Mochi's popularity in North America prompts collaboration with adjacent industries
Trend - The growing popularity of mochi in North America has resulted in big brands' adoption of the Japanese dessert into their existing offerings, or in a way that appeals to consumers with various dietary restrictions.
Insight - Much of the appeal of global cuisine is driven in part by the consumption habits of the Gen Z and Millennial groups. These groups crave experience as an aspect of their dietary intake, and mochi appeals to this ritual. Furthermore, these generations tend to have a more global view of the world due to their frequent use of social media; this results in more openness to international flavors and customs.
Insight - Much of the appeal of global cuisine is driven in part by the consumption habits of the Gen Z and Millennial groups. These groups crave experience as an aspect of their dietary intake, and mochi appeals to this ritual. Furthermore, these generations tend to have a more global view of the world due to their frequent use of social media; this results in more openness to international flavors and customs.
Workshop Question - How could your brand adopt a product/service that's popular in an adjacent industry?
Trend Themes
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Global Cuisine Popularity — The popularity of global cuisine driven by Gen Z and Millennial groups has resulted in the adoption of Japanese mochi into existing food offerings and new mochi-based frozen dessert treats.
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Vegan and Dairy-free Diets — Increased demand for plant-based foods has led to the creation of vegan and dairy-free mochi ice cream treats.
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Snackability — Mochi ice cream's snackable qualities have allowed for the creation of new products like bite-sized mochi ice cream balls and mochi ice cream with mochi bits.
Industry Implications
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Food and Beverage — The food and beverage industry can take advantage of the popularity of mochi to create innovative, global, and unconventional taste experiences for their patrons or explore the creation of new plant-based food products.
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Frozen Dessert — The frozen dessert industry can develop their offerings with new mochi-based desserts that cater to vegan, dairy-free, and the growing demand for global cuisines.
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Retail — The retail industry can explore the creation of bite-sized mochi ice cream balls as a new snackable frozen dessert option that appeals to the grab-and-go market.
