December 17, 2024 – The food and beverage industry continues to evolve, shaped by changing consumer preferences and global trends. Each year, through extensive 360 research, Innova releases the Top Ten Trends for the coming year. This includes launch categories, product attributes, ingredient choices, and on-package claims, aiming to predict the future direction of the global food and beverage market for the year ahead.
Drivers Affecting Food and Beverage Trends
There are several global factors that impact food and beverage trends. One major influence on these trends is megatrend drivers, which include political, economic, sociological, environmental, and technological factors leading change worldwide. Examples of megatrend drivers are building a sustainable future, continuous technological disruption, demographic and social change, economic and political volatility, and focus on health and wellbeing.
Consumer macrotrends, such as consumer lifestyles, attitudes, and consumption behavior, are reflected in their priorities. They increasingly value self-sufficiency, demand quality and integrity from brands, and seek authentic connections. They prioritize feeling positive and embrace transformational experiences, aligning their choices with their personal values and aspirations. These consumer macrotrends are also influencing the food and beverage industry. All these drivers indicate future innovation possibilities for the food and beverage industry, as highlighted in Innova’s annual Top 10 Trends.
Global Megatrends Impacting Industries and Consumers
Trend #1 – Ingredients and Beyond
Innova’s trends research shows that consumers are increasingly seeking value from high quality ingredients. The “Ingredients and Beyond” food trend is about product differentiation through ingredient quality. Consumers are prioritizing ingredients with elevated features such as health benefits, nutrition, freshness, shelf life, and naturalness when choosing food and beverage products. This emphasis on quality significantly influences purchasing decisions, with 61% of consumers noticing a product quality of store and supermarket brands.
Quality of product is the most significant factor for consumers across all generations, although priorities vary. Protein exemplifies this trend, as the focus shifts from mere protein content to protein quality, with elevated standards that incorporate additional benefits.
Good value for money and quality increasingly align as inflation reshapes consumer expectations. Manufacturers are enhancing product quality to offer cost-effective options that still meet consumer preferences. By improving ingredient standards and emphasizing quality through storytelling and compelling visuals, brands can attract value-conscious consumers and guide them to make informed choices.
Trend #2 – Precision Wellness
Consumers are increasingly proactive about their health, leveraging nutrition as a tool to manage specific health concerns. The growing demand for personalization highlights the effectiveness of tailored nutrition plans, driving this trend. The ‘Precision Wellness’ food trend highlights that information culture is challenging brands to meet targeted nutritional needs at any life stage. It combines personalization with balanced nutrition and convenience in functional food and beverage products.
Globally, weight management is the top physical health concern for consumers, boosting a 10% growth in new product launches with weight management claims over the past year. Women’s health, age-specific solutions, lifestyle-based nutrition, and performance nutrition are a few key growth areas in precision wellness. Brands have an opportunity to address gaps in targeted nutrition by developing innovative solutions. They are likely to pursue targeted nutrition through regular food and beverages, supplements, and fortified products that can cater to specific needs at any life stage.
Trend #3 – Flavors: Wildly Inventive
Consumers are seeking bold and extraordinary food and beverage experiences, with 43% globally looking for unique creations that deliver ultimate indulgence. The ‘Wildly Inventive’ food trend highlights this craving for extraordinary experience, driving companies to create surprising mash-ups and flavors that attract and delight.
Due to social media, consumer curiosity about exciting flavor combinations often gains attention online. Seasonal and limited-edition flavors significantly influence choices, as reflected in 16% average annual growth in products with limited-edition claims over the past five years. Consumers are interested in cross-category mash-ups such as dessert mash-up, snack and main course mash-up, and savory and sweet combinations. This fusion of indulgence and creativity opens doors for brands to explore unique combinations that not only excite but also create memorable experiences for consumers.
Trend #4 – Gut Health: Flourish From Within
Post-pandemic, consumers are refocusing on gut health, making it a key driver of functional food and beverage purchases. The food trend ‘Gut Health: Flourish From Within’, highlights growing awareness of the microbiome, creating space for ingredients like fiber. Product launches with digestive health claims have increased by 8% in the past year, indicating strong demand.
The top ingredients in functional food and beverages for gut health are fiber, vitamin D, and probiotics. Digestive health is more desirable in older generations. Gut health benefits are intricately linked to healthy aging, with claims like bone health, immune support, and weight management experiencing significant growth. To capitalize on this food trend, innovators can expand gut health benefits across various categories like sweet biscuits, cereals and energy bars, and coffee. This can cater to the rising consumer desire for convenient, multifunctional products.
Five Consumer Trends Framing our F&B Trends for 2025
Trend #5 – Plant Based: Rethinking Plants
This food trend has been an enduring one over the past several years globally. Consumers are not 100% satisfied with today’s plant-based offerings. They want more natural, less processed options with improved taste, texture, health benefits, and environmental impact. This ‘Plant Based: Rethinking Plants’ food trend shows that consumers are rerouting towards natural pursuits of plants in real and recognizable form.
Fava bean is a trending plant protein, while almond and lentil protein are emerging in the market. Companies are exploring a cleaner approach to innovating with plant-based products that do not mimic meat or dairy and offer simpler formulations, less processing, and attractive pricing. Plant based is expected to adapt well-known dishes and formats while incorporating fresh ingredients that enhance their natural appeal.
Trend #6 – Sustainability: Climate Adaption
Innova’s trends research among consumers demonstrates a rising concern for the planet. The ‘Sustainability: Climate Adaptation’ food trend highlights how brands and consumers align personal values with product choices to address climate challenges. This links consumer awareness to manufacturers’ sustainability efforts. Almost half of consumers globally are extremely aware of the impact of climate change. They support actions like sustainable farming, climate-resilient crops, and novel cultivation technologies.
Climate change impacts on crops like cocoa, coffee, and olive oil drive brands to innovate with alternatives and new formulations. Price is the top aspect most affected by climate change according to consumers globally. Brands can balance affordability with sustainability and highlight their efforts to empower consumers to make informed, eco-conscious choices.
Trend #7 – Taste the Glow
The ‘Taste the Glow’ food trend reflects consumers’ growing interest in beauty-enhancing food and beverages, driven by the booming cosmetic industry. Globally, 1 in 5 consumers has purchased products to improve their physical appearance in the past year. Younger generations drive purchases in food and beverage for skin health. Over the past five years, product launches with skin health claims have experienced a 15% growth. Consumers are looking for bottled water, nuts and seeds, and supplements in categories with skin health claims. Vitamins are a key ingredient driving this growth, presenting opportunities for brands to innovate with products targeting facial skin, hair, and body skin.
Trend #8 – Food Culture: Tradition Reinvented
The food trend ‘Food Culture: Tradition Reinvented’, reveals a growing consumer desire to reconnect with culinary heritage and embrace authenticity and tradition. Nearly half of global consumers value food trends that reflect their culture and diversity as important values in their diets. Bringing one country’s traditional flavors to another satisfies the demand for authentic global cuisines, offering consumers a taste of different cultures. Made with local ingredients, familiar flavor profiles, and prepared with traditional cooking techniques are the top 3 most important aspects in traditional food and beverages for consumers globally.
Brands are tapping into consumers’ nostalgia by reintroducing old recipes, appealing to the 65% of consumers who want more traditional options on supermarket shelves. Categories like sauces, seasonings, and toppings, soups, and bread and bread products are key areas for innovation for traditional flavors.
Trend #9 – Mood Food: Mindful Choices
Consumers are increasingly prioritizing mental health, with 36% globally identifying emotional wellbeing as their primary health goal. The ‘Mood Food: Mindful Choices’ food trend highlights the growing demand for products that support mental and emotional wellbeing. However, an opportunity gap exists between consumer high attention to mental health and the low association with functional food and beverages.
Key ingredients like vitamins B6, B9, B12, C, D, E, and magnesium are gaining attention for their mood-enhancing benefits. Over the past years, products with brain-health claims featuring vitamin B have experienced a 51% rise in launches. Beyond vitamins, botanical ingredients are emerging as effective stress-relief solutions. Brands are likely to tap into indulgent innovations to uplift mood, offering consumers more ways to support their mental wellbeing in the coming year.
Trend #10 – AI: Bytes to Bites
The ‘AI: Bytes to Bites’ food trend displays that brands are beginning to unlock the full power of AI. They are moving from infinite capabilities to concrete applications that elevate consumer experiences. There has been an exponential growth in food and beverage with an artificial intelligence-related claim.
The beverage market takes the lead in highlighting the role of AI to consumers, as companies begin unlocking its potential. AI is increasingly used to accelerate product innovation, identify ingredients, develop formulations, create flavors, automate production, ensure food safety, and promote sustainability.
Innova’s trends research predicts significant AI-driven disruptions in the coming year, with brands highlighting the benefits of AI in their communications and product claims. This growing integration of AI is likely to redefine innovation and consumer engagement in the food and beverage industry.
Exploring Opportunities Through our 360 Insights
This article is based on our insider report, “Top 10 Trends 2025 – Extended Analysis.” If you are interested in reading this report, feel free to request a demo.
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