Approaching the new year, many are making plans for 2018. For food and drink manufacturers, this means looking at the anticipated trends. Helping manufacturers identify these trends, Mintel announced five that likely will impact the global food and beverage market in the next year.

“In 2018, Mintel foresees opportunities for manufacturers and retailers to help consumers regain trust in food and drink and to relieve stress through balanced diets as well as memorable eating and drinking experiences,” said Jenny Zegler, global food and drink analyst, in a statement. “There also is an exciting new chapter dawning in which technology will help brands and retailers forge more personalized connections with shoppers, while enterprising companies are using scientific engineering to create an exciting new generation of sustainable food and drink.”

The five trends highlighted by the market research firm are the following:

Full disclosure: Consumer distrust is placing pressure on manufacturers to be transparent about how, where, when and by whom food and drink is grown, harvested, made and/or sold.

Self-fulfilling practices: Consumers are focusing on self-care and looking for food and drinks that provide nutritional, physical or emotional benefits.

New sensations: Texture will be more important in 2018 as consumers look for unique, multisensory experiences that can be shared.

Preferential treatment: Motivated by the potential to save time and money, consumers are sampling a variety of channels and shopping technologies, such as home delivery, subscription services and automatic replenishment.

Science fare: Technology is expected to start disrupting the traditional food chain as enterprising manufacturers aim to replace farms and factories with laboratories. It also could be used to design more nutritious food and drink products.

I’m excited to see how these global trends will come to fruition in the U.S. beverage industry.