There was great expectation for the return of TUTTOFOOD also to understand which of the trends of the last two exceptional years would be confirmed for the near future. And the confirmations were not lacking: the search for a balance between healthiness in everyday life and the search for gratifying foods of ever more outstanding quality for special moments, precisely because they are carefully “dosed”. The importance of the territory, short supply chain and tradition, and of course sustainability. And, last but not least, the attention to design packaging as well as practicality. Or even the understandable increase in attention to all aspects of food safety, hygiene and, therefore, supply chain control and traceability. Topics that are no longer the preserve of experts, but are now also mastered by consumers.

How is the consumer changing? For several years now, it has been stressed that consumers are becoming increasingly aware and informed. But that’s not all. They are also increasingly multiform and changeable. The same customer can alternate, without any particular prevalence, between delivery and buying in person, between discount and traditional stores, between buying raw materials to “cook” at home or buying quality ready meals or eating out. The concept of target fades into that of consumption occasion. And more than ever, data, and, therefore, digital transformation, are fundamental to “put the customer's needs first”, this time for real and not just as a desire as sometimes happened in the past.

At TUTTOFOOD 2021, the most innovative proposals were the protagonists of the first Better Future Award, the recognition established by Fiera Milano and TUTTOFOOD in collaboration with Gdoweek and MarkUP. Innovation, of course, but also ethics and attention to innovative packaging. A few examples? In terms of responsibility, the project by Andriani for a sustainable teff supply chain in Ethiopia, the Giftbox Antonio Marras project by Casa Olearia Taggiasca for packaging, which has combined Galateo - Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Taggiasco olives and balsamic vinegar of Modena in a single design package or, for innovation, I Legumi Fatti A Snack by Pedon, for the proposal to use five roasted legumes in combination with seeds, fruit and vegetables for ready meals and salads.  

But there was also no lack of curiosities and novelties that go to occupy emerging niches. Could spirulina seaweed be one of the superfoods of the future? Energy bars with chocolate and spirulina and even spirulina and rice noodles were seen at the event. The meeting between taste and health revolution can also be declined in the Mediterranean diet: oil and cocoa. And here at the fair is the praline in which the chocolate, white or dark, acts as a casket to a liquid heart of extra virgin olive oil from Puglia. And condiments are also evolving to keep up, for example with a date-based vinegar or an organic oil that mixes coconut and avocado.

And what about a gin made with water from the Mediterranean Sea, a 100% natural digestive liqueur with donkey milk and an organic beer made from quinoa? The revolution has also arrived in the Beverage sector.