Tech companies in the world are constantly telling us sleep scores, heart rates and making our biology like a dashboard that we worry about every day. In such a situation, how could food companies remain silent without talking about the body? By turning our biology into data, these tech companies have not only made self-optimization an easy and booming business, but also made the boom of wearable devices a reality. The food business sitting on the sidelines not only saw that this technological change was making money, but it also saw a change in the interactions between married daughters and their mothers. Remember, not long ago, when a WhatsApp call came at a particular time, mothers would rush to answer it. Because that call was from his daughter, who was living abroad or in the city where she had settled after marriage. Conversations were short. Daughters would ask how to make a particular dish and mothers would tell it like an AI assistant. Gradually these calls to know the recipe reduced. This is not because the daughters have become proficient, but according to them, their mother’s recipes are no longer health conscious as per the new times. With the increasing use of weight loss drugs, the world is slowly learning to check their diet for various reasons. Adding protein to almost everything from supplements to potato chips has become a way to entice consumers. A recent McKinsey report found that two-thirds of the world’s consumers are willing to pay 10% more for healthier alternatives to their regular snacks. Can you believe that you can buy different types of cookies, which can improve your focus on various tasks, from sleep to those that you feel have a lifestyle impact. Till today we all kept eating ‘protein cookies’. We believed that it contained fiber as per the information mentioned on the packet. But now the same cookie has taken a different place in our biology. Now she says, ‘Eat me, you will sleep well.’ Or it says, ‘If you want to increase focus, here is the ‘Focus Cookie”. It contains nutrients that are believed to improve brain performance – like creatine. The ‘Sleep Cookie’, which contains the amino acid L-theanine, is believed to calm the nervous system by reducing stress. Fields Good Packaged Cookies, available online in the United States, sells several such varieties. However, researchers working on wellness trends have mixed opinions about these ingredients. I think the future of cookies is going to be age-based, like adult cookies and children’s cookies. However, food business has taken huge leaps across the world. While one person is planning food packaging, another is thinking about how to add a combination of protein, fiber or other functional ingredients so that it can appeal to health conscious people. Putting a functional twist on classic food has now become the new norm for young entrepreneurs. They have understood that the hunger for ‘permissive indulgence’ in the world is never going to end. This means creating treats that satisfy hunger and also have a ‘healthier profile’ so people can enjoy them without the guilt. This trend focuses on balance rather than restrictions. Often the 80-20 rule is followed, where 80% is nutritional content and 20% is luxury. Imagine traditional laddus being transformed into ‘whey laddus’ or ‘protein pedas’, bringing together nostalgia and nutrition. The bottom line is that innovative technology and foods that promise to support different parts of our biology will always be on trend. In the future, any food business without the stamp of science and health may have to struggle to compete.
Source link
N. Raghuraman’s Column: The world is looking for healthier alternatives to its regular snacks
