The global trends driving what we eat and drink in 2025, and beyond.

Every year Mintel’s Global Food and Drinks Trends gives us valuable insight into changes in consumer tastes and attitudes. Their predictions also factor in the effects of global shifts, related to climate change, geopolitics and new technologies, that our industry has to look out for to stay ahead of the curve.

In this blog, we share the headlines that made us sit up and take notice. And explain what we think they mean for food and drink businesses, and consumers, here in the UK. 

Natalie’s top trends

Fundamentally Nutritious

This trend looks at how our relationship with food is evolving. It predicts more people will view ‘food as medicine’, demanding added functional ingredients and assurance that products meet their daily essential nutrient needs.

My hope is that finding a balance between nutrition and enjoyment will always win. But who knows? Do you eat to live or live to eat? If there was a pill that delivered on all your nutritional needs without having to eat another meal, would you take it? As a food lover, I think I know my answer.

But conversations about this are already happening across the industry. Brands are exploring how to give people the best nutritional bang for their buck. Quickly and simply.

A key takeaway from this, is that savvy businesses will focus more of their marketing spend on how their products are going to make you feel. Advances in wearable and smart tech will continue to educate consumers on what their body needs. The more access we have to data on our heart rate, sleep patterns and fitness levels, the more we’ll be able to spot how what we eat and drink affects our health and wellbeing.  And we’ll adapt, buy and consume accordingly.

Looking ahead, this information will become even more personalised. Not just to our age, lifestyle and gender but also our hormones and blood type. Brands are asking what we can learn from ‘blue zone’ regions where people live longer. Does the secret lie in what they eat? And if so, how can the industry capitalise on that?

There are already some bold claims out there. Take a look at GOOD IDEA. This ‘functional sparkling water’ from the US claims to be ‘your metabolism’s best friend’ and to balance your blood sugar. Too good to be true or the future of good health? I would love to know how consumers see these kinds of products…

Rule Rebellion

Mintel predicts that the industry will need to embrace consumers as ‘perfectly imperfect beings’. The concept of ‘perfectly imperfect’ is one we’ve already seen the food and drink industry wrestle with in terms of produce. Since 2017, challenger brands have been quick to react to the fact that huge amounts of  fruit and veg were going to waste in the quest for perfection. Those businesses that jumped on this have had great success in changing consumer perceptions and creating profitable brands.  DASH drinks built their whole proposition around infusing water with ‘wonky fruit’. People can buy Wonky Coffee and order an OddBox. And every supermarket has now realised shoppers will in fact buy ‘wonky veg’. Fast forward to 2025, and consumers are hungry for brands that help them ‘break the rules’ in food and drink. It’s about a move away from talking about ‘guilty pleasures’ towards promoting ‘freedom to indulge’.

It is clear that consumers want their perceptions to be challenged, for brands to tear up the rulebook and to offer them something different. Who knew Bubble Tea would become such a massive success story? Consumers also want brands to find solutions to problems. To be willing to change the way they do things to meet the expectations of consumers in the 2020s. Whether that’s through greater scrutiny of supply chains or sourcing of ethical ingredients or packaging that’s better for the planet. There’s no doubt the food and drink industry will need to look beyond how they do business today to really appeal to consumers. And,  if brands don’t get it right the first time, we are much more forgiving of those that are at least trying.

Catherine’s top trends

Chain Reaction

This trend highlights how frequent disruptions to the food supply chain – caused by climate change and geopolitics – test people’s trust in food and drink companies. More than ever before consumers will research their brands, scrutinising how they operate and where they source products. This will drive the industry to encourage consumers to welcome and trust new origins, ingredients and flavours.

We’re already seeing the impact of this happening in the UK. Our food bills have increased significantly. News stories about how flooding is damaging crops and making it impossible for fields to be planted are common. More consumers than ever understand that global and local climate change is affecting crop yields, driving up prices and limiting availability of popular choices, such as cocoa. Gen Z are known as the conscious buying generation.

It's interesting to think about the consequences of this. Consumers’ expectations of transparency on ingredients and sourcing are clearly changing. Gen Z are known as the conscious buying generation. Younger consumers expect to know more about the brands they buy and where their ingredients come from. And, through social media channels like TikTok and Instagram, they have an easy route to find that information.

Increased transparency around what is in our food, and how it is produced, can only be a good thing. And it will be the brands that embrace sustainability, and take an open and honest approach that reap the benefits  

Hybrid Harvests

This trend recognises that food and drink companies will need to illustrate how technology and agriculture work together to benefit consumers, farmers and the environment.

One example used in the Mintel report that I love is from Ribena. The company is using AI tech to monitor the birds living in its blackcurrant farms’ hedgerows and to improve biodiversity. I think biodiversity and nature are capturing people’s imagination much more than efforts we’ve seen around carbon. We’ll be hearing a lot more about this over the coming months. This should be a reminder to brands to take any opportunity to shout about their efforts to boost nature using new technology, as well as their sourcing of organic and regeneratively farmed ingredients.

As technology develops, new ways of processing data and engaging the public on conservation issues are also set to emerge.

Finally, though I confess to never having been a Jeremy Clarkson fan, it was good to see Clarkson’s farm mentioned in the report. I can’t deny that he has played an important role in educating the nation (and beyond) on farming and food production.  Particularly welcome is the much-needed attention he’s helped to bring to the environmental impacts of agriculture. In a great episode with Wildfarmed founder Andy Cato, of Groove Armada fame, the series showcased the benefits of regenerative farming to a far wider audience.

If any of these trends have resonated with you, and you think your business needs help to stand out from the crowd, do get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.  

To download the full report click here