This isn’t just another blog post about the top foodservice trends to watch in 2025.
It’s about having the sense to translate those trends and transform your brand’s marketing strategy.
The role of trend data and insights in foodservice marketing.
What’s in the data? Trends aren’t everything, but they can help you:
Identify opportunities.
Equipped with menu adoption and ingredient usage trends, you can place strategic bets on targeted foodservice segments and product innovation rollouts for your brand.
Educate the buyer.
Use consumer preference trends as social proof for adopting a new offering. Help operators understand the business opportunity from menuing a product like yours.
Create focus.
If versatility is your product’s middle name, paying attention to the right buyer trends can help focus your marketing message on the most salient menu applications, dayparts, and segments of the moment.
Stay relevant.
Tap emerging menu trends when highlighting recipes and applications in your content – even if it’s not something you sell. For example, instead of tossing your chicken wings in a classic buffalo sauce, reach for a Korean Gochujang sauce to hit on the rising popularity of Southeast Asian cuisine.
Inspire new thinking.
Allow consumer preferences to breathe new life into well-established product portfolios. Classic flavors can be transformed into trend-leading applications simply in the preparation. Bring your customers a new LTO idea or two! It’s a good reason to pop back into their world with something they can use and apply right away to the menu.
A few trends to watch in 2025.
These top the list of food movements with staying power.
Elevated beverage programs get chill.
Think cold brew, boba, fruit-forward NA cocktails, and wellness-oriented drinks with functional ingredients. Cold beverages are hot across the board. (National Restaurant Association, Datassential)
Southeast Asian influence drives taste.
Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino dishes are gaining popularity in both traditional preparations and unique fusion applications – and even making their way to breakfast menus. (National Restaurant Association, Datassential)
Little treat culture is big business.
Consumers look to foodservice for affordable luxuries like indulgent beverages, bite-sized desserts, and other snacking occasions. Playing with portions could equal new opportunity. (Datassential)
Sauces gain distinction.
Operators are bringing a culinary edge to their sauces and condiments with exclusive, globally inspired offerings that allow consumers to sample on their own terms. Think Gochujang, tajin, hot honey, salsa macha, tzatziki, and more. (New York Times, Datassential)
Social-ability is status quo.
Eye-popping, influencer-driven dishes are defining consumer tastes and menus. Chefs are playing with color, scale, and unexpected packaging to amp up the shareability factor. (New York Times, Datassential)
