Mind, Mood and Body: Health food trends 2024

Consumers are becoming increasingly interested in making healthier food and drink choices when out of home. Not only are they looking for dishes, products and ingredients that will help support their health, for example, gut health or achieving/maintaining a health body weight, but they are also thinking about how food and drink can help support their energy levels, mind and mood. As a result, we’re expecting to see a higher demand for all sorts of healthier, balanced dishes including those which contain adequate protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals – the list goes on!

Consumers have become increasingly aware of the calorie content of food and drink in recent years – particularly since calorie labelling legislation came into place in the UK. However, what we’re seeing now is a growing interest in specific ingredients and nutrients, as customers are looking to support their health and wellbeing through their food and drink choices.

Bidfood’s bespoke consumer research, conducted in conjunction with CGA, has shown us that two out of three UK adults believe that it’s important that the food they eat out of home is healthy. And what’s more, almost six in ten consumers (57%) prefer food and drink brands that encourage a healthy lifestyle over brands that don’t. Operators can benefit from this by creating a reputation as a venue that is mindful of customers’ health and wellbeing. One of the ways in which they can do this is to offer a balanced menu, featuring a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, fish and plant-based proteins – the list goes on!

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is important for good health and can help us feel our best. This year, consumers are looking for food and drink that support different aspects of health and wellbeing. For example, eating a wide variety of foods rich in nutrients, such as fruits and vegetables, offers a variety of vitamins and minerals that may help support energy levels, brain function and mood. Furthermore, there is increasing research into the links between our gut and our brain, and whilst we don’t have all of the answers yet, we know that looking after our gut-friendly bacteria by eating a variety of foods that contain fibre, such as wholegrains, nuts and seeds, is important for health and wellbeing.

Consumers are interested in food and drink that support their health and wellbeing this year, with 44% of consumers opting for a dish containing vegetables if they’re looking for a healthier option on a menu. Focusing on a variety of fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts seeds, etc. is an easy yet impactful way to increase the nutrient content of menu options, with different colours and textures adding visual appeal. Operators could also think about swapping some animal-based ingredients such as red and processed meat for plant-based alternatives as a potential way to decrease elements such as saturated fat, and increase the fibre content of dishes.

Customers are increasingly looking for healthier menu options when eating out, therefore, it’s likely we will see a rise in outlets that are mindful of customers health and wellbeing. Over the last few years we’ve seen that the quick service sector has gone from strength to strength, having benefitted from several factors such as takeaway and delivery models throughout the pandemic, technology advances making quick service increasingly accessible and convenient. The cost of living crisis is also driving a rise in lower-ticket out of home occasions. Our bespoke consumer research has shown that almost six in ten UK consumers prefer brands that support healthy lifestyles, so fast food brands will benefit from featuring healthier options on menus in 2024.

A healthy, balanced diet is important for health and wellbeing and as consumers become more aware of this, we are seeing a rise in more mindful choices when eating out. There are several ways in which the food we eat may affect our mood. Eating regular meals with some carbohydrate can help with blood sugar regulation, which may affect energy, mood and brain function. Dishes containing wholegrain carbohydrates will support this concept. There is also growing interest in the links between our gut-friendly bacteria and our brain, and although more research is needed, we know that eating a variety of fibre-rich foods, such as wholegrains, nuts and seeds is important for health and wellbeing. As well as the potential effects of nutrients, some of the perceived mood-enhancing effects of food are thought to be due to learned associations of food with pleasure and reward.