The Essential Ingredient This Summer

The 2024 summer has been packed with exciting events; the Euros, Wimbledon and the upcoming Olympics all make it easy to engage in some sun-kissed spending. While the recent weather may suggest otherwise, summer is still just about here, and during this season, consumers’ tastes tend to change, with certain foods proving more popular.

Summer is the time to fire up the barbeque, go for some al fresco dining and enjoy those indulgent picnics outside. To suit the warm weather, consumers lean toward fresh, seasonal, cool and light food options.

In our latest blog, we’re looking at the food trends that are defining this summer, from cool and healthy alternatives to planet-friendly ingredients, indulgent ice cream and exciting event-related classics.

Cool & Healthy

In hot weather, the consumer’s appetite tends to temporarily dial back, with huge hearty meals being off the menu. What’s more, the warm weather and longer days make it far easier to stay motivated and keep active, making it the perfect time for a health kick.

That’s why, at this time of year, we see that fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir and skyr, containing gut-friendly probiotics, all prove popular. Whilst cultured products such as bio yogurts and crème fraîche contain those gut-friendly necessities, they also make for a cooling and refreshing summer snack, drink or dip.

At Meadow, our range of cultured products is rich and versatile. Our fresh products come in either set or stirred varieties depending on your desired application and are available in several fat variants, depending on your nutritional targets.

Take a peek at our Meadow Fresh brochure here.

Summery Sustainability

Longer and warmer days allow for more time outdoors, whether that’s taking the dog for a walk through the woods or going for a picnic in the local park. With more time being spent with nature, consumers often lean toward planet-friendly food choices at this time of year. As it happens, there is already an increasing trend in sustainable consumerism, with 80% of consumers worldwide now willing to pay a premium for sustainably produced and sourced foods.

Going hand-in-hand with sustainable choices is the growing plant-based trend. Plant-based ingredients use fewer natural resources and are far less taxing to the environment. In fact, manufacturing plant-based ingredients can significantly offset the carbon emissions generated by the food industry.

As sustainable ingredients become essential, our 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art plant-based facility at our Chester site teamed with our vast experience in producing dairy ingredients for the food industry means that we have the right knowledge and expertise to create sustainable and plant-based alternatives at the same level of quality and taste as their counterparts.

Ice Cream Indulge

With holidays around the corner, there is always a need for ice cream. As a perennial summertime favourite, ice cream offers a cooling and delicious relief from the warm weather. Ice cream has been around since the second century B.C. and there have been lots of different emerging trends.

Our top picks for this summer include:

Reassuringly Familiar: Between retro flavours such as butterscotch, toffee apple and lemon meringue, ‘reassuringly familiar’ is all about unlocking that feeling of comfort with memorable flavours from the past.

Newstalgia: Taking nostalgic flavours to a new level, ‘newstalgia’ combines exciting flavours that shouldn’t work, but end up working fabulously. Think: ‘sweet and heat’ hot honey or the ‘swalty’ salted caramel.

Upgraded Experience: Delivering multisensory experiences that elevate how consumers interact with their food, the upgraded experience thinks about how to entertain consumers. This may be by adding some melt-on-your-tongue popping candy or providing visual cues that make for an instagrammable picture.

Inclusivity: This free from affair is all about exceeding expectations by delivering exciting solutions that don’t compromise on taste. With 1 in 10 category launches now being vegan, it’s clear that free from is here to stay.

Take a look at our ice cream playbook for more insight into this year’s consumer trends.

Exciting Events

Exciting events such as the Euros, the summer Olympics and Wimbledon, are the perfect time for consumers to have a celebratory indulge.

Wimbledon’s strawberries and cream are an annual favourite. In fact, according to the catering company responsible for all food and drink operations at the All England Club, tournament-goers enjoy over 7000 litres of dairy cream each year.

Meadow’s double cream is a staple ingredient. With functionality and consistency being at the forefront of what we produce, we offer single, whipping, double, stabilised and other specialty creams depending on your desired application.

If you’d like to discover more about Meadow, and sample our ingredients, you can do so by contacting our customer service team.

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