Outlook 2025: Consumer Trends

Market researchers agree: Often the best way to understand something is with a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. So that’s what Food Technology did to arrive at our 2025 Consumer Trends Outlook.

For this year’s analysis, we tapped into the collective wisdom of a group of trusted trend forecasters, asking them about what will be foremost on consumers’ minds in 2025 and how that will affect their food and beverage decisions. In addition, Food Technology polled IFT members with roles in marketing, consumer insights, and product development, and more than 300 weighed in via an email survey.

Here’s a look at how we distilled the information we collected, breaking out five market-defining consumer trends for 2025.

1) Still Watching Our Wallets

Economic considerations will continue to drive consumer behavior. Asked to identify the top three factors consumers will consider when choosing foods and beverages in 2025, more than three-quarters (79%) of survey respondents included price, placing it at the top of the list—well above taste, which came in second (58%), followed by nutritional content (46%), and convenience (37%). (See What Influences Consumer Choice table above.) And in a separate, but related, question about what’s weighing most heavily on consumers, rising grocery costs/economic uncertainty was a top three choice for the greatest number of respondents. (See What Concerns Consumers table below.)

Although the U.S. inflation rate had fallen to its lowest level in three years by late summer, consumers still feel the sting of the past several years’ price surges. Food prices are currently about 30% higher than they were in 2019, points out Sally Lyons Wyatt, global executive vice president and chief advisor at Circana. And that will continue to affect where consumers shop, what they buy, and where they eat, according to Lyons Wyatt.

“Consumers are shopping more value channels—whether that’s mass, dollar, club, or even e-commerce to find what they need throughout the year,” Lyons Wyatt says. Online research has helped consumers “determine the optimal mix of outlets to get what they need based on the price they want to pay,” she continues. “Consumers are making more trips but buying fewer items per trip.”

Price and spending are complex, multidimensional issues, as insights from the experts make clear. Rob Dongoski, global lead for food and agribusiness at Kearney, a strategy and management consulting firm, calls it “a tale of two consumers.” He points out that “consumers who are highly attentive to what they eat and able to pay for it” comprise one key group. The second group, he says, is made up of “consumers who are less discerning about their food or unable to pay for healthier options.

“For that first group,” he continues, “price and taste continue to be key, but other trends are very focused on transparency, simplicity in ingredients/formulation, and intentional nutrients, depending on their dietary goals. The second group continues to be largely focused on price and taste but trends toward convenience, pack size, and consistency/reliability.”

Several trend watchers made the point that consumers will spend on what they value most. “Consumers place a high value on what their dollar gets them versus how much they’re paying,” says Keith Albright, marketing insights and analytics manager, Cargill. “Consumers will stretch their dollars to invest where they feel their values are met.”

Quality is more than taste, and value is more than price.

Shannon O’Shields, vice president of marketing at Rubix Foods, a provider of flavors and functional ingredients, shares that sentiment. “Ultimately, we know that quality and value are the most important factors to consumers when it comes to food and beverage experiences. But these are loaded terms—quality is more than taste, and value is more than price,” she reflects.

For many consumers, inflation’s toll on household budgets will make clean label a lower priority in the coming year, says Catherine Wisloski, manager, insights and customer experience for Dawn Foods. “The younger generations will still have clean and clear labels as motivators,” she predicts, “but it will be several years before they can afford to close the ‘say-do gap’ and actually pay more for those items.”

In this environment, she says, “smaller sizes will continue to appear across the shelves, especially in the fresh bakery and prepared foods section. Different than shrinkflation of packaged items, smaller items of fresh food and desserts offer consumers value in the form of portion control, daily indulgence, and lower cost-per-item at the checkout.”

Stressed by high prices, consumers will continue to seek out private label products, says Amy Marks-McGee, founder and owner of marketing consulting firm Trendincite. And the good news for them, adds Tom Bailey, senior consumer foods analyst at Rabobank, is that the private label options continue to get better and better “with new brands like Walmart’s bettergoods offering affordable, high-quality, and innovative products.”

2) Authentically Global

Global cuisines and flavors were second only to comfort food for survey respondents asked about the qualities that consumers look for in foods and beverages. (See What Consumers Want table above.)

“This trend has been growing for a few years and is expected to gain further momentum in 2025,” says Rabobank’s Bailey. Globally inspired foods are “packed with flavor” and “often relatively affordable,” he notes. “The younger generation in the United States seeks new and exciting experiences, and the growing diversity in the population also drives this trend.”

Sydney Byrne, marketing manager, Sensient Flavors & Extracts, agrees with Bailey’s assessment. “Younger consumers are the most diverse generation this nation has ever seen,” she says. “Their palates are similarly diverse, with a willingness to explore new flavors.”

Authentic and specific global flavor profiles will be important in the global foods segments. Bailey says that “consumers are starting to ‘niche out,’ looking for specific regional cuisines rather than broad categories. For example, instead of just Mexican food, they might seek out Oaxacan style, or instead of just Japanese ramen, they might look for Fukuoka/Hakata ramen.”

“Authenticity and bold flavors will continue to emerge in [global] cuisines, especially Asian, rather than ‘dumbed down’ or Americanized flavor profiles,” predicts Jeff Grogg, managing director of JPG Resources.

“Social media have exposed consumers to new cuisines and innovative food formats,” says Alyssa Williams, food and beverage category insights manager with Spate, a company that uses machine intelligence to identify emerging consumer trends.

She cites the examples of boudin balls (a sausage-based Cajun snack), mentions of which have shot up by 130% in Google searches in the United States for the yearlong period ending in September 2024 and are up by 780% on Tik Tok for the yearlong period ending in October 2024. For the same time periods, Google searches for the Middle Eastern dessert knafeh have increased by 94% and Tik Tok references have surged by 977%.

“Consumers are no longer content with the ordinary,” says Williams, noting that Spate anticipates growing popularity for global condiments and unique international dishes—products that “deliver distinct flavors and high-quality ingredients.”

Merging global flavors with mainstream food options will be a smart strategy for food product developers, says A. Elizabeth Sloan, president of consumer insights firm Sloan Trends Inc. “Fusion will be fun,” says Sloan. “Think cheeseburger dumplings, grilled salmon burritos, or tikka chicken tacos.”

3) Health Your Way

“Consumers want more agency when it comes to what their diets ‘should’ or ‘should not’ include,” observes Jenny Zegler, director, Mintel Food & Drink. “This is both a reflection of how much available information (and misinformation) is out there about health and it is also an application of widespread adoption of personalized definitions of what ‘healthy’ means.” (See How Consumers Think About Health table above for survey respondents’ take on consumers’ health benefit priorities.)

Cargill’s Albright agrees that consumers define health in myriad ways. “Health today is not one-size-fits-all and spans physical and emotional health,” says Albright. “The definition of what is healthy for you may not work for me.”

Mintel’s recommendation, Zegler says, is that “companies pare claims down to the fundamental nutrition basics of protein, fiber, vitamin, and mineral content. These simple nutrition claims will help brands stand out to consumers who are looking for easy-to-understand health information.” What’s more, Zegler points out, “better information is especially important as more consumers consider whether GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound, could assist them in achieving their personal health goals.”

While Mintel data show that only 12% of U.S. consumers currently use GLP-1 medications to manage their weight, an additional 21% aren’t using them but are interested in them. “Indeed, the awareness of weight-loss drugs and how they work in the body will shift consumers’ focus of health to be on the fundamentals of nutrition, led by protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals,” Zegler says.

“Previously,” she continues, “consumers who were seeking ‘food as medicine’ turned to functional products made with ingredients ranging from antioxidants to zinc. Going forward, the focus will be on food and drinks that help consumers, especially weight-loss drug users who have reduced appetites, get basic nutrition from their diets with easy-to-understand claims about protein, fiber, and vitamin content.”

“As the science continues to emerge around the GLP-1 drugs, we’ll see continued shifts in eating behaviors,” says Shery Frey, vice president of total wellness at NielsenIQ, pointing to an increased focus on protein, fiber, and micronutrients. She anticipates more opportunities for food companies to address the shifting needs of GLP-1 consumers as the supply of the drugs increases and prices for them decrease. Frey also notes that products that NielsenIQ categorizes as “Better For” are expected to continue to outpace sales of products in general.

Finally, many IFT survey respondents said that they anticipate an ongoing trend away from specific and restrictive diet regimens like keto and paleo.

4) Indulgence and Health Will Coexist

The role of food as a source of comfort (often seen as closely related to indulgence) cannot be overlooked. As noted previously, comfort was the top choice among IFT survey respondents asked to identify qualities that consumers will look for in their 2025 food and beverage choices.

But that doesn’t mean that consumers aren’t also thinking about nutrition and health. In the IFT survey question about consumer concerns, physical health and wellness was number two on the list, second only to rising grocery costs/economic uncertainty. And in another question, nutritional content came in third on a list of factors survey respondents expected to drive consumers’ 2025 food choices—just after price and taste and ahead of convenience and food safety.

Sensient market watchers have described the trend as “healthy with a side of indulgence” and add that “while better-for-you foods continue to be on the rise, the opposite is also true.” Cargill’s Albright expects 2025 to bring “a healthy tension between healthfulness and indulgence.”

“Consumers will seek comfort from their foods in 2025 and will appreciate healthier ways to achieve it,” predicts Miranda Grizio, a research fellow at The Good Food Institute. To that end, she expects to see growth in “better-for-you indulgent snacks, such as chips and cookies that are slightly healthier in some way—whether through more protein, less sugar, or added functional ingredients—but still taste as delicious (or almost as delicious) as the traditional versions.”

Judy Lindsey, senior director of R&D at Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, also anticipates a trend toward finding balance in food choices. She sees consumers choosing smaller portions to address health concerns and notes a trend toward foods and beverages that are a bit indulgent “but not too bad for me.” Trends forecaster Suzy Badaracco, president of Culinary Tides, frames it as a move toward “sensible indulgence.”

Food product developers must balance health and indulgence, emphasizes Sébastien Adelis, global insights and digital market planner at ingredient company Roquette. “For consumers, choosing healthier, more nutritious foods and beverages shouldn’t come at the expense of indulgence,” says Adelis. “Ultimately, it’s the experience of savoring rich tastes, aromas, and textures that people crave. As lifestyles evolve, the focus must be on finding new ways to surprise and delight, prioritizing high-quality ingredients to deliver elevated experiences.”

It’s unlikely that consumers’ desire to treat themselves is going to go away, Mintel’s Zegler observes. She notes that consumers sometimes feel rebellious and want to break the rules around eating healthfully. “In contrast to health, there is an opportunity in indulgent categories to break food ‘rules’ that is being driven by the combination of an ongoing ‘casualization’ in society and an acceptance that people are ‘perfectly imperfect’ beings,” she says.

5) Dining Out Dynamics Are Changing

The spiraling cost of eating out in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic has kept many consumers out of restaurants or reduced the frequency of their visits. According to Circana data released in late summer, 86% of eating occasions were sourced from home in the past year.

But despite consumers’ ongoing concerns about the high cost of living, the picture may be brightening a bit for restaurant operators in 2025, according to several trend trackers. Lyons Wyatt says Circana anticipates an increase in foot traffic in foodservice outlets in 2025.

Dave Lundahl, CEO of market research firm Insights Now, thinks that the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president will “lead to market destabilization and the start of a new cycle of inflation due to disruptions in global agricultural supply chains.” Nonetheless, Lundahl says, he expects the economy to remain strong through 2025, which will mean a greater “share of stomach” for foodservice.

“With a strong economy, consumers will continue the trend of eating out more frequently,” Lundahl says. “This will increase pressure on food retailers to differentiate with new and more innovative products to serve the demands of their respective shoppers.”

The return to the office trend for many employees also supports foodservice traffic growth. “The workforce is heading back to the office, driven by return-to-office mandates, whether we like them or not,” says Arlin Wasserman, founder and managing director of Changing Tastes, a food strategy consultancy. “With this, we’ll be grabbing more meals to eat on the go from restaurants and on-site foodservice.”

Sloan agrees, pointing to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics which indicate that the vast majority of the workforce is not working from home. Sloan sees opportunities for continued growth for grab-and-go products, including handheld entrées and snacks suitable for morning consumption.

Cargill’s Albright expects to see consumers dining out more frequently when they want to have an indulgent experience. “During the peak of inflation,” he says, “consumers indulged at home more versus going out. As we move into a more stable economic environment, I expect consumers to look outside the home for simple indulgences, [but] that’s not to say the at-home indulgences will fade completely.”

In this environment, Mike Kostyo, vice president at Menu Matters, expects chefs to become “more thoughtful and personal with restaurant projects again.” He adds, “I think we’re moving away from the low-effort, Instagram-bait restaurants. They just aren’t built to last.”

Thinking Ahead

It’s too soon to know exactly what impact the recent presidential election will have on consumer behavior, but Lundahl of InsightsNow thinks that if the appointment of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of the Department of Health and Human Services is confirmed, it “will further heighten food concerns and a distrust for science and large brands.” And that, he says, “will lead to greater fractionation of markets, creating more opportunities for small, upstart brands targeting emerging moments, niche markets, and smaller consumer segments.”

Mintel’s Zegler notes that faced with ongoing global supply chain challenges, ranging from extreme weather to disruptive geopolitical events, consumers will need to adjust some of their preferences for products formulated with specific-origin ingredients. And food and beverage companies will need to be transparent and educate consumers about their efforts to maintain a consistent, high-quality ingredient supply.

“In many cases,” Zegler says, “consumers will be open to new ingredients, flavors, or origins because availability is more important than a particular local, domestic, or global origin.”

Kostyo opts for a positive outlook for the year ahead. “Inflation is moderating, which looks to continue into the new year,” he notes. “The presidential election, which consumers told us was their top source of anxiety in 2024, is over.

“We’re finally moving into what actually feels like the post-COVID era,” Kostyo continues.

“When there’s optimism, there’s room for innovation and trying new things,” he reflects. “It has been a long five years of anxiety, but at some point you need to get excited about something again. … The focus in 2025 should be on innovation and giving consumers something new.”ft