This is one of The Food Channel’s Top 10 Food Trends for 2010, based on research conducted in conjunction with CultureWaves® and the International Food Futurists®. For the full list, check here.

Food with Benefits

Call it what you will, “nutritional, healthful, good-for-you” but this trend toward beneficial foods is growing at a pretty big rate. Expect food to either have nutrients added, or have the word “free” (gluten-free, allergy-free). Just last year we talked about functional food, which was really about adding ingredients to pump up the nutritional value. Before that, it was fortified. Next year we see this idea morphing into a grown-up version.

Sara Lee, for example, is coming out with its new Soft & Smooth Plus made with DHA Omega-3, the nutrient that has been identified as supporting healthy brain development during the formative years.

Defining Good For You

We’ve mainstreamed probiotics, like Activia with Bifidus Regularis. We’ve become used to food with calcium added, or vitamins identified, but this year we’ll see a stronger statement—we will be defining “good for you” as includes specific vitamins and nutrients. And, it will be across both food at home and away from home, so look for some company or companies to get on the bandwagon and be the ones to establish a uniform code so we can understand more about what we are buying. In fact, a leader is coming out of private branding with the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System. It is designed to help you cut through confusing nutrition information so you can make decisions about food quickly and easily, and feel good about your choices.

Knowing Where Food Comes From

This is where we change the way we feed our children, starting with a response to education funding cuts and making sure that school lunch menus are built with beneficial foods and not just cheap foods. Expect to see more about how to feed a family for pennies and still ensure nutrition. Before we trusted; now we know more and we are getting involved with our food to know what it’s made from, what’s been added to it, and why we should care.

For evidence, read:
How Do You Take Your Coffee: Cream, Sugar, Collagen?
Getting Your Vitamins From a Sprinkle of Spice
Beta Website Targets School Cafeteria Transformation
Beauty Foods Product Launches Triple
Black Currants New Exercise Enhancer
Beverage Claims to Make Healthy Sexy
Dieters’ Holy Grail: Food That Fills You Up for Twice as Long
Chocolate That Reduces Acne