Mintel, experts in what consumers want and why, announced four key trends that will shape the global food and drink industry in the years ahead. In 2025 and beyond, expect to see GLP-1 weight-loss drugs bring more focus to essential nutrients such as protein and fiber, while unexpected "rule-breaking" food and drink will help consumers treat and express themselves. There will be an increase in diversified ingredient sourcing, while the humanization of technology will be essential for consumers who are apprehensive about technology being used to create, modify and produce the food they put into their bodies. The Mintel 2025 Food and Drink Trends are:

Fundamentally Nutritious: The emergence of weight-loss medications like Ozempic will redefine consumer perceptions of "food as medicine" from products with added functional ingredients to nutritious products that help meet daily essential nutrient needs.
Rule Rebellion: Embrace consumers as 'perfectly imperfect' beings who are hungry for brands that help them 'break the rules' in food and drink.
Chain Reaction: As disruptions to the food supply become more frequent, the industry will need to encourage consumers to accept and trust the new origins, ingredients and flavors that will emerge locally and globally.
Hybrid Harvests: Food and drink companies must illustrate how technology and agriculture work together to benefit consumers, farmers and the environment.

Fundamentally Nutritious

"The emergence of GLP-1 weight-loss medications, such as Ozempic, will inspire consumers to reevaluate the relationship between food and medicine," stated Jenny Zegler, director of Mintel food & drink. "Starting in 2025, brands must streamline their health claims to the critical nutrients they contain. Simplified claims that highlight protein, fiber, vitamins and mineral content will appeal to people who are using GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, as well as the majority of consumers who define their diets based on their individual needs and how food makes them feel.

"Expect to see an increase in nutrient-dense product innovations to improve short- and long-term health. The importance of getting the basic nutrition needed each day will be a widespread lesson that will exceed the reach and use of weight-loss drugs. Starting in 2025, brands will need to streamline packs overloaded with health claims to the critical nutrients they contain. Promoting well-known essential nutrients will also differentiate products in an age of nearly infinite access to information – and misinformation."

Rule Rebellion

"As society increasingly accepts imperfections, food and drink brands can target 'perfectly imperfect' consumers with innovation that breaks the invisible rules around food and drink consumption. Brands can lean into how consumers want to, or actually, consume food and drink rather than how they feel they 'should'. By supporting these rebellious tendencies, brands can help consumers feel more represented by the outside-the-norm food and drink choices available to them.

"In the next few years, brands will break the rules through less conventional solutions. The global innovation slow-down, juxtaposed with continued consumer demand for new foods and flavors will see brands collaborate inside and outside the food and drink industry to introduce greater novelty through taste, texture, or aroma. In addition, brands will seek to break down continued social stigmas surrounding lesser-talked-about health issues, such as food and drink's connection with mental health management," continued Zegler.

Chain Reaction

"More frequent climate-related production challenges and geopolitical events are increasing consumers' food bills and awareness of how distant world events can affect their meal plans. In an increasingly volatile world, food and drink brands must clearly communicate how adjustments from local to global sourcing were made to benefit consumers. Cross-industry, multinational collaboration and scalable tech solutions will be required, but they are not without complications. More importantly, consumers will feel the consequences of these challenges personally, and brands must be ready with solutions.

"Looking ahead, more ingredients will be sourced from alternative and potentially more reliable growing regions, such as olive oil from Algeria or Peru. Brands can highlight the benefits of diversified sourcing, such as nuanced flavor variations. Meanwhile, many consumers' local-centric identities will be challenged to be more global through social media, immigration and travel," continued Zegler.

Hybrid Harvests

"A greater use of technology in food and drink production is inevitable to meet current food supply challenges, yet many consumers are not ready to embrace it. Technology will need to be integrated alongside traditional growing and production methods that are still integral as part of the wider solution to issues such as the climate crisis and feeding a growing population. Producers will need to tell consumers how nature and technology complement—or better yet, enhance—each other.

"Over the next few years, food and drink brands must prioritize how these technological advancements benefit the consumer first through better taste, greater nutrition, or consistent supply—and the environment second. It will be imperative that new technology is humanized, particularly AI. For example, German juice brand Eckes-Granini's announced its partnership with Microsoft in a video that drew attention to how technology makes a positive difference in their producers' lives, not just makes production more efficient," concluded Zegler.