Let the festivities begin
It’s the week of Christmas and thoughts now turn to this special time of year. It’s all the typical stuff that makes it so unique: family, friends, the Christmas tree, the food, the fact it’s okay to start drinking at 10am. We have everyone coming home to eat, drink, open presents, and watch Christmas movies. It’s a very familiar Christmas day. That aside, Christmas gives everyone a moment to just relax, to forget about work, and cosy up inside where it’s warm and fuzzy.
Also, at this time of the year, the firing pistol sounds for trends ahead of the New Year. As drink is a central part of the season as well as being in a category that is far from slowing down, the trends in this area are succinctly highlighted by Finlays. The B2B tea, coffee and extracts supplier, has produced five insights, which reveal the top global beverage trends the beverage industry should be preparing for 2024, including ‘Fast Fad-sion’, ‘Hyper Targeted Health’ and ‘Statement Spending’.
We won’t go into the details here, however the trends reflect a market driven by health, sustainability, and the thirst for innovation.
These top trends for this year ahead highlight the need for beverage operators to tune into consumers and be highly reactive to their needs, notes director strategy & insights, Sian Edwards. “More than ever,” she adds, “working with trusted partners who can provide support for innovation is vital to accessing these high growth opportunities.”
We will see how this plays out later in the year and F&DT will discuss this with Sian in our February 2024 issue.
Of course, when all is said and done, when the anticipation is over, the gifts have been given, the movies watched, the music listened, the food eaten, the tree put away, the traditions executed, the generosity on display, we have a new year to look forward to.
I’m not a real big believer in resolutions, but I am a small believer. And the fact of the matter is, there are plenty of people that believe in them.
Christmas is the perfect book-end to a year. It’s a time to look back on many a victory, all the failures, and reflect on what can be different going forward.
I love the opportunities with the excitement of a new year and what lays ahead; the collective spirit that things can be better than they’ve been.
Show me a time of year that accomplishes all of these things better than Christmas does.
Have a very merry Christmas.
- Rodney Jack, editor, Food & Drink Technology.
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