The increasingly fierce competition in food trends requires producers to innovate and develop new foods to be accepted and to avoid neophobia by consumers at the same time. Food neophobia’s motivational adoption barriers include the consumption of novel foods, social norms and conflicting eating goals. Therefore, appropriate strategies are needed to avoid neophobia amid the presence of new food trends in the market. Efforts to avoid food neophobia can also be accepted as part of the sustainability concept, in which the consumer has new foods to choose from in order to reduce scarcity in one particular type of food. The food industry is also challenged to produce healthy food by producing food from natural ingredients. In this article, new food trends and advances in food processing are described, and through them, strategies to avoid neophobia and increase consumer acceptance of new food trends are referenced. Neophobia meets marketing food products delivered to consumers facing motivational adoption barriers, such as the consumption of novel foods, social norms and conflicting eating goals, which are indicated to be challenges to purchase drivers in new food trends. Tasting foods is indicated as one of the most efficient means to ensure neophobia reduction in new foods and new food trends. Other factors identified to reduce food neophobia are education, income, taste and exposure to novel foods. Some preconditions for novel foods to be accepted by consumers are related to the very nature of food innovation, the manufacturer’s features and market circumstances. Food processed with advanced technologies may differ depending on the brand of the food production company and the knowledge of consumers about the novel foods. Moreover, food technology is seen as more acceptable for plant food products based or natural ingredients for consumers. In addition to the focus on health benefits, it is supports the sustainability of food systems. Another accidental element is the transparent traceability system providing accurate and adequate information about such novel foods.

Pendirian Pusat Studi Pedesaan yang dinaungi oleh Universitas Sulawesi Barat patut diapresiasi. Kelahiran pusat studi ini dapat menjadi oase bagi dahaga kegiatan riset yang terkait dengan desa. Pembangunan desa yang terdapat di Sulawesi Barat harus didukung oleh penelitian ilmiah yang baik sehingga menghasilkan strategi pembangunan yang terukur dan memperhatikan kepentingan masyarakat desa. Terlebih jika melihat pada berbagai data tentang pembangunan yang tersedia, kemajuan yang dimiliki berbagai desa di Sulbar tidaklah setara satu dengan yang lain. Agar dapat mengakselerasi desa-desa yang masuk kategori tertinggal, dan meningkatkan kualitas pembangunan di desa-desa yang sudah lebih dulu maju, dibutuhkan sebuah ikhtiar ilmiah yang dapat menjadi dasar kebijakan bagi pembangunan di desa tersebut maupun kebijakan di level pemerintah daerah dan provinsi. Dan Pusat Studi Pedesaan Unsulbar memiliki beban tersebut di bahu para penelitinya.