"HFN reports that, when it comes to their meals, Americans want convenience, plant-​based alternatives and sustainable options, shifting away from traditional meal patterns, according to new reports from NPD and FreshDirect. More and more those foods are influenced by ethnicity, age and generational groups and health/​social consciousness, NPD’s Eating Patterns in America report found."

"NPD also found that visits to quick service restaurants have increased to 630 million visits since 2014, while total visits to restaurants have declined more than 700 million visits, it added. NPD also found that one in five adults try to manage a health condition with their food and beverage choices. 16% of consumers regularly use plant-​based alternatives such as almond milk, tofu, and veggie burgers."

"Plant-​based foods were one of FreshDirect’s top trends for 2020, as that category continues to evolve and expand. In particular, cauliflower will remain a top gluten substitute and oat will continue to gain ground as a creamy alternative milk next year, the online grocer said. This year’s predictions were curated by FreshDirect and FoodKick’s in-​house teams of food and wine specialists."

"Addressing busy consumers, the on-​the-​go food and snacks category was another rising trend from FreshDirect, as packed schedules lead to less time for traditional meal preparation. Unlike the snacks of old, however, this new generation consists of bite-​sized superfoods, healthy snack kits and subscription boxes."

"Other healthy trends include low-​carb adult beverages, which grow as interest in low-​carb diets does. Functional beverage and gut health is another FreshDirect trend as consumers explore special diets and move towards smaller meals — and away from traditional ones — looking for snacks and drinks that also have nutrition."

Dietary restrictions are driving food trends into 2020 and Vegetarians/​Vegans are as particular about their advertising as they are about their food. For starters, according to AudienceSCAN, they're 21% more likely than others to find ads on social media useful and they're 27% more likely to never go past the first page of search results.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. In addition, AdMall contains industry profiles on fast-​casual and quick-​service restaurants, as well as lead lists at the local level. Media companies, sales reps and agencies can access this data with a subscription to AdMall from SalesFuel.