9 Food Trends for 2025
I’ve recently returned from the world’s leading restaurant conference, the National Restaurant Association Show in the US.
While this provided the perfect opportunity to immerse myself in Chicago’s incredible food scene, the show itself offered up four whole days of invaluable educational seminars, networking and exposure to over 2,200 exhibitors; many of which included the very latest in kitchen and restaurant tech, and exciting food innovations from all over the world.
Needless to say, there was a dizzying array of takeaways, which I’m keen to share with you over the coming weeks. First off, the press though, let’s take a look at the eight key food trends I collected from around the show, and presentations from Technomic and the American Culinary Federation.
Pizza Done Different - The world’s most ubiquitous food category continues to grow with international mashups, such as Indian and Moroccan ingredients and naan bases, innovative plant-based toppings, and ‘pizza beyond dinner’, such as breakfast shakshouka pizza and dessert pizza with churro and dulce de leche.
Vegetable-Forward Menus - Restaurants are spotlighting vegetables as the main attraction with creative dishes such as cauliflower steaks and beetroot tartare. And putting a plant-based spin on traditional comfort foods and desserts such as jackfruit BBQ and avocado mousse.
Chinese Reimagined - The popularity of Chinese is again on the rise with a focus on regional cuisines such as Shaanxi and Fujian, combining iconic Chinese flavours with global influences such as Peking duck tacos, plant-based versions of classic dishes, and a revival of traditional techniques such as hand-pulled noodles.
Pickles Aplenty - Not only are pickles cooler than ever, but they’re a great way of layering flavour while reducing food costs. Pickling styles from around the world, such as Japanese tsukemono and Indian ahaar, are popping up everywhere (even in cocktails) and everything is getting pickled, including watermelon rinds, mushrooms and garlic scrapes.
Affordable Indulgence - Gen Z are causing a huge upswing in snacking, which is becoming much less confined to traditional day parts. Small portions and innovative flavours and formats are leading the charge with fun items such as pizza in a cup, Philly cheesesteak bao and mushroom hot pockets.
Spicing It Up - Spice influences from around the world are gaining more profile and are being used to create heat, with layers of flavour, by blending heat with smoky, tangy or umami notes. Spice is also teaming up with pickling and fermentation in condiments such as gochujang and sambal.
Nourishing Beverages - Beverages continue to take a major share of wallet (and contribute a big chunk of profit), particularly amongst younger demos, with a focus on functional and wellness-oriented drinks containing ingredients such as turmeric, ashwagandha and probiotics. The range of plant-based milks is expanding, including macadamia, hemp and superfood infusions; and sophisticated lo/no-alc is on the rise with quality wines, craft beers and well-considered mocktails.
Stealth Health - Functional and health ingredients such as nectarine, savoy cabbage and persimmon are becoming the heroes of dishes, while ingredients such as morel mushrooms are sneaking their way into beef patties.
Plant Protein - The range of plant-based meat alternatives has exploded in the last 12 months. Not only are the big players like Impossible and Beyond significantly broadening their ranges, purveyors of plant-based cold cuts, steak, chicken and salmon are bringing huge variety to the category.
Gen Z, who are now entering the peak of the dining life-cycle, as well as the emergence of Gen Alpha, are the major drivers and influencers of these trends and now make up a significant portion of the market.
Restaurants that recognise this and build their offering to suit are the ones that will be most successful in the long run.
On that note, stay tuned for my next post, which will run you through the themes behind the next wave of young consumers.