What Will 2016 Hold for Food Companies?

McCormick: Alternative “Pulse” Proteins

McCormick, a leading spice company for decades, has released their Flavor Forecast, for the sixteenth year. Among other spice-centric trends, was the proclamation that 2016 will be all about “pulses” — essentially beans and legumes. An excellent source of protein, consumers are already gravitating towards more pulse-based products as a way to get daily doses of protein without turning to meat. The trend is so popular, the United Nations declared 2016 the “Year of the Pulse.” In 2015 chickpea pasta producer Banza received an investment of $1.3 million to ramp up production, and bean based snack company Mediterranean Snacks was acquired by Saffron Road; both indicators of a strong pulse, indeed.