Godrej food trends report 2024: Rise in demand for ghee & Korean food; focus on women entrepreneurs

K-food is going to become mainstream and land up on dinner tables at home in 2024. (Photo: Jakub Kapusnak via Unsplash)

Since its inception in 2018 as an ambitious initiative, the Godrej Food Trends Report has become an annual guide and a comprehensive and well-researched prediction report on the food and beverage industry. The seventh edition was launched yesterday with much fanfare in the presence of several renowned names from the F&B industry and Tanya Dubash, Executive Director and Chief Brand Officer, Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies.

Focussing on the theme of Provenance, the editor-in-chief and curator Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal says, the edition points towards the conversations that are happening across the country connecting us to the land, the people who nurture it and the rich cultural traditions that guide our relationship with the environment around us. Among the many trends which have come out tops, one of the most interesting ones is about how this year will focus on the pivotal role women have played in the culinary landscape of the country. From regional custodians to food entrepreneurs, chefs, bartenders and brewers, the report lays emphasis on how women will finally get due recognition for their contribution to shaping Indian gastronomy with creativity and leadership.

Ghildiyal points out that the reasons for this trend to be one among the top 12 food trends of this year, is multifold. “The dearth of women in professional spaces when it comes to the F&B industry has been glaring but what’s nice is that you can slowly but surely see the ratio of women to men changing,” she says. While the mainstream industry still does not offer much opportunities to women, they are building stand-alone restaurants and patisseries, which according to Ghildiyal, says a lot about the Indian woman’s determination to carve her own path. The other reason for this welcome change, she shares, is because of the conversations about a return to our roots and demand for regional and micro-cuisines. “The custodians of these cuisines are all women and that is driving a focus off the mainstream industry towards these custodians because they are the subject matter experts,” she adds.

Some of the other trends which are going to be the mainstay of 2024, predicts the report, are authenticity-driven travel experiences, rise in demand for hot sauces, ghee being given its due, rise of bespoke cocktails, K-food becoming mainstream and mindful consumption, ingredient-forward concepts, protein-rich foods and beverages, chocolates will see quintessentially Indian flavours, among others.