The list includes natural and ‘‘good for you’’ foods. It also acknowledges the move towards grass-fed grazing the increasing popularity of protein-enriched dairy to the general public rather than just athletes.

Fonterra has invested over $1bn (€660m) in dairy research and innovation over the last 10 years.

The giant co-op’s consumer and foodservice business has grown by $1.5bn (€990m) since 2012.

Fonterra’s 10 trends

1) Natural, authentic whole foods, naturally authentic and as close as possible to their natural state, less processing, less additives and less intervention as evidenced by the rise in popularity of real butter, real cream and real milk. Fonterra expects to see more people wanting full fat and reduced fat rather than no-fat dairy product.

2) Good-for-you foods – ones that enhance health and wellbeing and perform functions in the context of consumer diets such as improving gut health, fortifying bones or boosting immunity.

3) Sustainability – less impact on the environment and communities that produce them, food that is ethically sourced, sustainable and from renewable resources, produced by companies with a record of responsible behaviour.

4) Grass-fed grazing – playing into the natural food trend, complete transparency and a sense of provenance are ‘‘as important as ever’’.

5) Protein ‘‘craze’’ – Fonterra expects further scientific research to move protein supplementation into the mainstream.

6) Less sugar – the role that sugar plays in weight gain and health issues ‘‘becoming more widely understood’’.

7) Healthy snacking – ‘‘grab-and-go foods’’ that are healthy and conveniently packaged, such as single-serve formats.

8) Gourmet convenience – TV programmes are encouraging consumers to cook with high-quality ingredients, but still want a few shortcuts to help them achieve it.

9) Permissible indulgence – more wholesome or natural ingredients to help justify indulgence in the context of keeping healthy.

10) Dairy premiumisation – demand for high-end dairy is linked to improvements in life standards and income, added-value products with packaging innovations for gifting, or for specific channels such as e-commerce.

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