While keto and low-carb diets have slowed pasta sales in recent years, a pandemic-driven surge in comfort foods helped revive the category. The SFA expects pasta’s comeback will continue in the year ahead, with new shapes being introduced alongside gluten-free and alternative-grain options. Black rice, pumpkin, red lentils and purple carrots also are bringing “new spins on traditional pasta in Instagram-friendly ways,” said Jonathan Deutsch, founding director of the Drexel Food Core Lab and a member of the SFA’s trendspotting panel. [Read more...]