One of the many consequences of the global pandemic has been increasing attention towards the health benefits of the food we consume.

In this issue, we highlight what the future holds for an emerging, but growing, kefir market in the UK. We also speak with dairy-alternative firm Yofix about the benefits and compromises of clean label for plant-based products.

We also gain some insight into how heightened health concerns have influenced the food preferences and shopping habits of the over-60s during the pandemic, and look to see if they'll continue.

The US market for collagen-enhanced food and beverages has expanded rapidly in recent years, but how long-lasting might that growth be? We take a look at how durable the demand is.

The long-term effort to combat obesity levels has gained some ground recently, but in the world of confectionary things are slightly more complicated than many would think. We look into why reducing sugar levels in chocolate is such a challenge. 

Elsewhere, algae has, on the whole, seen quite a lot of interest over the last 12 months. We take a glance at both recent, and not so recent, developments for an ingredient many are turning to in light of the plant-based boom.

Alongside all of this, we also give our pick of the biggest foodservice chef influencers on Twitter – who should you be following? And finally, we give a roundup of some of the latest M&As for tech-focused future food start ups.

Peter Nilson, editor

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