March 24, 2025 – The food industry in Europe intertwines culinary traditions and modern innovations, while being shaped by global megatrends and micro trends. Every year, Innova through extensive 360 research, generates and publishes top food trends for the upcoming year, highlighting influential and notable developments in the food and beverage industry. Here we explore the changing food trends in Europe which align with Innova’s top food trends of 2025. This includes consumer preferences about ingredients, tradition, and plant-based products, innovations opportunities that may develop in the food and beverage industry of Europe.
This article is based on Innova’s Top Trends 2025: Europe report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more
Ingredients and Beyond
Consumers increasingly demand for added value in food makes it standard, elevating the quality beyond ingredients. Innova’s first food trend of 2025 “Ingredients and Beyond,” is about differentiating products through ingredients quality. Food trend research displays quality of products as the most important factor for consumers in food and beverages.
Private label products offering value for money with high quality products display a 30% rise in purchases over the past year. Consumers relate quality with different attributes. Gen X and Boomers attribute quality with freshness, health benefits, shelf life and naturalness. While Gen Z and Millennials with brands, safety, pack presentation, and advertisement. The emphasize on freshness and naturalness is higher in Europe than the global average.
Flourish From Within
In Europe, consumers desire products with digestive health function, with older consumers prioritizing it more than younger generations. This aligns with another Innova’s top trend “Gut Health: Flourish From Within,” highlighting the growing awareness of the microbiome, creating space for combination of ingredients. Digestive or gut health is the second healthiest aspect driving purchases of functional food and beverages. Food trends 2025 reveal that the top 3 ingredients consumers look for to improve gut health are fiber, vitamin D, and probiotics. This increases the prevalence of fiber and probiotic combinations in new launches. Gut health intertwin with functional benefits of healthy aging. Fastest claims as such includes weight management, heart health, and immune health.
Precision Wellness
Innova’s “Precision Wellness,” food trend reveals that information culture challenges brands to meet the targeted nutritional at any stage of life. The top targeted nutrition approaches include balanced, age-specific, gender-specific, condition-specific, lifestyle-based and performance nutrition. Weight management is the top concern in Europe followed by heart health. Consumers prefer exercise and fitness, a reduction diet, and nutritionally balanced diet to manage their weight.
Rethinking Plants
Innova’s fifth food trend “Rethinking Plants,” highlights consumers are rerouting towards natural pursuits of plants in real and recognizable form. Plant-based products are often associated with the terms healthy and natural. However, consumers hesitate to purchase plant-based products as they are too processed or with artificial ingredients. This makes companies induce cleaner approach to plant-based with fresh and natural ingredients. Food trends in Europe show that natural claims display 8% CAGR in vegan/plant-based products over the past four years.
Protein is desirable in plant-based products with fava bean becoming a trending plant protein. Almond and yeast protein being to emerge in new launches. The protein landscape continues to diversify with the help of technology. For instance, Triptych approach, a new strategy for European food system, utilizes technology to improve alternative protein production resources like legumes and microorganism-based protein.
Tradition Reinvented
“Food culture: Tradition Reinvented,” food trend displays growing consumer desire to rediscover the flavors of their culinary heritage, embracing authenticity and tradition. Nearly 1 in 2 consumers in Europe consider values such as heritage, authenticity, and cultural importance in their diet. They connect local ingredients with their tradition, with 42% like to see traditional recipes in supermarkets. The top 5 categories consumers seek for traditional flavors are bread and bread products, soups, cheese, sweet bakery, and sauces, seasoning and toppings.
What’s Next in Food Trends in Europe?
European food trends emphasizing heritage and innovation display dynamic possibilities for brands that align with consumers’ changing preferences. Emphasizing sports nutrition with digestive health claims can appeal to active individuals seeking efficient digestion and absorption from products with hydrolyzed proteins or digestive enzymes.
Lifestyle-based nutrition offers a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between consumer aspirations and actual purchases by addressing diverse dietary needs, including plant-based options for vegans, vegetarians, and flexitarians. Circular systems in production, such as self-regenerating factories, demonstrate sustainability in practice, aligning with eco-conscious values. The affordability challenge associated with plant-based diets offers innovation opportunities. Brands can explore format innovations, such as packaging that minimizes costs, or hybrids like blended meat products that balance affordability with reduced environmental impacts. These strategies can cater to cost-sensitive European consumers while promoting sustainable choices.
Food trends show that consumers are moving towards sustainable products with natural ingredients catering nutrition addressing health concerns. Brands are likely to launch products fulfilling these demands with high quality and value for money.
This article is based on Innova’s Top Trends 2025: Europe report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more
