26. Mai 2021

Forced Change, Desired Results

Hanni Rützlers most recent Food Report deals with the change in consumer behavior and shows why the post-corona gastronomy will be richer in vegetables.

VIENNA. This much is now clear, explains Hanni Rützler in her latest Food Report, now also available in English, our lives will experience long-term change due to the corona pandemic. When this crisis is over, the patterns of behaviour that people have had to experiment with over months will continue to shape the lifestyles and the ways in which consumers act. The future “new normal” will reveal what eventually turns out to be better and more suitable for people’s changed needs. – And here are the most important findings of Hanni Rützler’s research:

Good Food, Good Mood: The new perception of healthy nutrition
Above all, the value of health is coming to the fore as a result of Corona. Health is synonymous with a good life and is an important aim in life. A good, healthy life also requires a good, i.e. “healthy” environment. Our food system and food production have an immense influence on the environment and, as a consequence, direct effects on our individual health.

Vegourmets: Post-corona gastronomy will be richer in vegetables
One aspect of the New Normal will be that traditional gastronomy will also be richer in vegetables. Those who want to succeed in the restaurant and hospitality trade in the future need a distinctive profile. The creative solutions developed around delivery services and meal kits during the crisis will no longer be sufficient on their own. There is a call for new gastronomic choice in reaction to the changed eating culture brought about by the crisis. The result is the rising popularity of vegetarian and vegan food. In future, vegetarian dishes will be a permanent feature at all good restaurants. This requires not only imagination in the kitchen, but also specialist know-how.

E-food: Connectivity drives forward structural change in the food system
The rise of e-food has the disruptive potential to permanently change our whole food system, because it is not just about selling food through digital distribution channels. Connectivity creates new social and cultural structures that will turn the restaurant trade, food production, agriculture as well as all our cooking and eating habits completely upside down. This new connectivity allows the full range of different players to come into contact with one another, exchange views and find more direct routes together.

Local exotics: The new culinary paradox
Lockdowns have not only further strengthened the importance of local food production but also awoken a new yearning for culinary discoveries and exotic enjoyment. Local exotics promise to resolve this contradiction in the future.

Zero waste: A trend that is taking off in the pandemic
The central motto of sustainable consumption of tomorrow is zero waste. The cradle-to-cradle philosophy and the evolving vision of the sharing economy are the driving forces behind the idea of not only reusing or recycling rubbish or apparent rubbish, but rather not allowing it to arise in the first place.

Real omnivore: Diversity for more enjoyment and responsibility
In future, the focus will no longer be on only our own health-conscious diet but also on a responsible eating culture that includes the health of the planet. The eaters of the future are therefore Real Omnivores: tech-savvy and much more open to new developments in the food sector than other types of eaters, they are looking for more ways to eat healthily, enjoyably and sustainably. And that includes new foods like cultured meat and fish as well as vegan meat substitutes, algae and insects, and farm-free food. (wr)

You can order the English version of Food Report 2022 here.