The Top 35 Food Trends of 2025

First, here’s a look at the fastest-growing food topics of the past year:

Now, let’s move beyond keywords to explore the top food trends that our analysts have identified will shape 2025 & 2026.

Organ meats rebranded as essential

For years, wellness was about removing things—sugar, gluten, seed oils. Now, a growing movement is focused on putting things back in. Enter organ meats.

Liver, heart, and kidney—once considered throwaways—have reemerged as cornerstones of ancestral and carnivore diets. These nutrient-dense cuts, rich in iron, B vitamins, and vitamin A, are being recast as biologically essential rather than barbaric. It’s a direct response to growing mistrust in ultra-processed foods and the belief that modern diets are nutritionally hollow.

But it’s not just about what’s on the plate. The rise of freeze-dried liver capsules has quietly made organ meat one of the top supplement trends. By sidestepping taste, smell, and prep, brands have lowered the barrier to entry and widened appeal—especially among those curious but squeamish.

Meanwhile, on social media, nose-to-tail eating has found unexpected traction. From biohackers to wellness influencers, there’s a shared belief that ancient eating patterns may be more aligned with human biology than today’s supermarket staples.

This isn’t just a protein play. It’s one of the top nutrition trends precisely because it challenges what counts as “clean” eating—reframing primal as premium, and pushing consumers to rethink the edges of their comfort zone.

Parents push FDA dye bans

American parents helped start the dye-free food movement. The FDA just made it federal policy.

In April 2025, U.S. regulators announced a plan to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes—like Red 40 and Yellow 5—by the end of next year. The move brings U.S. standards closer to Europe’s, where many of the same dyes require warning labels or are outright banned. For American consumers, the contrast has been hard to ignore. Parents, in particular, have long raised concerns over links between food dyes and hyperactivity, even as those same ingredients remained legal in children’s snacks and cereals.

Now, the industry is catching up. PepsiCo says it will eliminate artificial dyes from all U.S. food products by the end of 2025, and over 60% of its portfolio has already made the switch. Natural colorants—beet juice, spirulina, annatto—are stepping in, powered by improved shelf stability and consumer trust. The tradeoff? Colors are often duller. Costs are sometimes higher. But in the eyes of today’s label readers, fewer additives mean more credibility.

This shift doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It mirrors a broader cultural movement toward ingredient transparency—one that spans grocery aisles and skincare shelves alike. Just as current beauty trends revolve around “clean,” “free-from,” and “non-toxic,” food is following suit. The logic is simple: if it’s not essential, it shouldn’t be there.

What started as parental anxiety has evolved into regulatory action. And in doing so, it’s reshaping not just what we feed kids—but what we consider acceptable, edible, and trustworthy.

DIY milk, DIY mindset

The modern kitchen isn’t just for cooking—it’s for customizing.

As consumer preferences shift toward transparency and control, food appliances like nut milk makers and the Ninja Creami are turning ordinary ingredients into tailored experiences. The appeal isn’t just about health—it’s about autonomy. Almond milk, after all, is roughly 98% water. Why pay to ship it when your tap does the same job? Coffee trends follow a similar path: the rise of home espresso machines isn't just about caffeine—it's about re-creating the ritual, on your terms.

These devices also tap into a broader logistical logic. In a world where shelf space is tight and shipping costs are rising, concentrates and at-home prep reduce waste, packaging, and perishability. Consumers aren’t just buying products—they’re assembling them.

And there’s comfort in that process. Post-pandemic, many people are chasing small luxuries—moments that feel indulgent but still practical. Whether it’s soft-serve protein ice cream or a frothy nut milk latte, food appliances offer convenience without compromise.

In the end, this isn’t just a trend about gadgets. It’s about control, creativity, and the quiet joy of making exactly what you want, exactly how you like it.

Processed food fatigue fuels primal eating

What if the future of dieting isn’t adding more—but removing almost everything?

Primal diets like carnivore and ketovore have surged in popularity not because of what they promise, but because of what they eliminate. In an era of processed food fatigue, many consumers are opting out—ditching sugar, seed oils, grains, and even vegetables in favor of meat, salt, and water. It’s not just a diet; it’s a reaction.

These extremes reflect a deeper shift in nutrition trends. As trust in institutional health guidance erodes, more people are turning to self-experimentation and simplified rules. Primal diets offer that clarity: no macros, no labels, just meat. And for some, that’s not only easier—it’s effective. Anecdotal reports of improvements in autoimmune issues, digestive health, and mental clarity have kept interest high, even without broad scientific consensus.

This back-to-basics mindset is also about control. Many followers describe a sense of sovereignty—eating in a way that feels resistant to industrial food systems, supply chain opacity, and ever-shifting health advice.

In the end, the appeal isn’t just about steak. It’s about stripping away complexity in search of something more primal.

Protein snacks replace full meals

Lunch is no longer sacred—and snacks have stepped in to fill the gap.

As traditional mealtimes blur, more people are building their diets around what fits in their bag, not their schedule. Today, 64% of adults say they replace at least one meal a day with a snack. But this isn’t about chips or candy bars. It’s about control. Portable, protein-rich, fiber-packed. Nutrient-dense snacks are being positioned as small, intentional choices that punch above their weight.

This shift aligns with broader fitness trends, where protein tracking and performance fueling have gone mainstream. You don’t have to lift weights to count grams anymore—just grab a bar. At the same time, nutrition trends are moving away from restrictive diets and toward functional ingredients: snacks that promise energy, gut support, or steady focus.

Label literacy has also grown. Consumers now scan sugar counts and ingredient decks the way they once checked calories. And in an age of burnout and decision fatigue, a “smart snack” offers a rare sense of efficiency—health without planning, progress without effort.

Toddler food mirrors adult values

The modern baby food aisle looks less like canned mush and more like a curated wellness section.

Brands like Little Bellies are reshaping expectations for what babies and toddlers eat—driven by a generation of millennial parents who came of age reading ingredient labels and questioning legacy brands. Where once convenience reigned, now the focus is on transparency, developmental design, and clean ingredients.

Little Bellies, founded by two Australian dads, is a case in point. They publish heavy metal testing results for U.S. products—a quiet but powerful response to growing distrust in mainstream baby food. Their snacks evolve with motor milestones, shifting in shape and texture to support self-feeding. Even the mess is intentional: the brand encourages food play as a form of sensory development, reframing a scattered highchair tray as a learning tool, not a cleanup chore.

This shift ties directly into broader snack trends, where food isn’t just consumed—it’s curated. Parents now expect baby snacks to multitask—to nourish, to teach, to align with their broader parenting values. And they’re sharing it all online. The “what I feed my toddler” genre has become a performance space for clean labels, compostable packaging, and cute, camera-ready finger foods.

This isn’t just a trend about baby food. It’s about control, trust, and the extension of adult wellness culture into the earliest stages of life.

High protein everything

Protein has moved from the margins of bodybuilding culture to the center of the grocery store. Once reserved for powders and bars sold in specialty shops, it now shows up in cereals, chips, and even ice cream—rebranded for everyday life, not just the gym.

Much of the momentum comes from health-conscious consumers looking to simplify. Protein carries a health halo that spans goals: weight loss, muscle maintenance, blood sugar stability, and even aging well. Unlike fat or carbs, it’s rarely villainized. It’s functional, familiar, and increasingly built into routine foods.

Weight management plays a central role. High-protein foods are consistently linked to satiety—helping people feel full with less. This effect isn’t just theoretical; many consumers report that protein-heavy meals reduce the urge to snack and make calorie tracking feel less like a chore.

Convenience is also critical. The rise of high-protein snacks—grab-and-go yogurts, jerky, RTD shakes—caters to people who want healthier options without cooking or planning. It’s food that fits into time-strapped routines without compromising on health goals.

Importantly, the audience has expanded. Once targeted at athletes and dieters, high-protein foods are now marketed to office workers, parents, older adults, and Gen Z shoppers who see protein not as a performance booster, but as a daily baseline, leading it to become one of the top diet and nutrition trends.

Tallow rises as butter substitute

Mass adoption of electric lighting in the 1900s is, surprisingly, the reason consumers first switched from cooking with animal fats to cooking with vegetable oils.

At that time, Proctor & Gamble was largely in the business of making candles and candle demand was falling as electric lighting took off. P&G’s massive infrastructure for processing cottonseed oil, the key ingredient in their candles, was in danger of becoming obsolete so they started using the same material to produce shortening, turning into the massively popular cooking product Crisco in 1911.

Consumers were initially hesitant to switch from their seemingly healthy and natural lard to what they saw as processed candle wax, but P&G pushed hard to convince the world that Crisco was superior. To do so, they sent samples to food scientists and hospitals then later advertised the fact that hospitals and schools used it. They also embarked on a massive campaign to put out cookbooks with recipes that called for Crisco.

More recently, it’s becoming popular again to cook with animal fats like beef tallow. Aside from the supposed health benefits of tallow, demand for butter alternatives is on the rise. As more consumers buy food online, there’s a clear advantage to tallow–a standout among new food trends thanks to its long shelf life without the need for refrigeration, helping it fit into the standard eCommerce supply chain better than food like butter.

Interest in beef tallow regained momentum when factory farms attempted to figure out how to repackage their byproducts into something they could sell. Some brands, like Ancestral Supplements, lean directly into the saying that “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure”. The company has a unique business: taking the parts of agricultural farm animals that are usually discarded, and selling them for a premium as ”Grass Fed Beef Brain Supplements”. Their top products, including Beef Organs and Beef Liver, each have several thousand reviews on Amazon and are one of the top supplements & vitamins trends.

Convenience culture fuels liquid meals

For many people these days, time is the ultimate currency. And while meal replacement shakes have been around since the 1950s, it's the marketing that has shifted to focus on productivity that has given this category a comeback as one of the top diet trends.

Back then, meal replacement products were marketed with great success as weight-loss tools — today’s iterations are marketed instead as healthy meal alternatives to productivity-minded professionals and on-the-go consumers. Metrecal, which led the craze half a century ago, likewise used convenience as a selling point, encouraging customers in one ad to keep the cans in their car’s glove box.

Today’s other category leader, Soylent, first sold itself as the non-food of choice for too-busy-to-eat Silicon Valley workers, and later gained traction through viral food trends that emphasized tech-driven nutrition hacks. But now, it's facing a rising tide of competition.

Huel says its customers include doctors, students, and shift workers on top of fitness buffs and efficiency-obsessed tech executives. The focus is on offering "nutritionally complete" meals rather than low-calorie products — a message that mirrors the broader cultural shift toward health and wellness over weight loss.

Related is the growth of snacking trends as consumers aim to eat enough without spending as much time in the kitchen.

Hiking habits fuel freeze-dried boom

Cereal companies are often at the forefront of adopting new kinds of preserved fruit. Since freeze-dried fruit has low water content, they're mostly sugar, so buyers like the taste and cereal companies like the fact that they can say “no sugar added” by removing the non-sugar components of an ingredient. These strategies help cereal companies address the growing group of consumers shying away from cereal in favor of a more healthy breakfast option.

Freeze-dried foods have become popular alongside the rise in camping and hiking trends—making them a standout in current food trends focused on function and portability. COVID also accelerated this trend, as people bought preserved foods and experimented with more baked goods.

In parallel, the "ugly produce" business is booming; Imperfect Foods and Misfits Market have collectively raised over half a billion dollars to grow their business of selling produce that tastes better than it looks. As it turns out, the "ugly produce" business has existed for a long time: soups, sauces, and baked goods are often made with pieces of produce that wouldn't look good on a shelf but that taste fine when chopped up and processed. Freeze-dried strawberries are another example of how the food industry repurposes food products that wouldn’t otherwise have strong shelf appeal.

The economics of strawberry production also tie to the rise of freeze-dried strawberries. Strawberries are a very labor-intensive product, with labor representing 50x the share of costs relative to a more mechanized product like corn. When strawberry pickers pick an excessively ripe strawberry, they usually discard it, because it won't stay fresh in time to get to a grocery store. Since the labor component of cost is so high, waste is less of a problem—but it is an opportunity. Freeze-drying strawberries is not only a way to deal with the lower visual appeal, but also a way to preserve them. This has gotten easier since the development of a more complex cold chain, which allows more foods to be transported through cheaper forms of transit that may take longer.

Overflowing fridges fuel organizers

Average plate sizes in the US have gone from 8.5 inches to 12 inches in the last fifty years, and that's changed food consumption patterns.

Many families now have bigger fridges, more ingredients, and more complicated meals—which means more food that gets lost or wasted. Americans on average discard over 100 pounds of food from their fridges each year, often because they literally can't see what they're missing. Fridge storage containers are an increasingly popular new way to keep fridges organized and make sure everything gets used on time. And while they may seem like a luxury product for people who value a neat and organized fridge, in reality, they’re a cost-saver, popular among cash-conscious consumers, that reduces waste.

Grocery shopping, too, has changed in a way that incentivizes people to buy more food: purchasing groceries online, a key shopping trend, leads to bigger orders. One study showed a 30% increase in average cart size, perhaps due to free delivery minimums and in-app upsells.

The fridge plays a cultural role, too. On Reddit, the Fridge Detectives community has almost 100,000 members. They share photos of fridges and try to make guesses about the owner's age and lifestyle purely by their contents. While most people don't see a refrigerator as a means of self-expression, it's increasingly becoming one—and since a typical refrigerator gets opened many times a day, noticing a messy fridge is unavoidable.

Protein innovation saves dairy sector

The $620B dairy industry is being increasingly threatened by alternative dairy products like Oat Milk and Almond milk. Normal milk consumption has fallen 40% since 1975 and in just the past decade, over 20,000 US dairy farms have gone out of business.

Today dairy companies are struggling to make even a 2% profit on milk. But the rise of whey protein for building muscle, a key fitness trend, has been a path forward for some of these companies. It’s a natural byproduct of cheese production that, until the 1980s, was discarded at a significant cost. Now, whey protein is more valuable than the cheese itself. For every pound of cheese, 9 pounds of whey is created.

Now, clear whey protein is taking off as an alternative to protein shakes. It’s not only clear but also yields a protein drink that’s much more similar to water in terms of its thickness. While many consumers want to be able to chug protein when they hit the gym, not everyone likes the thickness of a shake and the need for a blender and the associated prep work.

Calorie labeling boosts sweetener switch

In 2020, the FDA made a simple yet hugely consequential change to nutrition label requirements, requiring a larger font size for the calorie count. This set off a surge in demand for low-calorie sweeteners, as sweeteners usually constitute a significant portion of total calorie count.

Allulose, a synthetic sugar that has a similar taste, texture, and sweetness to real sugar, but has only ~10% of the calories, is consequently becoming a popular ingredient among food manufacturers.

Allulose, in particular, is benefiting from another labeling trend: it can now be excluded from the "total sugars" and "added sugars" lines on the label, meaning that it offers the lowest calories for a given level of sweetness. As a result, Allulose use has grown at 211% annually in North America from 2017 to 2020, becoming one of the latest food trends that blends health-consciousness with regulatory opportunity.

There are almost a dozen sugar substitutes in widespread use, from Stevia—which has been an ingredient for millennia—to newer compounds like sucralose and neotame. Some of these compounds have a bitter aftertaste, some are simply far less sweet than sugar, and some take a long time to receive regulatory approval. Still, though, artificial sweeteners haven't yet fully disrupted the massive $100B sweetening market, where sugar even now maintains an 85% share, so they have plenty of room to climb as one of the key food industry trends.

Shipping costs reshape food format

Curry cubes are an ingredient whose rising popularity is, in part, thanks to the non-obvious economics of meal kit companies.

When customers try recipes from meal kit companies like HelloFresh, they often want to later recreate the same meal on their own. And while many of the ingredients they use are already in their pantry, meal kit companies prefer concentrated versions like cubes or stock concentrates for economic reasons: shipping a heavy liquid (which is almost entirely water) adds to their cost, which cuts into margins at scale.

Meal kit companies are in the rare position that they both choose the ingredients in a meal and directly pay the shipping cost of the product, but not the labor cost of preparing it—whereas restaurants and grocery store shoppers are much less sensitive to incremental shipping costs. To a restaurant owner, stock concentrate’s lower cost could be offset by the higher and less-certain prep time. And to a grocery shopper, it’s just one more thing in their cart.

There are other cases where food decisions get made based on who bears the cost and who gets the benefit—American Airlines famously saved $40,000 each year by eliminating a single olive from each salad they served in First Class.

Natural eggs challenge cold chain

Producing a shelf-stable version of an existing food or drink is a good strategy to expand the market. Similar to how battery-powered devices are popular in regions with intermittent electricity, canned or otherwise shelf-stable foods gain popularity in areas with unreliable infrastructure.

This trend is evident with milk: Americans typically buy refrigerated milk, while many other parts of the world purchase unrefrigerated UHT (Ultra-High Temperature) milk, which can last 6-9 months. The UHT process, which briefly heats milk to a high temperature to sterilize it, has allowed milk to penetrate new markets, significantly increasing its adoption in countries like China.

The situation with eggs involves more complexity. While constant refrigeration can extend the shelf life of eggs from 3 weeks to 7, many countries do not have the resources for continuous cold storage throughout the supply chain. Even in countries that can afford such storage, eggs are often not refrigerated, leading to widespread confusion. For instance, one of the top Google search queries under "Why do Americans..." is "Why do Americans refrigerate eggs?"

In many parts of the world, there's a preference for unwashed eggs, which are not subjected to the cleaning process that removes the natural protective coating on the shell. This coating helps to preserve the egg without refrigeration, aligning with the growing consumer preference for more natural and less industrially-processed foods. As a result, the demand for these unwashed, non-refrigerated eggs is growing—a reflection of recent food trends that prioritize natural processing and shelf-stability.