In this next edition of the Talkwalker Battle of the Brands series, we cover insights into brands and trends that are shaping India’s food industry. To give you a quick snapshot on some of the top themes according to recent consumer conversations, our industry analysis draws on a comparison of Twitter data covering the years 2020 and 2021.
Talkwalker is the leading consumer intelligence acceleration platform, helping over 2,500 brands drive business impact with actionable consumer insights. The Battle of the Brands series utilises Talkwalker’s AI-enabled Blue Silk technology to demonstrate how to conduct a competitor analysis across millions of images, videos, audio, conversations, and tags from across social media, blogs, news channels, and more. Providing a bird’s eye view of mentions, engagement, and sentiment surrounding some of the biggest brands in India today.
Food and sustainability
The impact of our food supply chains on the environment has come under increasing scrutiny by everyday consumers. In fact, 35% of consumers are choosing brands based on their sustainability credentials more now than they did before the pandemic.
Globally, 87.8% of Twitter conversations around proteins are about plant-based proteins. Other rising consumer trends also include compostable packaging and edible straws, according to Talkwalker’s recent collaboration on the Twitter Birdseye report on food.
In India, Twitter conversations on the topic of plant-based foods grew seven times in the past year in comparison to 2020. Engagement peaked around star-studded mentions, such as actor Riteish Deshmukh’s discussion of plant-based meats and smart proteins on a Bigg Boss season finale, as well as key industry developments, which include nationwide plans for the replacement of single-use plastics with biodegradable, plant-based packaging.
Mentions and engagements on the topic of plant-based food grew 7 times over the past year, across Twitter conversations in India, in comparison to 2020.
Healthy eating
Amidst the global pandemic, online discussions naturally turned to superfoods known to boost immunity. Body booster conversations across Twitter showed interest in ginger (20.3%) and turmeric (19.1%) being on the rise as immunity-boosting supplements in particular.
Lockdown conditions also afforded consumers greater flexibility to experiment with healthier eating practices, with lesser-known diets such as intermittent fasting coming into greater public awareness over time. In fact, conversations on India’s Twitterverse, covering various healthy eating diets grew by more than 1.5 times in 2021 compared to the previous year, with vegetarian diets seeing the largest overall gain in audience.
Diet-related conversations on Twitter grew by 1.5 times in 2021, with vegetarian diets earning the highest share of voice (56.7%) amongst consumers in India.
How will these consumer trends impact India’s food brands? What were some of the highlights across 2021, for these consumer packaged goods? And which innovations should be prioritised in order to help food brands stay relevant in the face of fast-evolving consumer preferences?
Stay tuned to the food edition of our Battle of the Brands series, for more.
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