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Whole Foods predicts the 2020 food trends: From zero-proof drinks to regenerative agriculture

Expect your flour to be made of anything from red lentils to bananas

Chelsea Ritschel

Tuesday 22 October 2019 16:12 BST

The food trends to expect in 2020, according to Whole Foods (Stock)

As the year of probiotics and kelp comes to a close, Whole Foods has predicted the food trends that we can expect to see - and eat - in 2020.

The supermarket released its fifth annual report, where it reveals the most-anticipated and innovative food trends for the upcoming year, according to the market’s global buyers and experts.

In 2020, foodies and vegans alike will see trends that fulfil their cravings, with everything from zero-proof (non-alcoholic) drinks, regenerative agriculture, and flour emerging as the popular crazes.

This is what you can expect to see both in supermarket aisles and restaurants in the coming year.

Regenerative Agriculture

Farming will focus on environmental impact (Stock) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Regenerative agriculture typically describes “farming and grazing practices that restore degraded soil, improve biodiversity and increase carbon capture to create long-lasting environmental benefits, such as positively impacting climate change,” according to Whole Foods.

The trend has reportedly stemmed from “farmers, producers, academics, retailers and more taking a closer look at how to use land and animal management practices to improve soil health and sequester carbon”.

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Show all 17

1/17Finding food on the front line of climate change

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Balkisa Zakow, 25, with her twins Hassan and Ousseni, Tombokiery village, Niger

At nine months’ pregnant with twins Balkisa Zakow, 25, feared she wouldn’t have the energy to give birth. A devastating drought made Balkisa’s harvests fail, made food prices soar, and then forced her family apart. Her husband migrated in search of work to earn money to provide for his young family, leaving her heavily pregnant and alone. “Sometimes if my husband had money he sent it to me so I could eat. Sometimes the money just doesn’t come,” she said. “I was worried I wouldn’t have the energy to give birth.” But seven-month-old twins Hassan and Ousseni are lucky, they were born the night after Red Cross support came to Tombokiery village, Niger. The Niger Red Cross provided the family with a small cash grant. “A Niger Red Cross volunteer told me to go first because she saw how exhausted I was. I used the money to buy food, then I went back home to sleep feeling relieved. Before sunrise I had given birth to my twins.”

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Aissa Garba, 65, gazes out of the window of her home in Tombokiery village, southern Niger

Last year’s drought made Aissa’s crop fail, leaving the family with nothing to eat. In the Sahel rainfall has become erratic and wet seasons that people rely on are shrinking. The Sahel has one of the driest climates in the world, people who live here have always been incredibly resilient, are now having to adapt and survive to ever harsher conditions. The region is almost one degree hotter than in 1970 and could rise by several degrees by the end of the century. Record hot spells, desertification, loss of crops and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns are reducing people’s ability to feed themselves. Mothers are forced to eat just one meal a day so that their children can eat.

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Herbs dry in the entrance to Aissa’s home

“When we had enough we ate three times per day, but during the shortage we only had one meal a day. The children were always following us, crying because of their hunger but we had nothing to feed them,” said Aissa. “But the Niger Red Cross brought us a cash grant. We bought millet and some rice, and with that we chased the hunger away.”

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Rabi Chibkao, 56, and her granddaughter Aicka Danyabou, six months, at a Red Cross nutrition centre in the village of Kiéché, southern Niger

Six-month-old Aicka is struggling to gain weight. It’s been a month since her mother died and her grandmother Rabi has brought her to the Red Cross nutrition centre for help. The centre provides support to mothers and babies, weighing infants and measuring their upper arms for signs of malnutrition. The pair are two in a long queue waiting for help but a shortage of the nutrition supplement plumpy nut means that Aicka is still not at a healthy weight. Rabi said: “I had been feeding her cassava flour but I noticed didn’t help her much. When she has plumpy nut it helps a lot but sometimes there isn’t any. It has made my life very hard to bear. You can’t take care of a child properly if your own life is not good.”

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Ingredients for a Kuwo porridge with cassava

Ingredients for a Kuwo porridge with cassava, which are given to families of malnourished children visiting the Red Cross nutrition centre.

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Ai Naliguido, 40, and her son Aboul Aziz, four, in their village of Kiéché, southern Niger

Aboul, four, is small for his age because severe malnutrition left him physically stunted. Across the Sahel 1.5 million children are acutely malnourished, one in five will die before their fifth birthday. “His body was very weak and he was so thin,” said his mother Ai Naliguido. “It was just Garri I was feeding him made with some corn-meal, or millet.” “I took him to the hospital every week and they gave him plumpy nut. I’m so relieved that he got the help he needed to get stronger. He has gotten a lot better.” She said. Niger Red Cross volunteers from the nutrition centre visit communities to show mothers how to get the most nourishment from millet flour and drought tolerant root vegetables like cassava, which helps to keep children healthy.

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Ali Naliguido's empty bowl

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Hassi Seyni, 30, sits with her son, Mohamad Moufitaur, 15 months old – in Tombokiery village, southern Niger

First the drought made the harvests fail and then food prices inflated so high even the very basics became unaffordable for Hassi Seyni and her family. Her husband, like many others, was forced to leave to find work to earn enough money to feed the family. “We got really fearful because many men fled and left the women on their own,” said Hassi. “When he (her husband) has some money he sends it to us. This is how we lived.” “With support from the Red Cross we bought some bags of millet and corn. We bought some vegetables and some condiments. When your conscience is free from problems and you get to eat. Then you can think about the future.”

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Hassi Seyni eats couscous with baobab leaves

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Drought resistant millet and the different ways it can be used at the mill run by a women’s cooperative in the village of Gurguzu, southeast Niger

Millet is a drought resistant crop. Stems are stripped by hand and the grain pounded into flour which is slowly mixed with boiling water to make two, a thick white paste which is a staple across the region. Alternatively, water can be added to the flour to make porridge. Millet is a good source of carbohydrate but eaten alone lacks the vital nutrients needed as part of a balanced diet. When it’s available sauces are added to give flavour – such as the leaves of the Baobab tree. The mill is run by a women’s cooperative group and allows the whole village to buy grain at a cheaper price than in the market, it also helps to ensure the price is less volatile in the lean season.

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Millet being hand stripped

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Drought tolerant cassava grown at the Red Cross market garden

During the lean season a shortage in food forces the prices up to unaffordable amounts for many families. The market garden helps the local community to grow their own food and helps to stabilise prices during the lean season.

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

34-year-old Ouma Azzika with goat she was given from the Niger Red Cross

Ouma Azzika has seven children to feed. She received this goat from the Red Cross as part of a project supporting women to provide enough food to feed their families during the lean season when food is most scare. As well as providing milk, the goat can be sold at the market to earn money to buy food.

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

An empty bowl and spoon in Tombokiery village, Niger

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

A child is weighed and arm measured at the Red Cross nutrition centre in the village of Kiéché, southern Niger

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

A traditional cooking pot used to cook tuwo in Tombokiery village, Niger

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Finding food on the front line of climate change

Niger Red Cross nutrition centre sign

Yuki Sugiura/British Red Cross

Whole Foods recommends trying the trend through options such as Alara Scottish Porridge, or Calon Organic Milks.

Flour Power

Flours will be made from a variety of ingredients (Stock)

Flour will also receive a makeover in the coming year, with corn flour a thing of the past.

In 2020, you can expect flours made of fruits and vegetables to pop up in store aisles and recipes.

In addition to flours made of bananas, chestnuts or chickpeas, consumers can also expect to see different flours used in favourite products, such as purple corn flour listed as an ingredient in chips or other snack foods.

According to Whole Foods, the “super” flour alternatives will offer consumers different tastes as well as protein and fibre.

West African Foods

West African flavours will be popping up everywhere (Stock)

Whole Foods experts and buyers predict that 2020 will be the year of West African flavours, with tomatoes, onions and chilli peppers expected to crop up in various foods.

The report also suggests that popular add-ons such as peanuts, ginger and lemongrass will also have a moment in the spotlight, as well West African superfoods like moringa and tamarind.

Out-of-the-Box, Into-the-Fridge Snacking

To-go snacks will be of the refridgerated variety (Stock) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Granola bars may have been a reliable option in the past, but they will soon be replaced by “fresh” refrigerated snacks such as hard-boiled eggs and drinkable soups.

According to Whole Foods, the pivot to chilled snacks, which will have less preservatives and feature fresh ingredients, means the ingredient lists are “shrinking and there’s a lot less guesswork in picking up a quick snack you can feel better about”.

Everything Butters and Spreads

Pumpkin butter will be available year-round, Whole Foods predicts (Stock) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Almond and cashew butter will always have a place in our pantries, but 2020 is also making way for new spreadable alternatives.

The trend report predicts that pumpkin butter will soon be available year-round, while vegans will turn to options such as spreads made from superfood pili.

In addition to working for paleo and keto diets, the trend has arisen out of a desire for transparency - from both brands and consumers.

“Many brands are looking to either eliminate the use of palm oil or promote a Responsibly Sourced Palm Oil certification and use nuts that are grown in ways with less likelihood for environmental impact,” according to Whole Foods.

Not-So-Simple Sugars

Sugar alternatives will include reductions made from monk fruit (Stock) (Getty Images)

Options such as swapping sugar for stevia or honey used to seem trendy, however, in the coming year there will be a lot more choices to choose from.

According to Whole Foods, syrup reductions from fruit such as monk fruit, pomegranates, coconut and dates will be popular choices when it comes to desserts or glazes, while you can expect to find sweet syrups made from starches like sorghum and sweet potato.

Zero-Proof Drinks

Alcohol-free cocktails will be popular in 2020 (Stock) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The latest trend to hit alcohol is drinks that are non-alcoholic. For those who want to enjoy a cocktail without the hangover, or have given up libations altogether, these beverages offer the perfect alternative - as they are made using distilling methods typically reserved for alcohol.

The “faux-spirits”, as Whole Foods dubs them, mean you can have a martini sans vodka.

The trend will also include unique options such as hops-infused sparkling waters or zero-proof aperitifs.

This year’s trend report was compiled with the help of more than 50 Whole Foods Market team members, including local foragers, regional and global buyers and culinary experts.

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While the supermarket predicts 2019’s trends such as faux-meat to continue increasing in popularity, expect it to make way for, or incorporate, alternative sweeteners and West African flavours.

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