacturers are introducing functional ingredients into products anywhere they can. And "better-for-you snacks like dehydrated vegetables or mushroom chips continue to dominate," said Lindsay Leopold. Following stringent healthful routines can also be stressful and the past several years have jump started the need for joy. Look for overall well-being to take center stage, which includes making room for the desire to reward yourself for being so good.
- PANTRY WITHOUT BORDERS
A fresh crop of globally inspired condiments, sauces, oils, and seasonings will champion approachable everyday adventure. Increasingly clean-label and inherently convenient, these versatile meal starters and finishing touches invite consumers to experience regional comfort foods as new kitchen staples. "Shared through the memory, influence and multi-generational heritage of immigrants, this wave of texture and flavor offers complex, nuanced blends of herbs, spice, specialty chiles, fruit, rich nuts and seeds and punches of umami," says Victoria Ho. Think Sichuan fried chile crisp, West African shito sauce, Mexican salsa macha, Spanish romesco, Indian achaar, Filipino adobo and more. "From main dishes to condiments, in 2023 we will see a lot more international flavors," says Osei Blackett.
- NUANCED HEAT
For 2023, the desire for boldness and intensity in flavor experiences will increase as people continue to kickstart their lives or pursue new paths. "What began in the hot sauce category is exploding into honey, spreads, confections, beverages, and snacks, snagging new markets like younger consumers, especially, and inspiring specialty food companies to introduce heat and spice into existing product lines," says Mikel Cirkus. The flavors are more nuanced, far from the days of hot or not, with food companies using specific chiles to add flavor and heat across a wide spectrum of products, from cheese to chocolate to chips. "Brands are testing new flavors and combinations, increasingly in the form of flakes or 'blends' and not just sauces, which brings a new application into the mix to be able to use a little or a lot," says V. Sheree Williams.
- NATURALLY OCCURRING SWEETENERS
Real food ingredients that fulfill sweet cravings are pushing back against the health halo of natural sugar alternatives that undergo significant processing. Expect more dates in every shape and form, pure maple syrup, coconut sugar, fruit juices, and honey. "Used across categories ranging from sparkling tonics to pasta sauce, to artisanal chocolate to classic bakery treats, natural sweeteners give brands a platform for differentiation as well as the appeal of a clean label," says Victoria Ho.
- INTERNATIONAL FRUITS
Amid the tightening pressures of a global recession and a slowing economy, consumers want to elicit feelings of escapism without travel or exorbitant cost. "Enter international fruits—alternative citrus, melons, and stone fruits wildly colorful and in extraordinary shapes and flavors—to invoke a sense of faraway destinations, new flavors, textures, colors, and possibilities," says Cirkus. Expect to see more as ingredients in beverages, sweets, snacks, and on their own.
- PACKAGING FOR NEW FORMS AND FUNCTIONS
Trendspotters at the Summer Fancy Food Show in June highlighted innovative packaging meant to provide increased portability and decreased mess. Look for that trend to continue with "a heightened emphasis on packaging design to communicate sustainability, introduce creative ways to consume and decant well-established consumer products, and telegraph aspirational consumer values and price point," says Stan Sagner, founder, We Work for Food, LLC.
- Foods from Africa. The diversity and complexity of the cuisines of Africa are becoming more accessible to the US consumer, who is becoming fluent in fonio, gari, berbere, shito, and harissa.
- Cocktail culture. Ready-to-drink beverages like naturally flavored seltzers, and elevated, unique cocktail mixers are a continuing strong market for specialty food products.
- Cleaner, broader plant-based. Plant-based options continue to expand into all corners of the refrigerated and frozen dairy and protein sections – seafood, poultry, deli, cream cheese, dips, frozen treats, and so on. Some are remarkably competitive with their conventional counterparts, some still have a ways to go. Clean ingredients will be a growing emphasis on products.
"It's exciting to see the 2023 predictions unveiled," said Bill Lynch, president of the SFA. "All of these trends—and more—will be on display at the upcoming Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas." The largest B2B specialty food event in the western United States, the Winter Fancy Food Show features thousands of specialty food and beverage products from around the world. The Show is open only to qualified members of the specialty food trade, industry affiliates, and journalists. For more information, click here.
The Specialty Food Association (SFA) has been the leading trade association and source of information about the $175 billion specialty food industry for 70 years. Founded in 1952 in New York City, the SFA represents manufacturers, importers, retailers, distributors, brokers, and others in the trade. The SFA is known for its Fancy Food Shows; the sofi™ Awards, which have honored excellence in specialty food and beverage for 50 years; the Trendspotter Panel Show reports and annual predictions; the State of the Specialty Food Industry Report and Today's Specialty Food Consumer research; the SFA Product Marketplace, where buyers discover new products, network and connect with SFA members; SFA Feed, the daily source for industry news, trends and new product information, and Spill & Dish: A Specialty Food Association Podcast.
Facebook: Specialty Food Association
LinkedIn: Specialty Food Association
TikTok: specialtyfoodassociation
Twitter: @Specialty_Food
Instagram: @specialtyfoodassociation
Hashtags: #SpecialtyFood #SFATrendspotterPanel
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/specialty-food-association-trendspotter-panel-predicts-top-2023-specialty-food-trends-301661404.html
SOURCE Specialty Food Association
Uncategorized
Homes listed for sale in early June sell for $7,700 more
New Zillow research suggests the spring home shopping season may see a second wave this summer if mortgage rates fall
The post Homes listed for sale in…
- A Zillow analysis of 2023 home sales finds homes listed in the first two weeks of June sold for 2.3% more.
- The best time to list a home for sale is a month later than it was in 2019, likely driven by mortgage rates.
- The best time to list can be as early as the second half of February in San Francisco, and as late as the first half of July in New York and Philadelphia.
Spring home sellers looking to maximize their sale price may want to wait it out and list their home for sale in the first half of June. A new Zillow® analysis of 2023 sales found that homes listed in the first two weeks of June sold for 2.3% more, a $7,700 boost on a typical U.S. home.
The best time to list consistently had been early May in the years leading up to the pandemic. The shift to June suggests mortgage rates are strongly influencing demand on top of the usual seasonality that brings buyers to the market in the spring. This home-shopping season is poised to follow a similar pattern as that in 2023, with the potential for a second wave if the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates midyear or later.
The 2.3% sale price premium registered last June followed the first spring in more than 15 years with mortgage rates over 6% on a 30-year fixed-rate loan. The high rates put home buyers on the back foot, and as rates continued upward through May, they were still reassessing and less likely to bid boldly. In June, however, rates pulled back a little from 6.79% to 6.67%, which likely presented an opportunity for determined buyers heading into summer. More buyers understood their market position and could afford to transact, boosting competition and sale prices.
The old logic was that sellers could earn a premium by listing in late spring, when search activity hit its peak. Now, with persistently low inventory, mortgage rate fluctuations make their own seasonality. First-time home buyers who are on the edge of qualifying for a home loan may dip in and out of the market, depending on what’s happening with rates. It is almost certain the Federal Reserve will push back any interest-rate cuts to mid-2024 at the earliest. If mortgage rates follow, that could bring another surge of buyers later this year.
Mortgage rates have been impacting affordability and sale prices since they began rising rapidly two years ago. In 2022, sellers nationwide saw the highest sale premium when they listed their home in late March, right before rates barreled past 5% and continued climbing.
Zillow’s research finds the best time to list can vary widely by metropolitan area. In 2023, it was as early as the second half of February in San Francisco, and as late as the first half of July in New York. Thirty of the top 35 largest metro areas saw for-sale listings command the highest sale prices between May and early July last year.
Zillow also found a wide range in the sale price premiums associated with homes listed during those peak periods. At the hottest time of the year in San Jose, homes sold for 5.5% more, a $88,000 boost on a typical home. Meanwhile, homes in San Antonio sold for 1.9% more during that same time period.
Metropolitan Area | Best Time to List | Price Premium | Dollar Boost |
United States | First half of June | 2.3% | $7,700 |
New York, NY | First half of July | 2.4% | $15,500 |
Los Angeles, CA | First half of May | 4.1% | $39,300 |
Chicago, IL | First half of June | 2.8% | $8,800 |
Dallas, TX | First half of June | 2.5% | $9,200 |
Houston, TX | Second half of April | 2.0% | $6,200 |
Washington, DC | Second half of June | 2.2% | $12,700 |
Philadelphia, PA | First half of July | 2.4% | $8,200 |
Miami, FL | First half of June | 2.3% | $12,900 |
Atlanta, GA | Second half of June | 2.3% | $8,700 |
Boston, MA | Second half of May | 3.5% | $23,600 |
Phoenix, AZ | First half of June | 3.2% | $14,700 |
San Francisco, CA | Second half of February | 4.2% | $50,300 |
Riverside, CA | First half of May | 2.7% | $15,600 |
Detroit, MI | First half of July | 3.3% | $7,900 |
Seattle, WA | First half of June | 4.3% | $31,500 |
Minneapolis, MN | Second half of May | 3.7% | $13,400 |
San Diego, CA | Second half of April | 3.1% | $29,600 |
Tampa, FL | Second half of June | 2.1% | $8,000 |
Denver, CO | Second half of May | 2.9% | $16,900 |
Baltimore, MD | First half of July | 2.2% | $8,200 |
St. Louis, MO | First half of June | 2.9% | $7,000 |
Orlando, FL | First half of June | 2.2% | $8,700 |
Charlotte, NC | Second half of May | 3.0% | $11,000 |
San Antonio, TX | First half of June | 1.9% | $5,400 |
Portland, OR | Second half of April | 2.6% | $14,300 |
Sacramento, CA | First half of June | 3.2% | $17,900 |
Pittsburgh, PA | Second half of June | 2.3% | $4,700 |
Cincinnati, OH | Second half of April | 2.7% | $7,500 |
Austin, TX | Second half of May | 2.8% | $12,600 |
Las Vegas, NV | First half of June | 3.4% | $14,600 |
Kansas City, MO | Second half of May | 2.5% | $7,300 |
Columbus, OH | Second half of June | 3.3% | $10,400 |
Indianapolis, IN | First half of July | 3.0% | $8,100 |
Cleveland, OH | First half of July | 3.4% | $7,400 |
San Jose, CA | First half of June | 5.5% | $88,400 |
The post Homes listed for sale in early June sell for $7,700 more appeared first on Zillow Research.
federal reserve pandemic home sales mortgage rates interest ratesUncategorized
February Employment Situation
By Paul Gomme and Peter Rupert The establishment data from the BLS showed a 275,000 increase in payroll employment for February, outpacing the 230,000…
By Paul Gomme and Peter Rupert
The establishment data from the BLS showed a 275,000 increase in payroll employment for February, outpacing the 230,000 average over the previous 12 months. The payroll data for January and December were revised down by a total of 167,000. The private sector added 223,000 new jobs, the largest gain since May of last year.
Temporary help services employment continues a steep decline after a sharp post-pandemic rise.
Average hours of work increased from 34.2 to 34.3. The increase, along with the 223,000 private employment increase led to a hefty increase in total hours of 5.6% at an annualized rate, also the largest increase since May of last year.
The establishment report, once again, beat “expectations;” the WSJ survey of economists was 198,000. Other than the downward revisions, mentioned above, another bit of negative news was a smallish increase in wage growth, from $34.52 to $34.57.
The household survey shows that the labor force increased 150,000, a drop in employment of 184,000 and an increase in the number of unemployed persons of 334,000. The labor force participation rate held steady at 62.5, the employment to population ratio decreased from 60.2 to 60.1 and the unemployment rate increased from 3.66 to 3.86. Remember that the unemployment rate is the number of unemployed relative to the labor force (the number employed plus the number unemployed). Consequently, the unemployment rate can go up if the number of unemployed rises holding fixed the labor force, or if the labor force shrinks holding the number unemployed unchanged. An increase in the unemployment rate is not necessarily a bad thing: it may reflect a strong labor market drawing “marginally attached” individuals from outside the labor force. Indeed, there was a 96,000 decline in those workers.
Earlier in the week, the BLS announced JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) data for January. There isn’t much to report here as the job openings changed little at 8.9 million, the number of hires and total separations were little changed at 5.7 million and 5.3 million, respectively.
As has been the case for the last couple of years, the number of job openings remains higher than the number of unemployed persons.
Also earlier in the week the BLS announced that productivity increased 3.2% in the 4th quarter with output rising 3.5% and hours of work rising 0.3%.
The bottom line is that the labor market continues its surprisingly (to some) strong performance, once again proving stronger than many had expected. This strength makes it difficult to justify any interest rate cuts soon, particularly given the recent inflation spike.
unemployment pandemic unemploymentUncategorized
Mortgage rates fall as labor market normalizes
Jobless claims show an expanding economy. We will only be in a recession once jobless claims exceed 323,000 on a four-week moving average.
Everyone was waiting to see if this week’s jobs report would send mortgage rates higher, which is what happened last month. Instead, the 10-year yield had a muted response after the headline number beat estimates, but we have negative job revisions from previous months. The Federal Reserve’s fear of wage growth spiraling out of control hasn’t materialized for over two years now and the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9%. For now, we can say the labor market isn’t tight anymore, but it’s also not breaking.
The key labor data line in this expansion is the weekly jobless claims report. Jobless claims show an expanding economy that has not lost jobs yet. We will only be in a recession once jobless claims exceed 323,000 on a four-week moving average.
From the Fed: In the week ended March 2, initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits were flat, at 217,000. The four-week moving average declined slightly by 750, to 212,250
Below is an explanation of how we got here with the labor market, which all started during COVID-19.
1. I wrote the COVID-19 recovery model on April 7, 2020, and retired it on Dec. 9, 2020. By that time, the upfront recovery phase was done, and I needed to model out when we would get the jobs lost back.
2. Early in the labor market recovery, when we saw weaker job reports, I doubled and tripled down on my assertion that job openings would get to 10 million in this recovery. Job openings rose as high as to 12 million and are currently over 9 million. Even with the massive miss on a job report in May 2021, I didn’t waver.
Currently, the jobs openings, quit percentage and hires data are below pre-COVID-19 levels, which means the labor market isn’t as tight as it once was, and this is why the employment cost index has been slowing data to move along the quits percentage.
3. I wrote that we should get back all the jobs lost to COVID-19 by September of 2022. At the time this would be a speedy labor market recovery, and it happened on schedule, too
Total employment data
4. This is the key one for right now: If COVID-19 hadn’t happened, we would have between 157 million and 159 million jobs today, which would have been in line with the job growth rate in February 2020. Today, we are at 157,808,000. This is important because job growth should be cooling down now. We are more in line with where the labor market should be when averaging 140K-165K monthly. So for now, the fact that we aren’t trending between 140K-165K means we still have a bit more recovery kick left before we get down to those levels.
From BLS: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 275,000 in February, and the unemployment rate increased to 3.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care, in government, in food services and drinking places, in social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing.
Here are the jobs that were created and lost in the previous month:
In this jobs report, the unemployment rate for education levels looks like this:
- Less than a high school diploma: 6.1%
- High school graduate and no college: 4.2%
- Some college or associate degree: 3.1%
- Bachelor’s degree or higher: 2.2%
Today’s report has continued the trend of the labor data beating my expectations, only because I am looking for the jobs data to slow down to a level of 140K-165K, which hasn’t happened yet. I wouldn’t categorize the labor market as being tight anymore because of the quits ratio and the hires data in the job openings report. This also shows itself in the employment cost index as well. These are key data lines for the Fed and the reason we are going to see three rate cuts this year.
recession unemployment covid-19 fed federal reserve mortgage rates recession recovery unemployment-
Uncategorized3 weeks ago
All Of The Elements Are In Place For An Economic Crisis Of Staggering Proportions
-
Uncategorized1 month ago
Cathie Wood sells a major tech stock (again)
-
Uncategorized3 weeks ago
California Counties Could Be Forced To Pay $300 Million To Cover COVID-Era Program
-
Uncategorized2 weeks ago
Apparel Retailer Express Moving Toward Bankruptcy
-
Uncategorized4 weeks ago
Industrial Production Decreased 0.1% in January
-
International3 days ago
Walmart launches clever answer to Target’s new membership program
-
International3 days ago
EyePoint poaches medical chief from Apellis; Sandoz CFO, longtime BioNTech exec to retire
-
Uncategorized3 weeks ago
RFK Jr: The Wuhan Cover-Up & The Rise Of The Biowarfare-Industrial Complex