This past weekend I started my holiday shopping - is anyone else feeling as shell-shocked as I feel when you walk into a store? Mountains of merchandise,  lines of people waiting to check out,  super deals  on top of super deals....on every item in the store.  There is so much else to think about this time of year, too - wrapping up the business year, writing holiday cards, and entertaining.  It can make you want to run for cover, but I always try to remember the true meaning of the season to keep me going.   

Let's not forget another traditional year-end activity - announcing trend predictions and forecasts for the coming year. The food category is particularly active on this front. Everyone seems to have one, for every purpose -- even Betty Crocker got in on the action this year. These forecasts range from very specific flavor projections from McCormick to general consumer packaged goods trends from Mintel.  A detailed list of trend reports that have come across my inbox in recent week follows at the end of this article.

The sheer volume of predictions can be overwhelming. To save you some time, I've sifted through the trend forecasts to find the common denominators, the trends that appear across a number of forecasts. Here's a summary of the key trends for food marketers to factor into their own plans in 2011.

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