The pandemic has changed our lifestyles beyond recognition. Zoom meetings are commonplace, staying in is the new going out, and many of us no longer go to the supermarket – the supermarket comes to us.
In fact, the delivery and takeaway food industries have boomed since lockdowns began in most countries in 2020. But these lockdowns have come with a price. They’ve had a negative effect on both physical and mental health of adults and children.
But now, as vaccines allow us to enter a new phase, we can see a light at the end of the tunnel. There’s a widespread hope that we’re on track to getting our lives back before too long.
And this is prompting people to look at healthy changes to their lives, to counter the effects of lockdown.
The health and wellness trend is about to be turbo-charged
Healthy, natural and tasty food was already the fastest growing food trend before the pandemic, according to PMMI Business Intelligence. Now it’s set to really take off.
As people begin to feel more optimistic, they’re starting to prepare themselves for the future. Many of those whose health has suffered as a result of the lockdown, are starting to look for healthier lifestyle choices to get them in better shape and ready to fully enjoy their eventual return to normal life.
We’ve all missed out on doing the things that we enjoy. Whether it’s the simple pleasures of spending time with loved ones you haven’t seen in a while, discovering new places and visiting old favourites, or going out to an afternoon at the football or a gig at night, we all have plenty to look forward to.
In other words, all the things we took for granted before the pandemic are now things we can’t wait to experience again.
But it wasn’t just activities like these we once took for granted. For many of us, it was also our health. This is no longer the case. We now see our health as one of the most precious things that we have. And there’s a realisation that being healthy doesn’t just happen – we need to make it happen, with a series of lifestyle choices. This is reflected in consumer trends over the past Autumn/Winter season. While sales of seasonal cold and flu remedies were down, sales of vitamin and mineral supplements have surged during lockdown.
So as we strive to improve our wellness in this life after lockdown, consumers are shifting their habits to support their health. This includes staying active, whether it’s going for a regular walk or working out at the gym. It means getting enough sleep – late nights and early mornings can soon catch up with us and lower our defences. And it means eating a cleaner diet, by cutting down on harmful foods, like those high in salt, fat and sugar.
The latter is a great opportunity to food manufacturers.
Because it’s brands that are able to offer healthy, great-tasting alternatives to traditional favourites that will flourish as we get back to normal, and become part of post-pandemic life.
Make sure your brand doesn’t miss out
A key advantage will be to use ingredients which don’t just taste good, but also do you good.
And that’s where Saltwell comes in.
We all know that too much salt can lead to various health problems from high blood pressure to kidney damage. For many, the effects of a high-sodium diet have worsened under lockdown, due to lack of activity and indulging in too much comfort food.
The fact is that salt is arguably the most unhealthy of our dietary habits.
Yet shockingly, average salt consumption, despite all the publicity about its effect on health is still well above maximum recommended levels. The problem is so serious that all the WHO member states have agreed to reduce their intake of salt by 30% by 2025.
For food and drink manufacturers, now is the time to act.
And the good news is that they no longer need to look at unsatisfactory salt replacement options like synthetic salt, because there’s one natural ingredient that offers an easy solution to the sodium challenge.
Saltwell
Saltwell is a low-sodium salt, which is exclusively extracted from a million year old mineral-rich underground sea below the Atacama Desert in South America.
It gives a remarkable 35% less sodium than conventional salt, yet tastes the same.
So simply by replacing salt with Saltwell, your consumers can still get the authentic taste that they love without the high sodium that traditionally comes with it. All of the flavour with none of the guilt.
Saltwell means you can offer your customers a low sodium product that tastes like anything but. Which makes the task of product development that aligns with current market trends a whole lot easier.
Get in touch to learn more, or request a sample for your business.
