Healthy eating and indulgent products were key themes of the annual City Food Lecture.
What, when and how we will be eating in 2025 was the subject of the lecture, which was given by Christophe Jouan, chief executive of global trends consultancy The Future Foundation.
Jouan highlighted an increasing trend away from unhealthy foods in Millennial customers, meaning fewer treats.
He said: “In the past indulgence used to win over guilt on the basis that consumers felt they ‘deserved it’. In a pre-recession, pre-tracking app, pre-moderation world, spoiling oneself was pretty much well accepted.”
But figures from market researchers nVision Research showed 64% of British people in 2015 agreed with the statement: “I try to appear in control of my life at all times.”
He said: “Control is now an aspiration, a core value for consumers. The mindset is very much that of offsetting. Offsetting is balancing indulgence in one area with moderation in other areas.”
Jouan also suggested there was a reduction in meat eating, a category which includes pasties and sausage rolls, leading to a decline in cheap meat sales, but that there could be a rise in the sale of premium versions.
The City Food Lecture is held each year at the Guildhall, London, and is organised by seven food-related Livery Companies, including The Worshipful Company of Bakers.
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