As the next decade is set to begin in a matter of weeks, you have all probably seen your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram friends re-living the past decade with photos of themselves using the hashtag #decadechallenge.

I’ll use this opportunity to reflect on the food industry happenings of this decade; and my first decade working in the biz as a proud class of 2010 graduate. This article was spurred by an article I saw that states “Cargill, DSM ramp up production of new sugar substitute” and it got me thinking that this decade has surely seen it’s share of imitation products from sugar to milk and meat alternatives. What have we learned?

From the news a few weeks ago that Dean Foods was filing for bankrupting, the meat industry has certainly learned from the dairy industry how not to approach alternatives. We’ve seen several companies join in funding these alternative companies in order to maintain share and not be left behind. If you would have told 22 year old me that at the next 10 years we would be seeing such a growth and rise in alternative meat, I probably would have said “Yeah, right.”

Other major food events:

-- In 2011 we got the Food Safety Modernization Act, the most sweeping form of food safety regulation the U.S. has ever seen; and we’ve spent the entire decade figuring it out.

--The industry saw the rise (and perhaps fall?) of the meal kit business in this decade.

--We saw new entrants to the quickserve scene like Blaze Pizza and major expansions from brands like Shake Shack and Chick-fil-A.

--Social media as a way for brands to connect with consumers really ramped up when Instagram came on to the scene in 2010. And we saw an egg become the most liked item on Instagram 9 years later (which maybe a piece of meat could replicate?).

--Amazon entered the grocery business in a major way with it’s 2017 purchase of Whole Foods.

--The omnichannel shopper shook things up, as we saw grocery delivery take off as a means to get fresh meat and poultry.

I could probably go on, but one thing is for sure – this past decade has taught us that change is constant. We have seen companies re-invent themselves, shelve old brands and create new ones, we’ve seen new entrants to the marketplace, and we’ve seen totally different new products.

The next decade will probably bring more change and faster than ever before; and I want to know what are your predictions? Or what are some of your memorable meat moments from the past decade?

A millennial’s meat industry #decadechallenge

Join for free* to continue reading.