Recap from Inspirational Outlook “Taming Tomorrow’s Gastronomic Trends”

Food Nation hosted the first Inspirational Outlook this Wednesday with an impressive turnout from the Danish food arena. It showed, that companies are looking towards gastronomy when developing their future business. Let’s recap some main takeaways from the day.

Copenhagen Food Space was brimming with excitement, lounge tunes and refreshments from Copenhagen’s freshest start-ups, when 60 guests from the Danish food cluster showed up at Food Nation’s Inspirational Outlook on gastronomy. The goal of the event was not only to map out the important up and coming trends in gastronomy – concrete solutions from companies were presented, discussed and tasted in workshops.

Better, not more food

Flemming Birch from Birch & Birch gazed into the crystal ball, naming “better, not more food” the general trend of the future in food. Under this umbrella term, he pinpointed 3 “subtrends”: storyliving, sustainability and convenient healthy foods. These will be interlinked.

In the future, consumers won’t settle for reading food products’ great stories – they want to experience them. One example is a certain Dutch supermarket chain, that invites consumers to forage their own herbs in the supermarkets indoor gardens, giving them the authentic experience of having dirt between the fingers.

Sustainability is another trend in rapid development. One place to see its change is in the boom of plant-based products. In the future, these products will no longer look and behave like the meat it replaces, as consumers will demand plant-based product that look like what it is: plants.

Furthermore, meals will no longer be constructed solely around meat. This is addressed by the last subtrend about convenient, healthy and good food. Eating healthy in the future won’t be about diverse diets, but about the good life with healthy homemade food. Therefore, cook-it-yourself kits, easily manageable in a busy work life, will replace a lot of “instant” food solutions.

Gastronomy as a commercial tool

Talking and discussing was great but tasting and seeing puts word to action. Danish Crown Guldrummet, Nordisk Tang and Gastronomisk Innovation/Arla Unika hosted workshops, serving their gastronomic innovation while discussing their strategies in linking gastronomy and food industry.

• Guldrummet is a section of Danish Crown that cuts and matures meats for the gastro-scene. In collaboration with chefs, they make on-demand cuts of meat and do not shy away from experimenting in the name of gastronomy. Read a case about Guldrummet
• Gastronomisk Innovation and Arla Unika explained how their collaboration has moved Arla Unika products from the high-end restaurant scene into the stores and the consumers’ shopping basket. Read a case about Arla Unika
• Nordisk Tang (Nordic Seaweed) showed how they with seaweed can tap into the healthy, organic and local commodities of the cold northern seas. Re-discovering an ancient Nordic food and inspired by Asian traditions, Nordisk Tang creates great and healthy umami-rich products. Read a case about Nordisk Tang

Collaboration for tomorrow’s gastronomy

As the workshops wrapped up, guests could sample products from new Danish startups and network as well as grab Food Nation’s white paper on gastronomy. An important takeaway from the day is that Danish gastronomy is world class, but to keep the leading position on the area, the industry can benefit greatly from tapping into the world of gastronomy to increase innovation and product development.

Are you ready for the future demands within food quality & safety?

Food Nation’s next Inspirational Outlook “Food Quality & Safety in 2030 – what to act on now?” will be held on March 27 from 14.00-16.00 at Lokomotivværkstedet in Copenhagen. Sign up for free right here.