Posh crumpets, tahini, celery juice, skewers and pink drinks are among the year’s hottest food and drink trends.

That’s according to the latest food trends survey out today from Waitrose which also found that One in eight Brits now does an online grocery shop at least once a week with 61% doing at least some grocery shopping online

We’re also nation of crisp lovers, with the average crisp eater crunching through 178 packets a year but as a nation we’re returning to kindness, compassion and a sense of what matters – decluttering our homes and lives, being mindful of our spending and cooking and caring for others

The seventh annual report is based on comprehensive new OnePoll consumer research of people across Britain – not just Waitrose & Partners shoppers.

Supported by focus group research, alongside insight from its food and shopping experts, and millions of purchases in shops and on Waitrose.com.

Says Managing Director Rob Collins: “Our findings this year point to a move away from materialism, and towards a rise in compassion and simplicity in British lifestyles. It seems that, as the world beyond our front doors becomes increasingly complicated, people are doubling down on the things that really matter. Households are decluttering to focus on the values – and people – that mean the most to them.”

Other findings include, Mindful spending is on the up, with 50% of us now buying fewer than one hot drink out per week, as we become more conscious of little bleeps on the contactless pad.

Nearly half of us are buying fewer lunches out and 36% say we’re considering more carefully in general whether we need to buy something before spending the money. Instead, we’re looking for ‘controlled discovery’ – exploring new tastes and cuisines without a big financial commitment.

Online and physical shopping are closer than ever, with a third of us (and half of under-35s) ‘dual shopping’ – looking up prices, recipes or product information while in a supermarket.

Half of visits to Waitrose.com are via a mobile device, up 9% on last year.

It’s cool to be kind; 17% of us say we cook for others more now than we did five years ago – whether baking for a charity event or fete, making food to help friends or family, or taking cake to work for colleagues.

Meanwhile this is the year that celery juice became a social media star, that posh crumpets graced the tables in top restaurants, and that searches for ‘tahini’ on Waitrose.com rose by 700%.

Other food trends for the year include noodles, grains, seaweed, eco cleaning products and everything on a skewer.

The rise of craft beers mean it’s now cool to drink out of a can. Brits are also making DIY flavoured spirits, exploring new and unusual grape varieties such as Furmint, and trying out refillable beer and wine bottles and Brits are spicing things up, with a fifth eating more spicy food than five years, and 26% of people replacing putting salt on the table with chilli sauce or flakes.

With a third of Brits eating less meat than two years ago, more than a quarter of us say we plan to look for better quality meat or fish when we do buy it.

Views of the farming pages on Waitrose.com are also up by 37% – pointing to a continued and long-term rise in interest in animal welfare. Other food fashions to look out for in 2020 include ‘Seacuterie’ and Middle Eastern cooking at home.

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