Page 27 - FoodFocusThailand No.206 MAY 2023

SPECIAL FOCUS

Health: COVID-19 pandemic changes include introducing rules that aim to increase trust by requiring foods to
affects the public’s awareness specify their origin or production history. These will likely also add value to some
of and concern for their health. This products.
leads to the increased consumption of According to the 5 megatrends above, we can conclude the trends of future
more nutritional food, more regular foods into 9 topics as following:
exercise, greater attention to public 1. Functional Foods: According to the megatrend on the health issue,
health and safety, and the development consumers are looking for functional foods with vital active ingredients or nutrients
that improve and support health more than usual.
of provenance and supply chain 2. Flexitarian and Vegan Foods: When consumers have more concern on
tracking to increase food safety. In their health, they tend to associate animal products with diseases. Therefore, they
addition, changes in lifestyles, are looking for non-animal or vegan products. However, some consumers do not
preferences, and age are also affecting strictly be vegetarians but tend to consume fewer animal products or called
the consumer market. flexitarians.

Technology: The impacts of
new technology are becoming
more evident on an almost daily basis.
Those new technologies include:
• Biotechnology, such as bioen-
gineering, synthetic biology, genetic
modification, and nanotechnology.
• Digital technologies, such as
artificial intelligence (AI), big data
storage and analytics, and blockchain
technology.
• Engineering technologies, such
as automation and robotics.
• Visualization technologies,
namely augmented reality (AR), mixed
reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR).

Demographic Change:
Although the overall global
population is still on track to increase,
the birth rate is significantly lower,
affecting the world population structure.
This change also has an impact on food
in terms of both the types of food and
the overall quantity.

Nature and Environment:
Environmental problems are
becoming more and more evident
globally, leading to more severe natural
disasters such as storms, floods,
droughts, etc. This also causes the loss
of creatures and inevitably affects the
food industry. Therefore, both the public
and industry sectors pay much greater
attention to sustainability.

The World Economy and
The Global Regulatory
Framework: Megatrends
affecting rules and regulations will allow
the food industry to firm up food
security. Examples of regulatory

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