Trend Taster: cottage cheese edition
In this week’s edition of the Trend Taster, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:
How fast food prices have changed over time
M&S's first food redistribution program
The rise of functional drinks
Orange Juice's Downturn
The Resurgence of Cottage Cheese
How fast food prices have changed over time
While inflation has sent most US fast food prices soaring (a Big Mac meal now costs $11 vs $4.59 in 1993), major pizza chains have barely budged their prices in 26 years: a large Domino's pizza was $6.99 in 1999 and only $7.99 today. This pricing anomaly works because chains depend on volume, with Americans now consuming 3 billion pizzas annually (up from 1.4 billion in the 1980s), allowing companies to profit despite razor-thin margins on individual pies. The strategy explains why your pizza delivery now includes a $5 fee that didn't exist two decades ago.
M&S's first food redistribution program
M&S is pioneering the UK's first individual food redistribution program through Neighbourly's "Surplus Saviours" initiative, allowing people to collect unsold food directly from supermarkets and cafes. This approach coincides with new Food Standards Agency guidance permitting freezable surplus items to be frozen until midnight on their use-by date, potentially making an additional two million meals available for redistribution weekly across UK supermarkets.
The rise of functional drinks
Functional beverages that offer specific health benefits beyond hydration are revolutionizing the drink industry. This shift toward wellness drinks is fuelled by multiple factors: Gen Z's preference for "sober social" options, the influence of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, and growing consumer demand for everything from collagen-infused "drinkable beauty" to protein-packed cans.
Orange Juice's Downturn
Orange juice consumption in America is experiencing a dramatic decline, with industry leader Tropicana recently requiring a $30m emergency loan amid slipping sales. This downturn stems from multiple pressures: orange prices have nearly doubled since 2020 due to climate issues and disease, consumers are increasingly avoiding high-sugar beverages, and functional alternatives like prebiotic sodas are surging while traditional breakfast routines decline.
The Resurgence of Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese is having a major renaissance moment, with sales surging 50% in the last five years and jumping 17% in 2024 alone. This isn't your grandparents' diet food anymore. Gen Z has embraced cottage cheese as a protein-rich superfood, creating viral recipes from smoothies to ice cream. What's notable is that people aren't just eating it because they feel they should (like in the 1970s), but because they genuinely enjoy it, ranking it alongside salads and sushi in both health perception and happiness factors.
