The best part about early December articles is watching everyone trip over himself trying to figure out the “definite” food trends for the coming year. Today we look at two such lists, and then we’ll have plenty of time to revisit and watch. Maybe we should start with a startling fact: Eating out is now cheaper than cooking at home. Think about that a little and you’ll understand the issues facing all food purveyors. Food costs have skyrocketed, over 6%, but most restaurants are afraid to spike prices. They favor a little less food on the plate. Hey, not a problem, we have the obesity issue to contend with anyway. So watch your dollars and follow the trends.

According to Andrew Freeman, (Andrew Freeman & Co) a great food guru with a major hospitality background, this is the year of  the potato. No complaints from me as potatoes have been my friend for years. He says expect to see menus wrapped around the food such a:

–French Fry Menus: Choose Your Cut, Color, Sauce (like the French Fry Menu at Jasper’s Corner Tap & Kitchen in San Francisco)
–Mashers with Mix-ins
–Custom Cut Chips and You-Pick Dips

Or, Grilled Cheese, which he calls the next burger as in:

–Signature Sandwiches
–Gourmet Interpretations, Creative Variations, Old-Time Classics
–Artisan Ingredients (or Not), or:

Produce-ing Desserts, Vegetable Desserts

–Experimentation with Flavors
–Innovative Creations Combine Savory and Sweet

They, of course, have numerous additional ideas and let you look back at prior food trend lists to see how well they did!

Supermarket News approaches the food trend list from an entirely different perspective and lists the number 1 trend which will impact everything as food prices. They do not believe prices will lessen much as production costs continue to increase, but they see grocers coming up with clever ways to entice the consumer including bonus points getting used toward lay-away programs for bigger purchases as coupon use continues. They expect to see more grocers joining the “farm to fork” philosophy as food origin has become an important factor in purchasing. Likewise, they expect grocers to cater more to the largest population of shoppers, the baby boomers, 76 million of them, “will control 52% of the total $706 billion spend on groceries by 2015 – making them the largest food influencers and purchasers.”