Leave it to the magic of social media to turn the myth of the unicorn into a dream come true for savvy food and beverage brands and foodservice operators. Unicorn food and beverages—those colorful, Instagram-worthy creations that surprise and delight a vast, visually oriented millennial market—are literally custom-made for the age of social media.

“Unicornification” (typically the act of dying food into a dazzling rainbow of pastels, often with a dash of glitter) has morphed everything from cheesecake, fudge, frappes, milkshakes, toast and cocktails into a shimmery, multicolored feast for the eyes.

Fruit and vegetable sales may be on their way to becoming the apple of the eye of foodservice operators. As the better-for-you foodservice trend continues to feed growing demand, especially in the wellness-oriented millennial snack market, fruits and vegetables seem likely picks as treats to be consumed between or in place of meals.

In fact, research from the global information and measurement company Nielsen reveals that the snackable fruit and vegetable category is ripe with revenue, generating sales of $16.3 billion in the year ended May 27, 2017.¹ In particular, snackers seem to be going bananas for on-the-go fruit and vegetable snack sub-category--a $1.1 billion market with a compound annual growth rate upwards of 10% for 2012-2016.¹

Small is a big deal when it comes to foodservice operations these days. Just as consumers are gravitating toward locally grown, farm-to-table food options, many are choosing to patronize locally owned eateries that offer authentic cuisine and Instagram-worthy experiences. As Darren Tristano, chief insights officer at the foodservice research firm Technomic explained: “This really seems to be the dawning of the era of the independent. The independents and small chains are now outperforming. The big chains are now lagging.”¹

As free online marketing platforms such as Yelp Inc. help raise the profiles of independents, major chains are yielding ground to these millennial-savvy upstarts. The foodservice industry research firm Pentallect Inc. projects a 5% growth rate for independents through 2020, compared to 3% for chains.¹ And while sales at the top 500 U.S. chains rose 3.6% last year, the industry as a whole saw larger gains of 3.9%, according to Technomic data.¹

The Mediterranean diet has served up a feeding frenzy of fanfare about the flavors and nutritional content of southern European and northern African cuisine. With its emphasis on olive oil, legumes, whole grains and vegetables, what once may have seemed a fad has become a cultural and culinary guidepost for flavorful, better-for-you fare.

Dubbed “the gold standard of diets” for its nutritional value and delicious flavor profiles, the Mediterranean diet has been identified by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a sustainable food consumption model to follow.¹ In addition, U.S. Nutrition Guidelines recommend it as a wellness-oriented eating regimen.¹

Rooted in the better-for-you foodservice trend, consumer appetite for plant-based products is continuing its growth spurt. Given the prevalence of a more mindful approach to food consumption, especially among wellness-oriented millennials, plants seem to have found ample fertile ground for market growth.

With 76% of U.S. adults surveyed in agreement that plant-based foods are healthy, many consumers find them an important asset that helps them maintain or improve their well-being, according to the market intelligence firm Mintel.¹ Consumers surveyed find plant-based protein an advantage that helps them achieve wellness goals like weight management (31%).¹

Meal kits are elbowing their way to a place at the big-box table as major food retailers strive to satisfy the consumer’s hunger for convenient meal solutions.

As reported in our last post on the subject, it wasn't that long ago that meal kit sales broke the $1 billion mark. Now a $2.2 billion business with an expected annual growth rate of 25-30% over the next half-decade,¹ meal kits continue to deliver big business for subscription services like Blue Apron and Plated. And, as Albertson’s $200 million purchase of Plated shows, more traditional segments of the food and beverage industry want in.

As the grab-and-go foodservice trend continues to take hold of busy millennials, the definition of snacking seems to shift further from between-meal treat to convenient meal replacement. Recent survey results show that 92% of millennials eat snacks as meals at least once a week, 50% four times a week and 26% a minimum of seven times a week.¹

With close to 40% of millennial survey participants saying a sit-down meal is too time-consuming and 17% “can’t be bothered to cook a meal,” speed and convenience are key reasons for the snack-as-meal-substitute phenomenon.¹ Snacks present a low-cost, smaller portioned food solution that fits their active lifestyles. Nearly half rank convenience as the most important factor in choosing a snack.²

Mintel has a strong feeling that texture will take hold as a major snack trend in 2018. Based on input from 60 expert analysts in more than a dozen countries,¹ the global market and research firm has identified a wave of “new sensations”—the sensory experiences consumers enjoy from the mouthfeel of foods and beverages with distinctive textures—as a projected sales catalyst with a worldwide impact, according to Mintel’s Global Food & Drink Trends 2018.²

Color has made a splash as a sensory experience, as shown by the popularity of unicorn-colored foods and beverages. Like colorful concepts, texture can provide share-worthy experiences for social media feeds. It can even take the connection deeper, touching off a tactile reaction in a youth market hungry for bold flavor adventures.

In our app-happy age of head-spinning technological advancement, where more and more consumers have goods and services under their thumb—literally—thanks to their mobile devices, big data is a big deal.

According to the Pew Research Center, 77% of U.S. adults overall and 92% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 say they own a smartphone.¹ What’s more, Pew survey data shows that upwards of half of 18- to 29-year-olds live in a household with three or more smartphones, and around half of all U.S. adults surveyed use their smartphones to make online purchases.¹

 It’s all good when it comes to whole grains, which seem to be on the front lines of the feeding frenzy for better-for-you fare. According to the International Food Information Council’s 2017 Food and Health Survey, 84% of consumers recognize whole grains as good for you, placing the foodservice staple among the top three wellness-promoting components (only vitamin D and fiber edged higher).¹

What’s more, 65% of survey participants reported that they are eating more whole grain foods compared to years past. And while millennials are known as a driving force of the better-for-you foodservice trend, results showed that adults between the ages of 50 and 80 (70%) are even more likely to step up their whole grain consumption than 18-49 year olds (62%).¹