Mintel: Trends, fads and how to tell the difference
The next speaker - Mintel global food analyst Patty Johnson - talked about trends (which build steadily and appeal to a broad consumer base across multiple categories and markets); versus fads (which can grow explosively, but may fizzle out just as quickly).
Gluten-free is not a complete fad in that it meets the needs of a clearly-defined group of consumers that cannot tolerate gluten, she said.
However, the explosive growth it has generated in the past few years - driven by consumers that are buying into gluten-free for lifestyle reasons rather than medical necessity - suggests that current meteoric growth rates might not be sustainable, she said.
“It’s a hard diet to maintain unless you really have to.”