Inside the trend - bowl food
The humble bowl, formerly reserved for cereals, soups or pudding on Britain’s dining tables, has now been elevated to an essential part of our eating habits. In a survey by Sainsbury’s, a quarter of Brits revealed that they now eat most or all their meals from a bowl.
Does this mean the death of the dinner plate? It seems unlikely but we’ve certainly seen an increase in cookbooks focused on sharing tasty nutritious recipes designed to be eaten in a bowl. So, we decided to look more closely at what’s going to help you decide if this is a trend to jump on.
What’s it all about?
This new trend is not really just about chucking any old meal into a bowl. Although maybe for some people it is! It’s about delivering a complete nutritional experience in one single piece of crockery.
Why now?
While homewares retailer Habitat declared bowls to be a major food trend for 2023, this way of eating has been around for some time. Hawaiians have been eating their poke bowls for centuries, and eating from bowls is nothing new in Asian culture. But as technology makes the world smaller, our food horizons become broader, and bowl recipes are a fun, accessible way to fuse together different styles and flavours in an informal way.
More awareness of the health benefits of plant-based eating draws us to these bowl recipes, which often pack in a healthy dose of your five-a-day. Plus, there is just something really comforting about hugging a bowl of food. And we can all do with a little bit of comfort, right?
How do I incorporate this into my range?
If you have a food and drink range, this is a trend you can easily cater for. It’s especially popular with younger people in their 20s and 30s, so if your customers fall within this demographic then definitely jump on board. We’ve seen lots of stylish cookbooks taking a variety of slants on the theme, from healthy eating to Asian cuisine. This is also a trend that appeals to the health conscious so books about bowl food can complement health and wellbeing product ranges.
Book suggestions
The Little Book of Bowl Food
Small but mighty, this new book from Quadrille offers 40 wholesome bowl-food recipes for every eating occasion, from snacking to breakfast.
Buddha bowls
This book has been around for a while but consistently appears in our food and drink bestsellers. A reliable choice for protein-fueled bowl food inspiration.
Ramen
For Asian food fans this new book will inspire readers to recreate health Japanese and Korean street food at home. We think the cover looks fab too!
Bowlful
This stylish cookbook offers 90 easy-to-follow recipes that celebrate the fresh and diverse flavours of South-East Asia.
Rainbow bowls
A great choice for health-conscious foodies, Rainbow Bowls shares quick and easy recipes that will help cooks eat the rainbow in nutritious and delicious ways.
