Trend Tracker: Alcohol at home in South Korea, snacking in Australia, veganism in China and India and more feature in our round-up

Alcohol at home: Rising South Korean drinking-alone trend boosts fruit wine imports but not beer sales​

South Korea consumers are drinking more alcohol alone at home amid COVID-19, a trend which has driven fruit wine imports up but not managed to stop a downward slope for imported beers.

The new trend is dubbed ‘homsul’, which refers to drinking alcohol at home, usually alone, which has unsurprisingly gained a lot of traction during COVID-19 due to lockdowns and social distancing rules, as well as an increasing number of younger South Koreans living independently.

According to recent data from the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), this trend has resulted in a shift in consumption occasions for alcohol, particularly for fruit wines and is something that the ministry is monitoring closely.

“As homsul is becoming a trend in the community, it can be seen that the consumption of [liquors such as] fruit wines is changing from a drink to be enjoyed on special days, to a drink to be enjoyed at home alone or sometimes with family,”​ said MFDA via a formal statement.

Pandemic snack attack: Rise of work-from-home culture driving snacking trend in Australia - Mondelez report​

The rise of the work-from-home culture in Australia ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit has simultaneously led to a rise in snacking frequency, especially among younger consumers, according to a report by Mondelez Australia.

Mondelez’s State of Snacking 2020 report was much focused on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the snacking industry, and for Australia in particular, an obvious positive upwards impact was observed on local consumers’ snacking behaviour as a result of more people working from home during lockdowns.

“​[We] surveyed over 500 people [and saw] more snacking for many Australians [and the] results [have shown] a significant change in eating habits brought about by the pandemic,”​ Mondelez Director of Strategy, Insights and Analytics Tom Kimpton said.

“Nine out of 10 (91%) of adults told us they are either snacking more or at the very least the same amount, and [of this group] 37% said they have been snacking more during the pandemic than before it.”​

Post-pandemic look: Hygiene standards, at-home experiences and vegan trend will form the future of China and India’s F&B industry​

Hygiene standards, at-home experiences and the vegan and healthy trend are expected to form the post-pandemic future of the food and beverage industry in two of the world’s largest economies, China and India.

This is according to a study by researchers from the two countries whoe explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food supply chain and recovery efforts.

While the pandemic had disrupted food supply chains worldwide, it also resulted in changing consumer behaviour towards foods.

In China and India, consumer buying habits have changed with increased focus on food safety, home consumption and healthy and vegan foods. Food and beverage companies are introducing new services and programs to counter this massive change. So, this research presented the trends expected to continue post-pandemic.

Beyond soy and almond: APAC’s plant-based dairy firms step out of the conventional box with alternative sources and formats​

The plant-based dairy industry in the Asia Pacific region has traditionally seen products such as soy milk and almond milk lead the pack, but recently firms have been utilising many more unique plant-based sources to produce dairy alternatives, or creating new interesting plant-based formats to attract consumers.

In this edition of the FNA Deep Dive, we take a closer look at this rapidly growing and evolving industry in APAC to find out more about how this sector is emerging as one of the most diverse globally.

Significant increases in fruit, vegetable and sugary drink consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong – Study​

There was a significant increase in the frequency of eating fruits and vegetables, coupled with a spike in sugary beverages intake during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, new data reveals.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to June 2020 via a random telephone survey of Chinese adults living in Hong Kong, aiming to examine the changes in eating habits before and during the pandemic.

This period was selected as social distancing measures were being imposed in Hong Kong, which included restrictions on eateries where catering businesses were required to stop selling food or drinks on sites and nightclubs and bars were instructed to close. Employees were also recommended to work from home where possible.

While Hong Kong did not impose a complete lockdown, these social distancing measures still disrupted dietary and lifestyle behaviours. In this study, researchers also found that people were significantly more likely to cook at home, as well as order take-out during the pandemic.