Consumers want ‘flawed and messy’ experiences: report

If you know my wife Angi Gallupe, you may be aware of the culinary prowess she acquired from her mother Heather. Angi grew up in Creemore, in an era where food not only tasted great, but looked perfect too, long before it was prepared and served.

I’m glad to report Angi still has a penchant for great tasting food (yay!). But like cooking enthusiasts across the country, these days she’s interested in food’s authenticity.

What’s that mean? Well, according to the annual Canadian food trends report from Toronto-based Nourish Food Marketing, that means she’s in lockstep with others in search of real food.

In fact, The Return to Real is the theme of this year’s food trends report.

“We see consumers pushing back against artificial perfection and inauthentic brands and marketing,” says the report, which you can download and open from the Nourish website. “In short, they want flawed, messy, wonderful humanity back in their lives.”

Those are fitting adjectives to describe humanity, for sure. Related to food, it means flaws and messes have risen in value as part of the culinary experience. They’re taking precedence over an unblemished photo shoot in a magazine or a picture-perfect presentation.

At the stove-top level, it also means we’ve taken to patronizing the imperfect- food cart at the end of the fruit and vegetable section in grocery stores. Cost-wise, that kind of food is a bargain, which is a growing attraction.

And adding misshapen or otherwise imperfect food to your shopping basket helps cut down on food waste.

And even though whatever’s been put there for a quick sale doesn’t look like the photos in a flyer, nutritionally, there’s nothing wrong with it.

That bodes well for the likes of farmers’ markets fare. Its homegrown authenticity, pedigree and freshness take precedent over whether it’s blemished. It looks real, even though many contemporary urban shoppers may not know the difference. They’ve never seen food fresh out of a market garden or a field, before it’s analyzed for cosmetic attributes. Grocery store managers may have a different perspective on all this. They’re quick to point out consumers have not traditionally valued “flawed and messy” anything. Perfection is the ideal. That’s one reason the sale cart is small – it doesn’t get much attention.

But heading into 2026, that’s not the case anymore, says the Nourish Food Marketing group.

It also claims that we’re in the midst of an evolution beyond single nutrient obsession. It’s not all about carbs, protein, fat or whatever, according to Nourish. Instead, “consumers are moving toward understanding food as a complex orchestra of interconnected elements working in harmony,” it says.

That sounds like a well-rounded plate, like something you’d see at the Gallupes. The big difference? It wouldn’t be messy. And the only thing flawed about it would be misshapen fruit and vegetables… which as we’re finding, aren’t really flawed at all.

Owen Roberts is an agricultural journalist from Guelph. He regularly visits family in Creemore.