6 Trends Coming to New York City in 2017

Healthy Trends in New York City

What was your favorite food or drink trend in 2016? Did you try kale or black raspberries? Both were on 2016’s top trends’ list. In 2017, we will see new trends in addition to some old ones from 2016 such as exploring new ways to decrease food waste and trying new-old foods. Mintel, a global market intelligence agency, recently published a report outlining 6 trends that will influence the global food and beverage market in 2017.

Plant Life

In 2017, plants will play a starring role in food and beverage choices. With the growing focus on health and wellness, New York City consumers are searching for products that will contribute to health-related goals. Multiple individuals are adopting natural, nourishing, and adaptable diets that prioritize fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and botanicals. Rather than a complete dietary change, though, vegetarian and vegan products are only eaten occasionally. Consuming more plant-based products to improve one’s health will create an opportunity for growth for companies who manufacture healthy snacks, beverages, or meals with plant-based ingredients.

Historical Inspiration

Craft, artisan and homemade are favorable terms that describe a food or beverage’s story and create an emotional connection. As the world changes at a swift pace, consumers look to traditional foods from their heritage to provide safe and trustworthy experiences. Companies that are willing to develop new products will find interested consumers. Jenny Zegler, Global Food and Drink Analyst at Mintel, described it best when she connected traditional foods to the future. “The trust in the familiar does not eliminate the need for innovation; instead, it [emphasizes] the opportunity for manufacturers to look to the past as a dependable source of inspiration.”

Accessible Nutrients

As individuals in New York City realize that an unhealthy diet contributes to an increase in health problems, they begin searching for healthier options. The lack of cost-friendly and healthy choices requires a variety of solutions. Lowering the price of healthy foods, creating apps that help consumers locate affordable produce or meat, and decreasing food and beverage waste by finding other ways to use it are just a few of the approaches that have increased access to healthy food.

Healthy Trends in New York City

Missing Valuables

Food waste is an issue that should be addressed from multiple angles. Rather than disposing of them, “ugly” or imperfect fruit and vegetables are sold at lower prices as well as use to create new recipes. Companies are altering supply chains to decrease the amount of wasted food, and addressing packaging as the type of packaging can impact spoilage.

Functional Relaxation

Just as consumers use energy drinks during the day to boost energy, there are now healthy snacks and beverages such as chamomile tea that help consumers relax at night. By combining the use of daytime functional beverages with the familiarity of night-time beauty products such as creams and serums, companies hope that New York City consumers will easily make the jump to nighttime functional foods and beverages. Teas, cereals, and athlete recovery products are already available to help the user fall asleep, avoid middle of the night cravings, and recover from athletic activity while asleep.

Fast & Slow

Time is a precious commodity, especially when it comes to meal preparation. Depending on the time of day, consumers either demand fresh, nutritious, and on-the-go food, or “slow,” time-intensive foods that are already partially prepared. Time of day and the day of the week are the key criteria for deciding if the meal or healthy snack must be fast or slow. For example, breakfast foods should require little or no preparation, but weekend meals can require more prep and cooking time. Depending on the product, companies will need to include “specific time-related claims” to appeal to consumers.

Which trends will your New York City students and employees gravitate toward in 2017? Will they look for healthy snacks and beverages with a twist of history or ones that are plant-based, fresh and full of nutrients?  Contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671 for more information.

New York City Residents Ask, “How Many Calories Are in That?”

Healthy Snacks in New York City

What is a calorie?

A calorie is a unit of energy that measures the amount of energy our bodies receive after eating or drinking. For example, if a healthy beverage or snack contains 100 calories, then your body gets 100 calories worth of energy from that snack or beverage. Reading nutrition labels are a great way to learn how many calories, among other things such as protein or carbohydrates, are in a specific healthy snack or beverage. Paying attention to the number of calories consumed is one of several tools available that can help us live a healthy lifestyle.

Calorie Counts and Labels

Because of the ongoing U.S. obesity epidemic, the medical and public health communities have sought out alternative ways to educate the public and begin reversing the problem. One approach has been to encourage consumers in New York City to understand more about the food and beverages consumed outside of the home as those calories count for one-third of total calories consumed. To ensure that consumers have access to the appropriate information, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) developed new requirements regarding the placement of calorie counts on restaurant menus (effective May 5, 2017) and nutrition label placement on items purchased from vending machines (effective December 1, 2016, except for specific food items sold from glass-front vending machines).Healthy Snacks in New York City

Andrew Breck, a doctoral candidate at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service in New York City and co-author of the Philadelphia study “The Current Limits of Calorie Labeling and the Potential for Population Health Impact,” stated that “the success of such a calorie-labeling campaign, however, requires that target consumers simultaneously see the calorie labels, are motivated to eat healthfully, and understand how many calories they should be eating.” Unfortunately, the study found that fast food consumers in Philadelphia have not changed their choices even with calorie counts placed on the menu. But, Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University and study co-author commented, “awareness is the first step in the change process, so if consumers begin to see the numbers, eventual change is possible.”

Healthy Eating

While not everyone is interested in considering nutritional labels, we would like to offer some motivation for those in New York City who might need it. Deciding to eat healthfully should be a personal decision as no two individuals are the same. For some, an increase in energy or feeling better is why they want to change their diet. For others, a stronger immune system and lower health care costs are the reason. In either case, making small simple steps and tracking your progress can help to avoid feeling overwhelmed. To maintain your new way of eating and keep food costs down, there are several things that you can do including educate yourself about how many calories you, as an individual, need and which foods offer which nutrients, find foods that taste good to you, and create a plan for menus and food prep that fits your lifestyle.

For those times when you need a snack or quick meal, cost and convenience do not need to outweigh nutrition. Healthy vending machines offer alternatives that not only meet nutritional requirements but are also cost-effective and convenient. Which healthy snacks and beverages will be available at your New York City office or school? Contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671 to learn more about healthy vending machine options.