Food Trends 2023: New Glocal

The world of nutrition is turning faster and faster and restaurateurs, retailers and manufacturers must make sure not to fall behind. Hanni Rützler, renowned food trend researcher, is analyzing the hypes and Developments around food worldwide – and in turbulent times.

The pandemic has already had a massive impact on global trade and just-in-time supply chains, fueling the criticism of global sourcing that climate activists have been raising for some time. The food trend, which has now also become dynamic as a result of the war and which reflects the desire for a new, more sensible relationship between locally produced and globally imported food, will develop into future-proof guidelines for the food industry.

What is New Glocal?

New Glocal not only takes into account local and global aspects, but also gives them a new hierarchy. Regional availability becomes the primary criterion. And where the food trade continues to rely on international imports, the rules of the game will gradually change.

Trend forecast: The trend towards glocalization is being driven by strong dynamics: the ecological consequences of a ruthlessly globalized food industry are becoming increasingly important to public awareness. The first failures and shortages during the pandemic already showed the dependencies on globalized supply chains and their fragility. Geopolitical crises make the vulnerability of the system even more painfully obvious.

Effects on local gastronomy

But what does that mean for our local gastronomy? New Glocal will not be a temporary trend, but a harbinger of the next evolutionary stage in global food production, which will be characterized by a new focus on regionality and sustainable management with resilient interconnections to supra-regional and global structures. Step by step, this will also lead to a realignment of the range in supermarkets, but also to the expansion of international direct sales. And for restaurateurs and hoteliers in particular, it is more important than ever to ensure functioning supply chains. The closer the supplier, the better.