1There are trends in food much as there are trends in clothing.
2Interest in food fashions has risen rapidly since the birth of the smartphone
3when people first began taking photos of their food and instantly sharing them with their friends.
4The food industry in the UK in particular is obsessed with finding and exploiting the next big food trend.
5Marketeers aim to create a huge demand for a food item which was previously unknown or not needed.
6One of the most effective ways of promoting a new food product is by using social media influencers as brand ambassadors.
7In return for free samples, many influencers will post content about a product.
8Although there are influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers who can command large fees for their services.
9Companies which sell vegan produce were pioneers in being able to increase sales really quickly in this way.
10For a food item to become really popular, it has to be readily available.
11So supermarkets have a role to play in creating a new food trend.
12They have dedicated teams closely following which new products or ingredients are trending on social media
13and are particularly interested in what well-known chefs are putting on their menus.
14I'd like to look at a few examples of marketing campaigns which were really successful in launching a new fashion trend.
15Starting in the 1990s with the avocado.
16A British PR company was hired to raise its profile and stimulate demand.
17They paid for a group of journalists to travel out to South Africa to meet avocado farmers.
18Articles written following this visit helped to educate the British public about the avocado,
19which at this time was certainly not the daily staple it's since become.
20Advertisements were designed to promote the avocado as a superfood,
21rich in nutrients and therefore beneficial for health.
22Avocados became hugely fashionable,
23and within a few years UK avocado sales had grown from 13 million pounds annually to around 150 million,
24making it one of the most successful fresh produce campaigns in UK history.
25Oat milk is a recent example of a new product which became fashionable very quickly.
26Now, there are many brands available
27but one company which had early success was the Swedish brand Oatly.
28They attracted a lot of attention with a media campaign which used provocation as a way of getting their message across effectively.
29The fact that this campaign aggravated competitors producing milk from dairy cows was seen as a plus,
30as it helped to make oat milk seem cool.
31In the USA, the brand decided against a big retail launch in favour of getting the product into coffee chains,
32which removed the need for a big advertising budget.
33This proved far more effective than offering samples in supermarkets.
34Oat milk had an advantage over other alternative milk products, such as almond milk.
35Many consumers prefer it because it has less of an impact on the environment.
36It requires significantly less water to produce than other alternative milk products
37and it also has a relatively low carbon footprint.
38Norwegian skrei, a rarely available seasonal fish delicacy,
39otherwise known as Arctic cod,
40is now found on the menus of Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Europe.
41The demand for skrei has been used by a food marketing agency
42to build the reputation of Norway's fisheries in general.
43Marketing surveys have shown that a significant number of shoppers now associate Norway with excellent seafood.
44Food trends can be considered a good thing in some ways,
45as they can benefit farmers and food producers enormously.
46The public can also be encouraged to buy things which are more sustainably produced.
47But ethical concerns have been raised about the effects a surge in demand can cause.
48Quinoa is a classic example.
49This plant is native to Peru
50and when demand peaked some years ago,
51the price soared, making it unaffordable for local people.
52While the popularity of quinoa has benefited farmers financially,
53there have been other negative consequences.
54As demand grew, farmers began working the land all year round in order to produce more quinoa.
55One issue has been that the fertility of the soil decreased dramatically.
56Which could potentially lead to desertification in some areas.
57Another example would be the case of...