Predicted Food Trends in 2025

2024 has been a very interesting year for food and has continued the precedent and trends that we have observed this decade. With the global disruption of the food market that had been unseen in 2020 and 2021, the market has largely recovered with a wide range of different innovations coming directly from the pandemic as well as from other emerging trends that were emerging at the time. This has culminated in a global food scene and recipes that embrace different cultures and have produced a wide array of different and exciting fusions of food. The main predicted food trends that we cover in this article are:

  • Sustainability in food, recipes and ingredients and how this will shape the future of food as we move into the future.
  • Diet trends such as plant-based and other specialist diets.
  • Further innovations into how food and drink is packaged and delivered and the way that the logistics around creating dishes and drinks will need to change for the future.
  • Global foods continue to dominate pop-ups and new restaurants and food stops. Local has also seen a large resurgence in popularity, especially with British classics and British fusion. America has seen huge innovation and excitement with Korean and West African fusion.

This article is written by Love Food, the leading provider of office lunch catering in London.

Sustainability Will Be An Important Factor in 2025 and Beyond

Sustainability is still a highly important aspect of the food and beverage industry and it’s only going to get more and more important in the future. There is a growing number of consumers who would purchase food and drink for higher prices if they knew that they were responsibly sourced and a survey of 2000 participants from Bidfood showed that 71% of those studied are actively trying to live more sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyles. The main issues that face the food and drink industry in 2025 and beyond is food waste, carbon emissions, local or sustainably sourced ingredients and using those who invest or purchase from sustainable farming.

Specialist diets also fall within the category of sustainability, with many choosing plant-based or vegetarian diets in order to reduce environmental impact. This has led to a large increase in the number of plant-based food manufacturers as well as pop-ups and restaurants. 

Packing and Reducing Waste in Food Production and Distribution

A big trend that we saw in 2024 was innovation in swapping out glass bottles for lighter and more recyclable alternatives. In the UK, an average of 76% of used glass is recycled each year. Glass also adds to the weight of delivery, which increases the amount of emissions when the product is transported. This has resulted in cardboard-packaged wines and spirits that utilise the technology that you see in boxed wines. This removes the use of glass in favour of cardboard and reduces the weight of the product, reducing carbon emissions associated with delivery.

Global Foods & Fusion Still Hugely Popular With Local Continuing to Resurge

Global food fusions are still extremely popular with a wide range of different cultures being celebrated through their food. With traditional recipes and foods and drinks as well as fine-dining elevating traditional dishes, global foods and global fusion are as popular as ever. Alongside classics in the UK such as British Indian and British-Chinese, other fusions have become more and more popular and prevalent including fusions with Korean, Moroccan and Lebanese cuisine. In the US, Korean and West African fusion is also gaining momentum alongside classics such as Tex-Mex & Italian American.

Local dishes and recipes have also made a massive resurgence in the UK with traditional and fine-dining elevations of classic dishes across all of the UK. From Rarebit, Aberdeen Angus, Potato Farls, Pie and Mash becoming more and more popular combined with forever classic staples such as Fish & Chips and Full English Breakfast.