The Future is Comin’ On!

Her Majesty the Kombucha. Will the queen of drinks go out of fashion in 2021? Are we gonna say "Goodbye, real Tuna"? And what about cow’s milk? Could we say in Spanglish – "Adios amigos, Dairy"? Finally, what will hungry hipsters talk about meat? "Welcome to the club, plant-based Burger!"

Here are the top 15 food trends that you’ll see next year on screens, in restaurants, and on your plates. Move into the future now.

Go plan(e)t-friendly

#1 Plant-based meat

Plant-based meat will not only grow on the trees but also on the shelves in-store. If you love the taste of meat, you can match with "Impossible Foods", which produces plant-based meat in the USA and around the world. You can try the Swedish "Raging Pig Co." as well. These guys are serious punks of bacon and produce vegan bacon seasoning. So, baconify your meals. Also, grill burgers, not the Planet.

#2 Climatarian diet

Climatarians are coming! "Meat is the new coal", they say, calculating the carbon footprint every single day. The voice of the climatarians will be louder than the voice of the vegans because plants are the future of our planet. We can call it a plan(e)tarium.

#3 Sugar-free world

The future won’t be extremely sweet. Our old-fashioned white sugar may be replaced by a modern sweetener called allulose. No, it’s not the cellulose our toilet paper is made of. Allulose is a natural sugar made from fruits like figs or raisins.

Digital Food

Now we should talk about e-revolution: restaurants, delivery services, and all these digital food trends.

#4 Ghost kitchens

No, it has nothing to do with "Ghostbusters" but it’ll make us more virtual. "Ghost" or "Dark" kitchens are facilities that produce food exclusively for home delivery. In other words, these "Virtual kitchens" are a co-working cooking space or restaurant with no dine-in option. Ghost kitchens became popular during the quarantine period. They are here to stay. I’m sure because the future of food is digital.

#5 Al fresco dining

Fine dining is going to be "Al Fresco dining" because of COVID-19. The term "Al Fresco" came from the Italian. It means "in the cool air" or simply "eating outside". There is no doubt that those restaurants that have a nice terrace or an extravaganza – fine-dining-driving service will be lucky.

#6 Meal-kits

Meal-kit delivery services such as Hello Fresh or Home Chef will have hit a period of significant growth thanks to the pandemic. The possibility of "contact-free" delivery, where your special meal-kit box is delivered to your front door as soon as you order it on the internet, will be a cool thing next year too. Just eat it!

C-razy threesome

The Holy Trinity of C! The Cannabis, the Coffee, and the hotty spirit – Chili.

#7 CBD

Cannifornication! Cannabis or simply CBD is the hottest trend in 2021, especially when we think of beverages. Hangovers suck, so… The future of social drinking is here. Crafted in California, Cann is a cannabis-infused tonic. Each Cann is micro-dosed with a 1:2 ratio of THC & CBD, so you can(n) enjoy more than one. They make the perfect substitute for that glass of wine but without the hangover the next morning.

#8 Coffee goes wild

Good morning! Would you like a cup of yogurt-coffee? No shit! By 2021, coffee will be crazy. It’ll take on completely new forms. Vietnamese yogurt coffee, coffee-flavored bars and granolas, smoothie boosters, and booze. No more "depresso" when you drink your boring espresso.

#9 Chili

Habanero, Jalapeno, Cayenne, Chipotle, Poblano, and the strongest player in the world: Carolina Reaper. Chili will be a big hit in 2021. Some popular brands make millions with their chili. For example, the Australian hot sauce "Shit the Bed", the Belgian taste buddies "Rascal", the American chili crisps "oo’mämē", the luxurious, truffle-infused hot sauce maker "TRUFF" and many more names of a hot sauce that is as beautiful, as it is painful.

To the Milky Way and back

Now we are going to surf through the cuisines of the universe. Forget Mexicana, Italiana, and Japanorama. Fall in love with Africa. Make peace, not war with the Middle East. And make some love with the cowboys on the MilkyWay.

#10 African Cuisine

Morocco is rocking on, but we won’t be talking about couscous in 2021. Next year, the cuisine of West African is kicking off! So, discover Ghanaian dumplings Fufu, chicken à la Senegalese Yassa, and of course, Nigerian Jollof. It is a super easy one-pot rice dish popular in many West African countries. Rice and less waste culture influenced this cuisine, so you can even call it our future food.

#11 Chickpeas-e: peace from the Middle East

The peace isn’t as usual as the chickpeas in the Middle East. Born in this rebel region, chickpea is the new cauliflower of the Westworld nowadays. We don’t talk about hummus or falafel at all. In the coming years, products such as chickpeas pasta, chickpea tofu, chickpea flour, and even chickpea cereal will be headliners in 2021.

#12 MilkyWay

Hungry hipsters don’t drink cow’s milk at all. They will drink plant-based milk and make some love with the cowboys on the MilkyWay, not on the Earth. Sounds fantastic but it’s milkastic. We can see soy, almond, coconut, or oat milk everywhere, but next year the top of mind will be pea milk and hemp milk, the most relaxing milk you ever drink. Maybe much better than Mos-cow mule cocktail.

Faux food & virgin drinks (maybe)

Finally, we introduce the new season of faux seafood and snacks. By the way, do you know that kombucha is not a virgin at all!

#13 Faux seafood

Fall-winter season is run wearing faux fur by reason. Ups, I meant eating faux seafood! The fall-winter ready-to-eat collection begins with tomato salmon sashimi and crab look-alike sushi. The lab-grown bluefin tuna and eggplant eel join the faux seafood trend as well. Finally, plant-based shrimps run away on the catwalk of the S/S’2021.

#14 Vegan jerky snacks

Jerky is no longer just for meat lovers. Next year snack makers will overwhelm all of us with the jerky style portobello, zucchini, chili, jackfruit, watermelon, and of course, lovely banana jerky. Nevermind if you are an omnivore, carnivore, or herbivore – you don’t have to sell your soul to seitan at all! Just eat your vegan jerky.

#15 Hard kombucha

Kombucha lost her virginity this year. So, the time has come to rethink our virgin kombucha. Put simply, kombucha is a fermented tea, and boozy kombucha tea could be the next big alcohol trend. It’s like a craft beer, so you can get drunk on it. For example, the Brooklyn-based company "Kombrewcha" simply crafted a hard kombucha with organic ingredients, refreshing carbonation and brewed it to 4.4% ABV through natural fermentation. The good things in life aren’t complicated. And neither is Kombrewcha. Cheers to that!

To be continued... IG: foodment_