Category Archives: Gastronomia

Food trends, human behaviour, marketing, gastronomy, tourism

Self-Serve Beer Taps, Virtual Wine Tastings, Mead, Cold Brew Coffee and Natural Wine: Beverage Trends from the US

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BeerSelected items from the MARC Research Beverages InView Report Jan 2016:

Millennials of drinking age are willing to learn about new styles and flavors of drinks while balancing the desire to explore new tastes with loyalty to a few favourite brands. They are likely to purchase beer, wine, and spirits at a variety of retail and on-premises venues. They drink more than one type of adult beverage with 30% doing so on their last on-premise occasion. Cost is the leading factor in deciding what drink to order. As they age they explore craft beer and wine varietals.

Around one-third of diners order an alcoholic beverage with their meal. Beer wine and spirits account for 85%,  8.9% and 6.2% respectively. On-premise drinking occurs at bars (40%), casual dining spots (38%), hotels (9%), and fine dining restaurants (5%).

Since 2013 the on-premise drinkers that say the drink menu influenced their decision to visit a particular restaurant, has increased. Drink menus are shrinking with adult beverage items declining 2.2% year-over-year. This parallels the trend towards smaller, more focused food menus.  Less than one-quarter of consumers overall say price is more important than quality in drinks.

Trends include venues that focus on a particular type of alcohol, e.g. bourbon bar; wine on tap; cocktails made with wine, beer, and hard ciders; classic cocktails  such as Martinis and Tom Collins’ are making a come back; more choices in serving sizes; boutique, better-for-you, and hand-crafted options for alcohol, mixers, and garnishes.

Ten beverage trends to expect in 2016:  
Fresh herbs and spices
Low-alcohol cocktails that don’t skimp on flavor
Ethnic mashups
Creative applications for different types of tea including ‘matcha’
Fermented drinks
Grilled citrus to add a sweet smoky flavor to drinks
Carbonation of coffee, tea, and other drinks
Greater demand for seasonal ingredients
Cold-brew coffee
Focus on drink presentation style

In Total Wine & More’s 21st century liquor store, customers can experience virtual wine tastings via live-streaming video on a massive HDTV. They can also enter meal ingredients and cooking method into an app on a tablet and receive a list of suggested wines at different price points to pair with the meal. They can scan the barcode of a product and instantly receive descriptions and ratings for it.

 

 

Pubs and fast casual restaurants are installing self-serve beer taps.  Drinkers provide ID and receive a wireless bracelet or card that permits operation of the taps. Customers can choose from dozens of beers on tap and sample several or pour a full glasses.

Craft beer sales grew 15.2% in 2014, this market being driven by younger consumers looking for brands which offer a certain level of distinction as well as beers that are produced locally. The category continues to see innovation such as hard sodas and ciders.

Letsee Beer is a new app which uses augmented reality to provide instant access to beer reviews. Users launch the app, take a photo of the beer they are interested in and the app immediately serves up user reviews and ratings.

Mead sales grew 84% between 2012 and 2014 and production increased 128% from 2013 to 2014. 42 new meaderies opened in 2014 with more planned across the nation. Mead makers experiment with dry, lighter, carbonated meads and as like craft beers, they can be found on-tap and offer an alternative for non-beer drinkers.

Sparkling water volume has grown 26% in the past year. The US top seller in LaCroix  has experienced 50% sales growth. LaCroix, Perrier and San Pellegrino have 30% , 15% and 12% market share respectively. Coke and Pepsi are preparing to launch flavored sparkling water entries.

„’Woodsy’ waters offer an alternative to coconut water. Cactus or nopal water contains prickly pear cactus juice and is the only known fruit to contain all 24 betalain skin-beneficial antioxidants and is also said to be good for muscle recovery. Birch water,  native to the Nordic and Baltic regions for centuries, helps to eliminate uric acid and contains a naturally occurring sugar, Xylitol. Maple water has a light, refreshing maple taste and is low-calorie and nutrient laden.

Cold brew coffee retail sales grew 115% between 2014 and 2015 and 300% since 2010. 24% of U.S. consumers have purchased cold-brew coffee at retail with older Millennials (55%) and men (30%) are more likely to buy it. However, 58% of those who don’t drink cold brew coffee aren’t even interested in trying it. Among those who have tried it, 48% did not like its taste while 9% said it cost too much.

A new coffee shop concept in Philadelphia asks customers to serve themselves from a wall of single-serve coffee pods. Customers choose from 136 varieties of hot beverages, purchase their single-serve cup for $1.75 for regular and $3.00 for gourmet blends, and then make their own coffee in a single-serve machine. The shop’s staff cleans and recycles the cups.

Natural wines have no more than one percent share of the wine market but debate is rife. The character of natural wine more closely reflects the places where the grapes were grown. Makers offer more transparency about where and how they were made; however, since they haven’t the additives of mainstream wine (which makes for consistent taste and prevents the wine from turning into vinegar), each bottle of wine a wild card until it is opened. Many natural wine makers are still learning the craft and relying on market feedback for guidance.

Full Report Here: BeverageInView Dec 2015

Coming Our Way? Sugary Drink Taxes, Tea Cocktails, Bulletproof Coffee and Coffee Wine

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Bulletproof Coffee Recipe from Optimoz

If you take the view that Australia follows the US in food and drink trends, then the latest US beverage trends from M/A/R/C Research’s InView will interest foodies and those in food and beverage.

Here’s a round up on the US trends in sugared drinks, fads, tea, millennials, craft brews, bottled water and wine.

Sugary Drink Taxes

Sugar-sweetened drinks with at least 209kJ’s per 236 ml’s are said to contribute to 180,000 deaths worldwide through diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Vermont and Illinois have levied a taxes on sugary drinks and other states are considering following suite.

Bulletproof Coffee

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that coffee bars (chocolate-like wafers that offer the equivalent of a shot of expresso), activated charcoal lemonade (supposed to detoxify and reduce bloat) and Bulletproof or Sherpa coffee (fresh brewed coffee blended with grass-fed butter and a shot of coconut oil) are the latest fads to hit the beverage scene.

Starbucks Applies for Liquor Licences

About 100 locations will offer beer, wine, and small plates as Starbuck applies for liquor licenses in an effort to improve sales via a new evening menu.

Brewed Tea the Cool New Mixer

The Detroit News reports tea-flavored vodkas including Seagram’s sweet tea-flavored vodka and Absolut’s Wild Tea also containing elderflower is becoming popular.

Experimental Millennials

Heineken estimates Millennials will account for 70% of future beer growth due to their experimental  natures and the fact that they equate cost with quality. As the economy and their economic standing improve, they trade up so Heineken use digital aspirational and experiential campaigns to capture this group.

Cannabis-Infused Beer

Targeted News Service reports that craft beer market is growing and growing. At the end of June there was an 18% increase in the number of US breweries operating with 1,755 further breweries in planning. Specialist brewers have introduced alcoholic ginger and root beers and a (legal derivative of cannabis called cannabidoil or CBD) cannabis-infused beers.

If Bottled Water is King, Then Water Enhancer’s are Queen

Between 2000 and 2014, annual US per capita consumption of bottled water doubled and per capita consumption of soft drinks fell 25%. Driven mostly by the health and wellness movement, US analysts believe that by 2017 bottled water will surpass soft drinks and become the dominant non-alcoholic beverage. Brands are launching products with exotic flavors in waters and water enhancers.

Coffee Wines

PR Newswire reports: The fastest growing wines are a range varietals, styles, and regions with interest in wines with interesting stories, philanthropic connections, unique production methods, and convenient packaging. Wine retailers note that consumers are more likely to purchase a new brand at a higher price point than remain with a familiar brand that raised its price. Boxed wines recorded double-digit growth with 187-ml wine bottles also selling well.

The World’s First Coffee Wines have been launched: Cabernet Espresso and Chardonnay Cappuccino under the Friends Fun Wine brand. Fun Wine is positioned as a drink for 21 – 35 year old new an occasional wines drinkers that want an affordable alternative to beer and wine with a lower alcohol content.

Source

My Third Reinvention

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business card at July 1 2015

My Third Reinvention

The time has arrived for my third career reinvention. To be truthful, I feel like I have been preparing for this reinvention my whole life, especially when you consider the strength of the early influences from my mother and what I have been doing the last 20 years.

I spotted this infographic recently and realised that I am well along on the pathway. My reasons for considering a career path change are 1, 2, and 3.

This career matches my interests as I am an “Analytical Promoter,” based on a personality assessment test.

This career area has great future predicted growth and all my strengths and skills are transferable.

Undertaking the Gastronomic Tourism classes in the Masters program with SCU and Le Cordon Bleu fills in the knowledge gaps. A huge bonus to taking on Master’s level study at this age is that I am fascinated by the subject matter and this makes the challenge to my brain much more pleasant.

I am enjoying re-establishing and building new connections in food tourism, council and tourism in my region and I have found a new mentor in Barossa Baron, Barbara Storey.

Offering my services gratis and sharing my old and new found knowledge as a speaker is something I really enjoy. My local tourism authority’s training arm (for small tourism businesses and volunteers) are always on the look out for speakers and have already been asked to present a talk on food tourism with one of my current clients.

Studying online has meant I have had to re-embrace the habit of reading and doing lots of research online. During this process I have ample opportunity to keep up with the trends in this industry – and they are very interesting.

How-to-successfully-change-career-paths_sm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blessed Are the Cheesemakers!

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blessed-are-the-cheese-makers-1

Anyone who knows me well, would be aware that I am a cheese lover. Pathological cheese lovers have an overwhelming desire to share their passion and so I have provided cheese tastings with all the trimmings for my children since they were quite young. These included palate cleansing, pear, cabernet, quince pastes and tasting notes.

Yes, I am the woman who scans the imported cheese case in Woolies every week hoping to nab a special and  yes, I am the woman who almost every week will have 8 or 9 cheeses in her trolley – camembert or brie, ricotta, haloumi, parmesan, mozzarella, cream cheese, gorganzola or goats cheese, feta, bocconcini or buffalo mozzarella.

The gift from my partner for my recent birthday was a Cheese & Wine Appreciation Experience at Fort Denison on Sydney Harbour. The regular experiences are run by McIntosh and Bowman Cheesemongers. Claudia Bowman was our hostess for the two hour event and it was truly a rapturous and memorable occasion for me. Think kid in a candy store….

We caught a bus from home to the city (about an hour) and walked quickly (ran) the 700m from Wynyard Station to Circular Quay to meet the Fort Denison Ferry. Claudia greeted us there and informed us of the sequence of proceedings. There were 23 of us in all – all couples but one lady with ages ranging from early 20’s to mid 60’s.

Claudia’s passion and knowledge of all things cheese just oozes from her like the heart of Normandy room-temperature Camembert. She is passionate without being over-the-top and shares her knowledge and opinion without pretentiousness or arrogance.

On disembarking our ferry we are served sparking wine to take up to the top of the Fort where the canon is and the wind was. Photos with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House in the background were pretty much obligitory.

We then repaired to the tasting room which was beautifully decked out with our 10 cheeses, three wines, sour dough roll and later Coopers Ale and chocolate ganache.

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We had range of fresh, bloomy, washed rind, hard pressed and blue veined cheeses with Australian and European of the same type to compare. Cheese for tasting is arranged clockwise from 12 o’clock – mildest to strongest. We are encouraged to taste the effect that a dry fruity white, a bold red, a dessert wine and a Coopers Ale has upon the cheese and the effect the cheese has on the tasting of those beverages.

Some QI’s that stayed in my head after the event included:

  • There are no buffalo herds in Australia. All buffalo milk is imported from Europe to one of the 6 producers in Australia
  • Holy Goat Matured Skyla is an award winning Goat’s cheese of $240 per kilo from Sutton Grange, Victoria. They have only 68 milking goats and cannot keep up with local demand – thus the price.
  • Australian Camembert appearance and flavour bears no resemblance to the real thing from Normandy, France largely because we use food grade chlorine to clean cheese making equipment and different rennets etc and this radically effects the resultant product. French Camembert, when ripe, smells a little like cooked cauliflower or broccoli. This distinctive smell took me instantly back to my days in France as girl of 18.
  • There are 7 types of cheese: Fresh, Bloomy, Washed, Semi-Hard, Hard Pressed, Blue Vein and processed (everything else) from 4 types of milk: cow, sheep, goat and buffalo.
  • The highest fat cheeses are the hard pressed because, of course, any fat has been concentrated in them. This then is my license to gorge on buffalo and fresh goat’s cheeses.
  • Chocolate and blue vein cheese together taste amazing – seriously – you need to try it.

My partner who is not as big a cheese gourmand as I and who is quite particular, enjoyed this experience and felt it was excellent value for money.

Claudia let me take home a set of cheeses in a little container for my 13 year old daughter to try. I set up a simple tasting for son (22) and daughter. Son devoured them before I could finish the tasting notes on each one, but daughter, after telling him to slow down, savoured hers like a true gourmande. It’s good to know the cheese/brain washing has not been wasted on her.