Forecast 2019: Nine Ways to Be Trendy in 2019
5. Go With Your Gut
Probiotic-rich and probiotic-fortified beverages, such as kombucha, juices and enhanced waters, have been growing in popularity over the past few years and won’t lose momentum in 2019, predicts Imbibe. Digestive health has emerged as a core component of the modern view of health and wellness, echoes KIND. In the year ahead, the company anticipates more new products coming to the market that tout the gut health trio of fiber, prebiotics and probiotics.
6. Hyper-Personalized Functional Beverages
Functional beverages in 2019 will be "hyper-personalized" for consumers around wellness attributes such as improved sleep, energy, cognitive function, beauty, weight loss and gut health, according to Imbibe. Also, expect new products to launch that support even more personalized needs like oral or cardiovascular health. In particular, coffee that delivers health benefits beyond a dose of caffeine will be in the spotlight. Expect coffee to be fortified with additional functional ingredients such as protein, MCT oil, CBD oil, and adaptogens like reishi mushrooms.
7. E-Commerce Expansion
E-commerce expansion will continue in 2019 with various brick-and-mortar implications. Online retailers will continue to move selectively into brick-and-mortar spaces or partner with established retailers to grow their reach, according to Acosta’s 2019 consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry predictions. Acosta is a sales and marketing agency serving the CPG industry. At the same time, brick-and-mortar operators will continue to play catchup with e-commerce players like Amazon, and click-and-collect will evolve as retailers refine their implementation.
8. Vehicle-as-a-Service
Vehicle-as-a-service (VaaS) will grow quickly in 2019 – enabled by connected car technology, predicts Todd Walter, chief technologist at Teradata, a data intelligence and analytics company. VaaS providers such as Uber, ZipCar and Maven are changing the definition of vehicle ownership. The change will be slow but accelerating over the next couple of years. Companies should see the writing on the wall that there will be a lot less vehicle ownership and a lot more VaaS providers, and they should try to adjust their businesses now to get ready for and hopefully take advantage of this movement, according to Walter.
9. Do No Harm
Consumers today are looking to leave a light carbon footprint behind, and they want to spend their dollars with companies that can help them achieve this mission. Efforts around reduced packaging and ethical ingredient sourcing can go a long way, as sustainability claims have been shown to significantly impact purchase decisions. Data from Nielsen and Mintel also suggests consumers will pay more for products that boast sustainability claims.