2026 Trend Forecast

About this report

The 2026 Food & Beverage Trend Forecast is your guide to the cultural and consumer shifts shaping the year ahead—and how to act on them. Built from Tastewise’s AI-powered analysis of billions of data points across social, search, and foodservice, this report distills the noise into the trends that will drive real business impact.

We explore four macro categories redefining food and beverage in 2026:

• Food as identity reconnection – food as a cultural anchor in an over-optimized world
• The new body OS – functionality evolving from macros to mind-body performance
• Lifestyle power plays – choices that communicate values and status
• Sensory maximalism – immersive flavor and texture experiences consumers crave

Use this report to guide product development, menu innovation, marketing strategy, and long-term planning—and to stay ahead of what consumers will eat, drink, and expect next.

Gen Z is reviving what brands left behind.

Small. Simple. Real.

Savory yogurt growing

30% in 2 months

Tinned fish snacks growing

24% YoY

Did you just discontinue your next hit?

Health Wasn’t Enough.
Now It Has to Work.

Your wellness promises aren’t working. Your products need to do something consumers feel, or they’ll do nothing at all but which needs must they fulfill in 2026?

“Sustainable” Is Now a Lie Until Proven Otherwise

No one believes your green label anymore. People want to feel the impact, not just read it. If your sustainability story lacks soul, you’ve already lost shelf space and trust.

You Can’t Optimize Your Way to Growth Anymore

A rejection of clinical, inauthentic food presentation in favor of messy, moody, and unmistakably human. The next era of food can’t feel calculated. You need to connect with people’s emotions but which emotions?