2018 saw many new and creative trends hit the health food industry. From veganism and digestive health, to collagen and functional beverages, the health food industry welcomed many innovative options for consumers when it came to food and drink.

This forward way of thinking isn’t stopping any time soon, with 2019 expected to see even more ground-breaking trends inducted into the health food industry hall of fame. As the saying goes, new year, new me, new Instagram-worthy food trends, right?

Wholefoods Market brought together retail’s biggest global and local experts and have unveiled their fourth annual trends prediction announcement, with their list of top food trends to look out for in 2019. Hemp products, Faux Meat and the Keto Craze, have all made the list, joined by other food creations more adventurous than ever. Here are the biggest trends set to take over in 2019.

Faux Meat Snacks

Forget beef jerky and pork rinds and make way for non-meat meaty snacks. The plant-based goods industry has grown a massive 18% in the last year, with no intentions of stopping. One area of this burgeoning industry set to take over 2019 is ready-to-eat plant-based foods. Faux meats are upping their flavour game, with mushrooms the number one ingredient helping these snacks make their claim in the industry.

Hemp, Hemp and more Hemp

The explosion of the cannabis industry over the past couple of years has seen hemp become one of the most popular, and controversial, ingredient in the health industry as a whole. While hemp hearts, seeds and oils have been gracing supermarket shelves for some time now, the superfood fad is far from over as more and more research is being done on CBD oil, which is still prohibited to be used in products in many countries. However, many companies are now beginning to infuse the ingredient into their products, meaning the hemp trend is only going to get bigger!

Pacific Rim Flavours

With consumers becoming more daring in trying new cuisines, 2019 will see a rise in popularity in foods inspired from the Pacific Rim, think Asia, Oceania and western coasts of North and South America. Proteins such as shrimp and cuttlefish will become a crowd favourite, so expect to see a colourful array of fruits being consumed, like dragon fruit, passionfruit and guava.

Shelf-Stable Probiotics

Gut health has been the talk of the town for a while now, with it being a huge discussion topic in 2018. And now with probiotic innovation, it is expected more staple pantry items  will be jumping on the bandwagon and integrating probiotics into their list of ingredients. Once only known to be in fermented foods and amongst the supplement and refrigerated aisles, probiotics are now being infused into foods like granola, oat meal, nut butters and nutrition bars.

Phatty Fats

A rise in the popularity of diets such as keto, paleo ad grain-free, has also seen a rise in the popularity of previous bad boy of the food world, fats. With more and more consumers embracing the high-fat low-carb diet trend, be sure to see foods like ‘fat bombs’, coconut butter filled chocolates, as well as vegan-friendly coffee options derived from butter coffees. One ingredient to keep an eye on is Ghee, a clarified butter used in Asian cooking, which is set to take over in 2019.

Loco for Fro-Yo

There’s something comforting about a scoop of that vanilla or chocolate ice-cream, but consumers these days seem to be wanting the indulgent sweet treat, but without so much of the sweet. Frozen aisles in 2019 will be inundated with a healthy twist on the traditional pint of ice-cream, with new players in the field like avocado, hummus and tahini, becoming the innovative base for the frozen treats. International desserts are also expected to be stocked in supermarket freezers this year from Thai rolled and Turkish ice-creams, to booze-infused popsicles and gelatos.

We Sea More Greens

Seaweed is quickly becoming a thing of the past, with consumers exploring the depths of ocean flavours available to them. Store-bought snacks such as puffed snacks from water lily seeds, crispy salmon skins and kelp jerkies, are testing the waters and stacked with all the omega 3 you’ll need. Beyond the convenient snack, products like kelp noodles and seaweed butter are also rising to the surface with consumers becoming more aware of marine ingredients and their benefits.

The health food industry is forever changing, with businesses continuously creating and innovating, and finding new ingredients to transform into healthy and natural alternatives. With consumers constantly on the look out for unique and trailblazing products, we’re sure to see these trends make their mark in 2019.