Top 10 Health and Nutrition Trends to Watch
Health and nutrition are no longer siloed categories, they’re shaping the way people shop, eat, and live. From daily snack choices to functional beverages and tailored wellness solutions, consumers are demanding more from the foods and drinks they choose.
In 2025, personalization is taking center stage. Consumers expect products that reflect their individual needs, whether that’s brain support, gut health, or energy. According to data from over 66,000 responses in Tastewise’s Functional Nutrition in 2025 Survey, energy and focus were the top reasons people turn to functional foods, outpacing gut health and immunity.
The rise of personalized nutrition, growing interest in targeted ingredients, and shifting habits across recipes, retail, and restaurant menus signal that brands need to act fast, or risk falling behind.
This guide explores the top health and nutrition trends for 2025, with insights pulled from real-time consumer behavior and survey data across the Tastewise platform.
Want to Go Deeper? Access the full picture in our Functional Nutrition 2025 Report, an in-depth look at how real consumer behavior is shaping the future of food and beverage.
Top 10 health and nutrition trends for 2025
What people eat in 2025 isn’t just about taste, it’s about function, personalization, and impact. These ten trends highlight where the food and beverage industry is headed, shaped by real consumer behavior and grounded in the latest nutrition trends. Each one is backed by fresh data from Tastewise and reflects what matters most to consumers right now.
1. Personalized nutrition gets practical
In 2025, personalization is no longer just a trend, it’s defining how the nutrition industry evolves. From macro goals like energy and focus to niche needs like hormonal balance or cognitive performance, consumers are seeking products built for them. Not the average shopper. Not the mass market.
This isn’t limited to vitamins or meal plans. Tastewise survey data shows how this approach is spreading across mainstream categories. Nearly 88% of respondents in our Functional Nutrition in 2025 study expressed a desire for innovation in functional beverages, a space that now includes mushroom lattes, nootropic drinks, and electrolyte-infused waters designed for brain clarity, not just hydration.
Energy and focus are the most sought-after outcomes, chosen by 61% of consumers, ahead of digestion, immunity, and even weight. This emphasis signals a wider shift in nutrition trends: away from broad health claims and toward targeted outcomes that align with individual lifestyles.
This push for precision is also influencing how brands communicate. Nearly 59% of consumers in the same study said they trust products backed by science or research, a reminder that nutrition industry trends aren’t just about what’s in the product, but how it’s presented.
As the desire for personalized nutrition grows, so does the demand for better data, more tailored formats, and smarter messaging. These emerging nutrition trends will define not just what we eat, but how we choose it.
2. Functional ingredients for mental wellness
Mental wellness has become one of the most influential forces shaping nutrition trends in 2025. Consumers aren’t just looking for food that fuels them physically, they’re seeking ingredients that support mood, cognition, stress resilience, and overall mental clarity.
This isn’t a vague sentiment. The survey shows, “improves focus and cognition” was the most desirable health claim, 1.6x more preferred than even stress reduction or digestion support. That’s a clear signal that healthy ingredients aren’t just about traditional wellness markers like immunity or digestion anymore.
One standout ingredient is Lion’s Mane, which emerged as the most preferred functional component among respondents, ranking 2x higher than Ashwagandha. It reflects a broader consumer move toward brain-supporting mushrooms and adaptogens in both food and drink formats.
Products that promise enhanced focus are resonating across demographics, from Gen Z students to professionals managing screen fatigue. This trend also reflects the crossover between personalized nutrition and mental health: consumers are actively searching for ingredients that work for them, whether that’s cognitive function, emotional balance, or sleep improvement.
These findings align with a broader rise in emerging nutrition trends that focus on specific emotional outcomes. Functional snacks, calming drinks, and even wines are being reformulated to support mental performance. The Healthy Wine Consumer Survey showed that energy was the top functional benefit consumers wanted from wine, beating stress relief, gut health, and mental health support.
As the category expands, expect to see more products using familiar foods (like snack bars or beverages) to deliver nutrition industry trends rooted in focus, mood, and brain health.
3. Gut health as a foundation for wellness
Gut health has become a cornerstone of current trends in nutrition, with consumers recognizing its connection to digestion, mood, immunity, and overall well-being. While it’s not a new topic, its impact continues to grow across categories, from functional beverages to snacks with added probiotics.
According to Tastewise data, gut health content is backed by a high volume of real consumer activity:
- 181,468 people discussing it
- Over 533,000 social posts
- 39,000+ dishes featuring gut-related mentions
- And nearly 7,800 restaurants tapping into the trend
Mentions have shown fluctuations over the past 24 months, but the trajectory is positive: 5.2% YoY growth, with a recent rebound in interest across platforms.
The Hydration & Wellness Preferences Survey confirms this continued relevance. 63.7% of respondents said they actively seek gut health benefits in hydration beverages, ranking above immune support, heart health, and even skin-related claims. Meanwhile, 46% in the Wellness & Healthy Snacks Survey said probiotic support was their top priority when choosing snacks, making it a key opportunity for brands targeting everyday formats with a wellness edge.
Gut-friendly ingredients are also showing strong performance in retail and recipe spaces. Consumers are increasingly drawn to fermented components, prebiotics, and plant-based formulations that support digestive balance.
As nutrition trends 2025 continue to unfold, gut health is proving it’s not just a siloed concern. It’s becoming an expected feature in both core wellness products and indulgent formats, expanding what consumers now consider “healthy.”
4. Protein-forward, plant-based innovation
Protein is still a priority, but what that looks like is changing fast. Consumers are moving beyond traditional sources and exploring new healthy ingredients that align with their values and dietary needs. This evolution is central to both recent trends in nutrition and the broader plant-forward movement.
Interest in alternative proteins is growing across social media, restaurant menus, and recipe platforms. According to Tastewise platform data, mentions of fava bean, a rising plant-based protein, have increased, with a noticeable peak in recent months and 11.3% year-over-year growth. Though still a niche player with lower total volume than established ingredients, its fast rise signals growing consumer curiosity.
This curiosity is matched by a demand for real functionality. In the Wellness & Healthy Snacks Survey, plant-based protein ranked alongside fiber-rich and probiotic benefits in importance, as consumers look for snacks that do more than just fill a gap. They want food that sustains energy, supports digestion, and delivers on satiety, without compromising on taste or ethics.
That balance is extending into flavor and texture innovation. In the Innovative Healthy Snack Market Survey, consumers showed interest in ingredients like algae, jackfruit, and adaptogenic mushrooms, as well as unconventional textures such as fizzy and melt-in-your-mouth, an indicator that the format of protein delivery matters just as much as the source.
As the market grows more sophisticated, brands will need to design for both function and experience. Protein is no longer a checkbox, it’s part of a broader narrative that connects emerging nutrition trends with ethical sourcing, digestive health, and personalization.
5. Hydration 2.0
Hydration isn’t just about quenching thirst anymore, it’s becoming a functional tool for wellness. Consumers are choosing drinks that provide energy, support gut health, and replenish essential electrolytes, turning hydration into a central focus of nutrition trends 2025.
In the Hydration & Wellness Preferences Survey, nearly half of all respondents (49.3%) said improved energy levels are the top reason they reach for a hydration drink, well above electrolyte balance or even digestive support.
And it’s not just about what the beverage does, it’s about when. An overwhelming 86% of consumers reported they drink hydration beverages in the morning, highlighting how the category is replacing coffee or sugary energy drinks in daily routines.
Potassium is leading the way when it comes to favored ingredients, 61.6% of consumers prefer it over magnesium and sodium, associating it with heart health and muscle function. The functional benefit of gut health also stood out, with 63.7% seeking it in hydration formats, connecting hydration directly to core wellness priorities.
Flavors are evolving too. Citrus (lemon, lime, orange) is still the favorite, but tropical and herbal profiles like pineapple or chamomile are rising fast, aligning with emerging nutrition trends that emphasize both function and flavor experience.
Hydration is no longer a background category. It’s becoming a platform for innovation, offering real performance benefits across wellness, energy, and digestive support, all in a format consumers reach for daily.
6. Women’s health in focus
One of the most notable emerging nutrition trends for 2025 is the growing attention on women’s health, specifically hormone balance, micronutrient support, and functional foods built around life-stage needs. This isn’t a niche interest. It’s a broad consumer priority driving new product development across categories.
As a result, brands are exploring formats that cater to cyclical health needs. Think snacks designed for PMS support, drinks infused with magnesium or B-complex vitamins, or functional ingredients like evening primrose and maca showing up in everyday foods. These aren’t boutique wellness products, they’re becoming part of the mainstream.
- Seed cycling is gaining credibility. A 2023 clinical study showed that timed dietary patterns, like consuming flax and pumpkin seeds in one phase of the cycle and sesame/sunflower in another, can improve hormonal markers and BMI in women with PCOS.
- Functional foods enriched with specific botanicals, such as organic red clover or raspberry leaf, are becoming mainstream for supporting menstrual and bone health.
- Holistic nutrition meets hormonal health. Women over 35 are prioritizing coordinated support across sleep, metabolism, mood, and nutrition, rejecting quick fixes in place of balance.
7. Healthy aging through food
Healthy aging is no longer a distant goal, it’s becoming a driver of product innovation and consumer choice today. As people plan for longevity, they’re looking beyond supplements toward everyday foods that support physical health, cognitive function, and vitality.
According to Tastewise’s Future of Nutrition Survey, over 72% of respondents said they associate diet and nutrition with hormone health, more than supplements, sleep, or stress management. The same study revealed that nearly 20% of participants ranked hormone balance as one of the most important areas for personalized nutrition, trailing only weight management and overall health. Micronutrients are another focus area. Three out of four consumers said they want to optimize vitamin intake through food, with strong interest in magnesium, zinc, and omega-3s, all relevant to women’s health and mental clarity.
This focus on personalization and hormone-specific support is helping to redefine what nutrition trends 2025 really mean. It’s not just about macro goals like energy or satiety, it’s about supporting consumers where they are, at every stage of life, with food and beverages that feel both intentional and inclusive.
Recent long-term research underscores this. A study that followed over 105,000 adults found that adhering to a diet rich in plant-based foods, and low in ultra-processed options, boosted the odds of healthy aging by 86% at age 70 and more than doubled the odds by age 75. Complementing this, data from the Harvard‑T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows similar patterns: diets balanced with vegetables, whole grains, and healthy animal products, while avoiding processed meats and sugary drinks, are tied to reaching older age in good mental, physical, and cognitive health.
Simple foods also pack longevity benefits. A study of over 86,000 participants found that eating just three servings a day of flavonoid-rich foods, think berries, apples, dark chocolate, and tea, was associated with up to a 15% decrease in frailty, impaired physical function, and poor mental health in later life. Complementing that, Tufts University data suggests that replacing refined carbs with high-quality, fiber-rich ones, like those found in beans and whole grains, can significantly increase the odds of aging well in your 70s, particularly for women.
These findings reflect a broader shift in health and nutrition trends: nutrition isn’t just about performance or weight. It’s about building resilience and promoting graceful aging through food.
8. Clean label with purpose
Today’s consumers want to know exactly what’s in their food, and where it comes from. Transparency isn’t a marketing tactic anymore. It’s an expectation. And it’s shaping nutrition industry trends in 2025 across categories, from snacks to beverages to prepared meals.
Over 42% of respondents said they prioritize labels with “natural” claims over organic, vegan, or even sugar-free distinctions. Meanwhile, 54% said they’d prefer nutritional labels that include QR codes linking to deeper product information, signaling a desire for real access to data, not just design.
What consumers want from these labels is practical:
- Macronutrient breakdowns were chosen by more than 8x as many people as ingredient lists
- Weight management was the most sought-after health benefit
- And when it comes to additives, 63% said they preferred emulsifiers and stabilizers, a nod to ingredient literacy, not avoidance
The implications go beyond packaging. As the FDA’s proposed front-of-pack (FOP) label gains momentum, brands will need to make their nutritional stories legible, not just compliant. Consumers are using labels to guide both impulse and long-term health decisions, and those who lead with clarity and purpose will stand out.
Clean label is no longer about saying less, it’s about showing more, and doing it in a way that supports consumer agency. That’s the new definition of “healthy” in today’s health and nutrition trends.
9. Weight wellness and satiety
Weight management is being reframed, not as a restrictive goal, but as part of everyday wellness. Consumers are moving away from calorie-counting toward healthy ingredients that provide balance, satisfaction, and long-term energy. This is one of the clearest current trends in nutrition, and it’s influencing everything from product claims to portion design.
In the Nutritional Labeling Survey, 42% of consumers said weight management is the health benefit they most look for on a label, beating out gut health, mental wellness, and even blood sugar control. It’s a reminder that while weight may not be as explicitly discussed in branding, it’s still top of mind.
Satiety and function are key. In Tastewise’s Functional Nutrition in 2025 data, energy and focus were the leading drivers behind functional food choices. Consumers want snacks and meals that keep them full, alert, and fueled, especially in formats that feel familiar and convenient.
This shift is also reflected in emerging nutrition trends that prioritize fiber, protein, and probiotics over low-calorie marketing. In the Wellness & Healthy Snacks Survey, fiber-rich snacks were selected by 40% of respondents, and high-protein options by nearly 38%, confirming that satiety is being built into the modern definition of “healthy.”
Brands that center sustained energy, balance, and emotional wellbeing will continue to lead in this space, especially when their nutrition messaging is straightforward, snackable, and backed by visible functional benefits.
10. Immune-supporting Foods
Immunity remains a core driver of health choices, even as the conversation around it evolves. What began as a pandemic-era spike has matured into one of the most consistent nutrition trends 2025, shaping how consumers choose snacks, beverages, and everyday staples.
What’s changed is the delivery. Consumers now seek immune-supporting ingredients in formats that are integrated into daily life, not just seasonal supplements. Think juices with added zinc, bars with elderberry, or hydration drinks that combine probiotics with vitamin C.
According to Tastewise, 37.5% of respondents listed immune support as a reason for choosing functional foods, putting it just behind gut health and brain function. The Hydration & Wellness Preferences Survey echoed this, with 29% of respondents prioritizing immune benefits in their drink choices.
Ingredients matter, but so does credibility. Consumers are gravitating toward products that support immunity naturally, backed by research or nutritional transparency. This intersects with demand for healthy ingredients like citrus (rich in vitamin C), fermented foods, and plant-based antioxidants, all trends growing steadily across Tastewise social and recipe data.
Immunity is no longer just a seasonal concern. It’s embedded in consumer routines, and brands that build for this new normal will be part of how people stay well, every day.
Ingredient spotlights: What’s gaining momentum
Consumers are no longer just looking at the front of the package, they’re scrutinizing the ingredients list. Across recipes, menus, and social conversations, these are the healthy ingredients gaining traction in the 2025 landscape:
- Lion’s Mane: Favored for its brain-boosting potential, Lion’s Mane was the most preferred functional ingredient in the Functional Nutrition 2025 Survey, outpacing even Ashwagandha by 2x.
- Algae: A standout in the Innovative Healthy Snack Survey, 68% of consumers said they want to see algae, like spirulina or chlorella, in new snack formats.
- Potassium: In hydration products, potassium was the top-ranked electrolyte, chosen by over 61% of consumers for its role in muscle and heart health.
- B-complex vitamins and magnesium: These continue to be top-of-mind, particularly among consumers seeking hormonal balance and mental clarity.
- Prebiotics and probiotics: These remain foundational in both snacks and drinks targeting gut health and immunity, two of the top outcomes across every Tastewise survey.
Each of these ingredients represents a shift toward functionality, personalization, and transparent sourcing, pillars of nutrition industry trends today.
How consumer behavior is changing
Across categories, consumers are becoming more data-driven in their health decisions. The surveys reflect a clear narrative: people are looking for nutrition trends they can trust and build into daily life, not one-time fixes.
- Over 70% of respondents say they’re more likely to try a product based on positive online reviews or influencer endorsements than on sustainable sourcing.
- Minimal packaging and QR code-enabled labeling are increasingly preferred, showing that convenience and clarity are now part of the “healthy” definition.
- Consumers associate personalized nutrition with long-term goals, with 92% saying they want food aligned with their health aspirations, not just flavor or price.
Whether shopping online, ordering in, or cooking at home, decisions are increasingly tied to transparency, functionality, and self-optimization, the foundation of recent trends in nutrition.
Use cases: where health shows up most
The 2025 nutrition landscape is fluid, spanning categories where health wasn’t previously the focus. Here’s where it’s showing up:
- Functional Beverages: Explore the trend. From mushroom coffee to nootropic water, drinks are leading the personalization wave.
- Healthy Snacks: Bars, chips, and bites are being reformulated with high fiber, adaptogens, and even savory herb + fruit combinations, 35% of consumers say this is the most intriguing flavor pairing.
- Meal Replacements: Convenience meets performance. Consumers are choosing functional shakes and bowls for energy, mood support, and gut health.
- Wine: Even indulgent categories are shifting. In the Healthy Wine Consumer Survey, 48% of respondents said they seek energy benefits in wine products, a strong sign of category crossover.
Each use case shows that health isn’t just in the health aisle anymore, it’s everywhere.
FAQs about health and nutrition trends
Personalized nutrition, functional ingredients for mental wellness, gut health, and immune support lead the list, alongside rising interest in hormonal health and clean labeling.
Prebiotics, probiotics, fermented foods, and fiber-rich snacks continue to be top choices among consumers.
Consumers are using food and drink to support specific goals, like cognition, energy, or hormone balance, prioritizing functionality and clear labeling over calories alone.