Insects and grow-your-own are part of Amazon’s food future

Personalised diets linked to DNA, insects and grow-your-own are among the forthcoming trends that futurologists have predicted will “redefine” food shopping.

Shop the Future, a report commissioned by online retail giant Amazon from futurologists Anne Lise Kjaer and William Higham, reveals a host of unusual products that could soon become the norm.

Amazon has used the report to create an online “Shop of the Future”, which anticipates insects becoming an ordinary part of people’s diets both as snacks and in ready-meals.

The shop sells 1,500-insect packs of Mixed Critters, from Crunchy Critters. Other lines include BBQ Bamboo Worms and Wild Black Ants, while another producer, Jimini’s, is supplying smoked onion & bbq crickets, sesame & cumin mealworms and sweet mango crickets.

William Higham sees insects taking centre stage, including in ready-meals, ushering in new specially developed cutlery designed to help people eat them.

The report also predicts a new breed of forward-thinking, independent consumers, who will devote more time to producing their own products at home with the help of the latest technology.

What and how people consume food will change as the public learns more about what they are putting in their bodies and the impact food has on the world around them.

Anne Lise Kjaer predicts food shopping will be based on “personalised diets”. These could be through food plans and meal subscriptions based on blood samples or “nutrigenomics”, where a smart app tells an individual what food to eat based on their DNA sequence.

The report also highlights “at-home hydroponic farms” that will enable people to grow a vast array of fruit and vegetables.

“There is growing status in being able to craft and make your own products,” said Kjaer. “This trend is accelerated by services like Instagram where we can proudly show off our skills and creations.”