Food Corp releases 2021 trend forecast, launches shoppable media platform

“As the largest food publisher in Australia being on top of consumer trends is imperative”

• Nostalgia Remixed, The New Easy, Kitchen is Your Castle, and Travel Through Food the food trends for Autumn/Winter 2021
• Launch of new shoppable media platform makes entire Food Corp network shoppable

News Corp Australia’s managing director, food and travel Fiona Nilsson (pictured) has released findings from Food Corp’s Trend Forecast Autumn/Winter 2021, and announced the launch of a new suite of shoppable integrations and media.

Everyday 80 million data points are generated by the 6.8 million* Australians who connect with News Corp Australia’s network of food brands, providing real-time information on what Australian’s are planning, shopping, cooking and sharing in food. This data is then analysed by the company’s senior editorial food experts to predict the trends that will shape the coming season, turning data into actionable insights.

Nilsson said: “As the largest food publisher in Australia being on top of consumer trends is imperative to our business. Harnessing the data we generate every day, from a search bar entry to each on-site click and social interaction, gives us deep and real-time insights into the Australian food consumer.

“The food trends identified in our Autumn Winter 2021 Forecast will allow marketers to align their content marketing strategies with what’s driving consumer behaviour around food.

The launch of our new shoppable media platform means that our entire food network is now shoppable, making the consumer experience easier and even more effective for our advertisers.

“We are giving consumers the power to plan and shop wherever they engage with content across all of our on and off network channels, and enabling our clients to turn inspiration and awareness into action, with food content instantly shoppable via social media, video, display, print and more.”

The recipe to cart functionality on delicious., Australia’s Best Recipes and Kidspot Kitchen allows audiences to create dynamic, user specific shopping lists and convert straight to their shopping basket from any recipe page across these brands.

Food Corp has created three new opportunities for clients to convert online grocery shoppers as they consume content on these brand platforms:

Shoppable Media Links – this will enable commercial content to be instantly shoppable in environments outside of the three sites. A user can see a recipe created with delicious. on Facebook and then be able to click a link to add the recipe ingredients directly to their shopping basket list. Links can be used on all social platforms, YouTube and QR codes in print.

Sponsored Suggestion Module – an ad unit promoting specific products and price, linked contextually to recipes. This unit will follow the user into the shopping list and basket list to create additional opportunity to convert. It can be targeted by cuisine, ingredients, technique or any number of other attributes.

Shoppable Social Display – this is an evolution of Food Corp’s popular amplification product. When targeting a commercial video post across the Food Corp network, there is now the ability to create an instant ‘Shop Now’ button to add single ingredients or the full recipe straight to the users shopping basket.

Key Autumn/Winter 2021 season trends identified:

Nostalgia Remixed

The trend for nostalgia rolls on, growing ever-bigger with the latest phase being all about a yearning for yesteryear and old school reimagined. Nostalgia provides consumers with feelings of comfort. Some examples of rising retro ingredients and recipes across Food Corp are golden syrup, condensed milk, rice pudding and the meat pie.

Kitchen is Your Castle

Recent times and events have seen people spending more time at home, in particular in the kitchen. The kitchen has become their place to express a new found passion for cooking and baking. From pizza bases to swapping sourdough starters and pickling, preserving and fermenting, the desire to impress family and friends with new found skills is paramount, and no one wants to fail. There is a key call out here for homemade pastas with cooking from scratch having well and truly hit the mainstream.

The New Easy

“Quick and Easy” used to be inseparable terms. Now, in a new working from home era, fatigue has set in on lunches and dinners. In a shift of priorities, “Easy” has surged ahead of “Quick” and fuss-free is the new catchcry for home cooks. Consumers are looking for simple and easy recipes that require less concentration, and less panic cooking. This has sparked a rise in the ‘one pot, one pan’ phenomenon which is now extending further to ‘one bowl’ and ‘one tray’ with tray bakes seen as weeknight saviours such as the five ingredient chicken and mushroom pasta bake.

Travel Through Food

There is no denying that our appetite for travel has not waned one bit. The culinary delights from around the world that people have missed out on experiencing this year have become the food they are now eating on their plates at home. Consumers aren’t only experiencing travel from the comfort of their own home as a form of entertainment, but they are also engaging with this content to be inspired to recreate those international experiences, with global soups and curries a standout here.

Source: *emmaTM conducted by Ipsos, 12 months ending June 2020, Fused Nielsen Digital Panel calibrated to Digital Content Ratings, March 2020. All people 14+ 7 caps.

Methodology: Utilising the extensive data available across Food Corp, combined with global and local food trend reports, industry experts and specialist knowledge within the Food Corp team; the Food Corp Trends Forecast turns data into invaluable and actionable insights.

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