What's Next, Now: January 2024
This month, our crystal ball predicts fights over food labeling, an anti-dating movement, pushback against DEI, and more.
You’ve heard of greenwashing, you’ve heard of rainbow washing, but may we introduce you to: plant-based washing. The term “plant-based” was originally coined to label products as vegan meat alternatives, such as a plant-based hamburger patty. Then, as the term gained marketing power, it grew to include foods that were naturally vegan, like coconut milk. Now, plant-based can be used to describe any product that doesn’t include meat, including products that aren’t foods at all, like plant-based shampoo and plant-based vapes.
The oversaturation of the label is causing the term to become passé already. Now, instead of leading consumers to believe a product is natural or healthy, plant-based has garnered a negative reputation due to its connections to ultra-processed vegan alternatives — earning them a new label, “Franken-food.”
The term “ultra-processed” is another label currently under fire from health food communities — and the U.S. government. As the government prepares to release its next dietary guidelines (a report issued every five years that dictates which foods are considered “healthy” in the government’s eyes), federal researchers are probing into the health effects of ultra-processed foods. Recent studies have linked diets high in ultra-processed foods to several health concerns, including Type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and depression. But major food brands are pushing back on the demonization of processing, arguing it makes food safe, convenient, accessible, and affordable. (While there may be benefits to processing, they’re also worried about their own bottom lines — one food exec said ultra-processed foods account for 90% of their portfolio.)
While the government — and the internet — debates over the merits of processing, brands are already responding to consumer preferences for more natural foods. After Oatly and other oat milk brands faced social media pushback for their long ingredient lists containing suspicious ingredients like seed oils, Oatly answered with a new product: Oatly Super Basic Oatmilk, which has just four ingredients — water, oats, sea salt, and citrus zest.
Our prediction? The return of dairy milks. The milk industry has been preparing for a comeback, with a resurrection of the iconic Got Milk? campaign and even a push in court against the labeling of alternative milks as “milk.” And if consumers are looking for products with a low ingredient list, well, milk only has one.