Gen Alpha and artificial intelligence (AI) will be major shapers of the food and beverage industry's future, according to Datassential. The market research company named both as important trends in 2023 in its annual FoodBytes trend report, which combines the opinions of industry experts with consumer insights to predict the upcoming year's biggest macro and micro trends. While the oldest members of Gen Alpha are about to reach their teenage years and make their own spending decisions, Datassential sees these young consumers already are influencing purchasing patterns in their homes and others through family and social media. The diverse generation, set to number almost two billion globally by 2025, has wasted no time gaining the attention of some restaurant operators, with 35% telling Datassential that the group is already important to their business. Companies will need to engage the tech-savvy group through various channels to make them into customers, and fortunately most brands have figured out how to take part in the social media craze surrounding food photography on sites like Instagram. Now, however, they also will need to adapt to the explosion in popularity of short-form videos, especially on TikTok, one of Datassential's micro trends.