London - Soaring sales of pea milk, salmon pastrami and baba ganoush are predicted for this year as consumers move further away from a traditional diet of meat and two veg.
A survey of food trends by BBC Good Food magazine highlights new dishes and ingredients expected during 2020. The magazine said this year will be dominated by the "unstoppable" surge of plant-based products, replacing meat and dairy.
The trends report added: "The name pea milk will have kids in stitches, but this – made from yellow split peas – is the next big plant milk because it has one of the lowest environmental footprints."
It also quoted April Preston, of Marks & Spencer, who said: "Our customers are adopting flexitarian lifestyles and we’ve a pipeline of new plant-based products planned."
The report noted there was a trend towards pickling, fermenting, smoking and ageing fish to create dishes such as salmon pastrami, citrus-cured brill and octopus salami.
The report insisted: "Unpackaged food will be one of 2020’s big stories."
Meanwhile, a desire to cut back on waste is helping sales of frozen food. M&S has responded with a freezer section 75 percent bigger than usual, with 291 lines in one of its new stores. It has also noticed a customer focus on "digestive wellness", with a wider range of probiotic food and drink.
The study said, in terms of indulgence, chefs are seeing a rise in demand for experimental adult ice cream such as foraged gorse flower gin flavour or a goat’s cheese scoop with liquorice sauce.