After years where the emphasis has been on bland uniformity, farsighted companies are recognising a consumer hunger for personality, adventure and excitement. Here we examine this new spirit of individuality, and how the recession has spawned an interest in nostalgia, with brands launching product ranges with a difference and leaf tea is brewing up a storm.
It all started with the growth in popularity of organic: As organic and speciality food moves more into the mainstream, from niche to accepted standard. Consumers are getting excited by speciality foods again, and caring more about what they eat and drink. They want speciality foods that have character and reflect where they're grown and produced. Even in this difficult economic climate we're witnessing a sea change. There's a certain type of consumer who is moving away from mass produced, consistently uniform and ultimately boring offerings - back to interesting, quality products from small producers, where every mouthful tells a story of how, when and where they were grown. But what's happening on the High Street may seem to contradict these assertions. For example, despite the thousands of different varieties of fruit and vegetables, the choice in supermarkets is often limited to only a few varieties. Large multiples focus on profitability, flawless uniform appearance, yields and shelf life. Similarly, many of our traditional breeds of cattle, pigs and sheep, each with their own distinctive flavour, have been brought close to extinction as the meat industry turns to leaner, bigger, faster growing animals that meet supermarkets' demand for cheap, bland meat.
The backlash against blandness: However, there are signs the tide is turning. Running counter to the idea that shoppers want perfection and consistency, there has been a surge in the popularity of vegetable box schemes (over 400,000 boxes of sometimes misshapen and muddy produce are delivered in the UK each week) and farmers' markets (there are now over 550 in the UK). Likewise there are a growing number of online companies selling traditional breeds of meat, and it's also being snapped up by key gourmet food trendsetters - chefs. You may have noticed menus specifying Gloucester Old Spot', 'Middle White', 'Aberdeen Angus' or 'Longhorn' rather than just 'pork' and 'beef'. Even supermarkets are starting to realise the importance of provenance and variety: witness packs of organic pork chops bearing photographs of the farm from which they originate, the launch of 'finer' ranges extolling the pedigree of the ingredients involved, or cheese sections offering an impressive choice of farmhouse cheeses from around the country. This could be said to be an extension of a trend that first started with wine. While 1970s British wines drinkers were mostly content to choose between Blue Nun, Bull's Blood and Mateus Rosé, by the 1980s forward-thinking companies such as Oddbins had opened our eyes to New World Wines and got us talking about grape varieties, regions, Grand Cru and terroir. Similarly a generation brought up on Nescafé and Dairy Milk, is now being invited to appreciate the subtle nuances between bean variety and country of origin. While the Noughties' fixation with cupcakes has seen a spate of small speciality food companies producing delightfully quirky, handmade cakes using the same ingredients you'd use at home.
From fixed-wheel bikes to the Fiat 500: This shift in the national consciousness extends beyond comestibles. In an age when cars are largely identical, personality-free boxes, by harking back to a time when cars had personality the revamped BMW Mini Cooper and Fiat 500 have become cult objects of desire. Equally, fixed wheel bikes - basic, stripped-back cycles popular with couriers - are proving a hit with cyclists who love feeling more linked to the bike and being more aware of the road. Not to mention the growing trend for more environmentally friendly lifestyles and reduction in carbon footprint, all underpinning the general trend of getting back to our roots and 'more in touch' with nature.
Turning over a new (tea) leaf: For a traditionally lager and milk with tea drinking nation, the growth in the coffee and wine markets in England over that last 20 years has been unprecedented. While tea may still be the most consumed beverage at home in England, speciality coffee is the most consumed out of home in the multitude of coffee shops spread across the country. No longer satisfied with one blend of coffee consumers are growing more sophisticated, demanding different varieties of coffee, often from certain estates in far flung places from Costa Rica to Kenya.
Now it looks like speciality tea is becoming popular again. So how does this desire for adventure and individuality translate to green tea from China, or black tea from Nepal? We're all familiar with supermarket tea bags made from 'fanning's' - the tiny flavour free bits left over from processing. But consumers are waking up to different tea varieties and whole leaf teas which retain all the essential oils and flavours. In response to this there's a lot of activity at the luxury end of the leaf tea market, as can be evidenced by a trip to the food halls at Selfridges or Harvey Nichols.
Looking to the future: It seems that in uncertain times we look for the stability of things from the past, but also as inspiration for much needed change. Is this recapturing of the past a passing fade, or is it reclamation of something pleasurable, individual and extraordinary? Only time will tell.
Author Resource:-
Sean Farrell is the founder of Chateau Rouge speciality leaf teas, an enthusiastic foodie and cyclist. Would you like to learn more about tea? Discover the difference between green tea and black tea, sign up the CR newsletter at: => http://www.chateaurouge.co.uk/newsletter/
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