The top food and drink trends for 2025

For the first time in many years, consumer food and beverage trends are changing significantly, driven by new weight loss drugs like Ozempic and the desire to be “perfectly imperfect.” As a result, consumer demands are leading manufacturers into new territories.

However, as climate change continues to grip the food and beverage landscape, consumers are becoming more forgiving of manufacturers’ challenges. However, manufacturers need to encourage consumers to “accept and trust.” [the] “New origins” of ingredients and flavors emerging both locally and globally. Growers and manufacturers also need to demonstrate to consumers the benefits of the rapid fusion of agriculture and technology, according to Mintel’s latest Global Food and Drinks Trends report.

The evolution of consumer nutrition

Diets have evolved over the past decade from the restrictive diets of the 1990s and early 2000s to flexible diets. This has subsequently led to a realization of how diet affects internal and external health – as documented by Mintel between 2015 and 2016.

In the current decade, consumers have weighed health and value before making an about-face and scrutinizing and demonizing foods they considered highly processed.

Now they walk the line between health and pleasure, with nutrients being central to them, the report says.

To help, manufacturers should focus on providing easy-to-understand information that focuses on key needs:

• 83% of Brazilian consumers want to feel fuller for longer
• 67% of Indonesian consumers try nutritionally personalized foods
• 64% of Chinese adults use social media to expand their health knowledge
• 52% of Indian consumers follow diet and exercise to stay motivated
• 51% of Australians believe the way they age depends on maintaining their fitness and diet
• 48% of U.S. women want better education about women’s health
• 33% of Thai consumers spend more on healthier foods
• 23% of Argentine consumers do not buy foods with unknown ingredients
• 21% of German adults try to lose or maintain their weight through glucose monitoring