TCo/food: FOOD TRENDS 2025
With the dust of January just beginning to settle, we transition to February with heads full of predictions, and lists of all kinds related to the not-so-new year. Let’s not sugarcoat it—most of the news is bad. But not this list; in fact, a lot of it is magical & delicious. And that is why this particular list gives us so much joy… These are ThroughCo’s Food Trends for 2025. There’s a lot to cover—jumping right-in:
GLP-1 Drug Impact
Remember all those years of fitness experts and dieticians saying that “fad diets” were exactly that? Passing fads? That fitness and healthy weight were a lifestyle choice? Something you live everyday, not something you can hang-out with periodically when it suits you? Well… they were right. But, if you also thought, “Damn, one day there’ll be a pill I can take to make me skinny,” …buddy, welcome to the future. It’s not a pill, but, whatever. The GLP-1 drugs have taken the market by storm. And our fears of the human condition in the movie WALL-E becoming reality, can finally be assuaged. The numbers so far tell an obvious story about a drug that eviscerates the appetite; users are spending less on food, everywhere. The not-so-obvious thing about putting your body into starvation-mode? You don’t just lose fat. A lot of the newly-skinny will need to re-learn how (that is to say, “what & when”) to eat, to protect lean muscle mass. And the food industry is going to have to shift to meet this emerging audience. Expect smaller portions across the board… and →
MORE PROTEIN
Blame Generation X for this one. Their fight against the dying of the light has pushed the fitness industry to new heights and fueled the absolute lift-off of the nutrition supplement market; greens that you drink, bovine colostrum, NAD boosters, creatine everywhere... all because, we don’t just want to look young, we want to feel it too. Turns out, we need more protein as we age because we start to lose muscle mass, collagen, all the good stuff. We need to add more building block(s) to the body. And it seems we want to enjoy eating it, instead of doing the powder/shake thing. In a world where even the impossible is possible, meat seems to be making a comeback. All the menopausal ladies, put some protein in it; all the GLP-1s, put some protein in it; all the soccer dads, put some protein in it...
Ultra-Processed Blowback
Okay first things first; ultra-processed foods are “a grouping of processed foods characterized by relatively involved methods of production.” “There is no single definition of ultra-processed foods, but they are generally understood to be an industrial creation...” Oh and this last part is fairly crucial: they often contain little-to-no nutritional value. So it’s probably not great that more than half of the calories consumed at home are ultra-processed. In fact, ultra-processed foods contribute up to 800 calories per day to our diets. Why are we doing it? Not just convenience. These foods speak directly to our cravings for both sweet and savory snacks. Or perhaps we should say they feed them (badly). But education is also a factor. Labeling is going to be looked at. Recommendations are going to be made. You know it’s bad when the California government has to get involved.
BBQ Goes Int’l
Invites to “the cookout” may be somewhat exclusive, but the whole world is invited to the BBQ. And yes, we are very happy about this. Korean BBQ has been making waves for years over here, but, be on the lookout for Japanese BBQ coming to a menu (or a virtual shelf) near you. You can also expect mashups that pair Texas and Kansas City BBQ flavors with Thai, Korean, Jamaican, Brazilian, or even Argentinean. Korean BBQ flavored spam is already a thing. Look for the sauces, rubs, and seasonings of the segment to follow suit with flavors that carry a heavy Asian influence.
Asian Influence
Didn’t we just do this one? Okay, this is more than BBQ. Americans have a ravenous curiosity when it comes to Asian foods. Gen Z loves all things Asian-flavored, (Gens X & Y do too), and we could attribute it to the mutual fascination that east and west share with each others’ cultures, but we’re not just talking samurai and cowboys. We’re talking flavor. And we’re looking for combinations that bring the unexpected together... and heat, (everybody suddenly likes it spicy). All of your food-forward, cool friends are going to have unrecognizable but soon-to-be HUGELY popular Asian condiments in the fridge. Don’t be jealous. Get on board.
Artificial Intelligence
Yes, we saved the big one for last. Yes, artificial intelligence is doing miraculous things, and not just for students writing term papers, or musicians making neo-retro tunes. And while some AI doesn’t seem to comprehend the number of fingers on the human hand, its use in the food supply-chain is streamlining operations and making our foods safer to eat. At grocery and in fast casual, AI powered robots are reducing the number of humans needed for work shifts. Some California restaurants have gone fully automated. How long before AI becomes self-aware and tries to blow humans off the planet? We’ll wait and see, as long as it serves up our food first.