From queenagers driving TikTok trends to AI-powered sustainability and edible neighbourhoods, discover the key forces reshaping the food industry in 2026.
2025 was a year of seismic shifts in the food industry. The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was postponed again (and again and again), beef prices soared while cocoa yields plummeted, and consumers doubled down on affordable indulgence. As recipes were reformulated, new legislation rolled out, and digital traceability gained traction, the stage was set for an equally transformative 2026.
Two overarching forces are reshaping how we think about food in 2026, and both are a departure from the anxiety-driven narratives of recent years.
Rather than succumbing to the gloom of misssed climate targets and political uncertainty, consumers are embracing what design futurist Sarah Housley calls "designing hope" in her latest book, Designing Hope: Visions to Shape Our Future. This conscious decision to react proactively – not defensively – is transforming how people shop, eat and engage with brands.
Challenger brands are recognising this shift and making it part of their brand ethos. Bold Bean Co and Tony's Chocolonely aren't just selling products; they're selling belief systems. Their success demonstrates that consumers want to support companies that genuinely believe they can change the world – and are actively doing it.
This optimism has also catalysed and supported much-needed growth in the sustainability sector, spawning a new generation of sustainability managers and packaging innovators. Companies like Notpla are redefining expectations with edible water bubbles and seaweed-based packaging, proving that sustainable solutions can be both practical and revolutionary.
The second major trend recognises a demographic that's been hiding in plain sight: women over 45. Dubbed "queenagers," these digitally fluent, financially empowered consumers are wielding significant influence on social platforms like TikTok, discovering and legitimising food trends that might have previously been dismissed as "just for Gen Z".
This demographic isn't just following trends – they're creating them, supporting challenger brands, and using their considerable purchasing power to shape the market. Brands that recognise and cater to queenagers will find a loyal, engaged and influential customer base.
What once belonged exclusively in sci-fi films is now reshaping food production, delivery and consumption. The food industry, traditionally slow to embrace digital transformation, is finally catching up with innovations moving rapidly from early adoption to mainstream acceptance.
Food delivery robots are no longer novelties – they're becoming infrastructure. Just Eat is trialling a robot delivery fleet with Rivr in Zurich with plans to roll-out in more locations, while soil sensors from companies like Biofonic are helping farmers optimise growing conditions in real time.
Perhaps most striking is AI's role in addressing supply chain challenges. Coca-Cola has partnered with Avalo to use AI to look at the crops genetics of sugarcane and suggest a decarbonised strain through their Rapid Evolution Platform. This collaboration exemplifies how technology can tackle complex sustainability challenges at scale.
Kitchen assistant apps like Remy are transforming how consumers manage their pantries. The app tracks expiration dates and offers recipe solutions by assessing your shop ( it's currently being trialled with Tesco's grocery platform). By adding a level of gamification to sustainability through a reward system called RemyCoin it immediately encourages engagement with the app. By making food waste reduction feel like a game, apps like this one are encouraging behavioural change in ways that guilt-based messaging never could.
We are also seeing new product development being given the AI touch. NotCo's technology platform analyses thousands of recipe combinations to recreate and innovate products, dramatically accelerating the NPD process while reducing resource consumption.
Protein remains a dominant trend, but 2026 is seeing a more sophisticated approach to how it's sourced, formulated and marketed.
The alternative protein movement is maturing beyond meat analogues into wholefood formats that feel more authentic and nutritious. Whitworths' entry into the meat alternatives space with walnut mince – backed by the British Nutrition Foundation – exemplifies this shift. As Louis Bedwell, Industry & Engagement Director at Future Food Movement, notes, "It is a confident use of existing strength to meet a fast-moving demand for natural protein."
When it comes to protein content, consumers have established a new baseline: 20 grams or more per serving. According to SPINS senior market insights analyst Evonne Chan, products meeting this threshold are significantly outperforming their lower-protein competitors.
This trend extends beyond traditional formats. We expect to see beverages increasingly fortified with both protein and fibre, creating functional drinks that deliver substantive nutritional benefits rather than just hydration.
"We expect to see beverages increasingly fortified with both protein and fibre, creating functional drinks that deliver substantive nutritional benefits rather than just hydration.
Perhaps most unexpectedly, breakfast cereals are being reimagined as protein powders. Kellanova's collaboration with Australian health food company Macro Mike just announced in October will transform Coco Pops, Nutri-Grain, and Froot Loops into dairy-free, gluten-free plant-based drinks with more than 23 grams of protein per serve. Currently designed as a limited edition launch to test the market, the range will reach supermarkets in 2026.
In 2026, we expect a fundamental truth to reassert itself: taste trumps everything. Health claims, sustainability credentials, and organic certifications mean nothing if the product doesn't deliver on flavour and texture.
According to Future Strategist Angelia Teo, "The demands on textural foods are at an all-time high right now – and innovation teams are challenged to create Mouth Adventures that have to hold their own against other sensorial experiences." Perhaps what is most surprising is what they are contending with according to Teo - our mobile phones.
With digital devices constantly competing for our attention, food needs to provide increasingly intense sensory experiences. Data from Mintel has revealed that "crunch" and "crispy" are among the top five words used in new meat launches and that 54% of APAC consumers actively seek new and interesting texture experiences according to Innova Market Insights reports.
Finding the fun in food is a priority for younger consumers in China, driving experimentation with everything from dual layer-coated meat snacks to the popular spicy Sichuan dish mala-seasoned crunchy fried chicken. The key is to look at where this textural experience potentially already exists. Look at KFC Taiwan's Scallion Crispy Chicken and McDonald's Singapore's Ha Cheong Gai burger offerings for example. Both products demonstrate how QSRs are recognising that street food offerings – ticking both the adventurous and nostalgia boxes – resonate with consumers.
As Kerry's Dimitrios Tzouvelekis, General Manager, Meat Technology at Kerry, notes in his article for QSR Media, "As consumers seek to reconnect with heritage through food, texture becomes a bridge between the familiar and the new." , "As consumers seek to reconnect with heritage through food, texture becomes a bridge between the familiar and the new."
"In 2026, we expect a fundamental truth to reassert itself: taste trumps everything.
Social media continues to drive food trends, with TikTok popularising everything from stretchy yogurt to ultra-crunchy snacks. These trends aren't just passing fads – they're reshaping how brands think about product development and what consumers expect from their food experiences.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation and growing consumer demand for sustainability are driving unprecedented innovation in packaging materials.
Notpla, whose name literally means "not plastic," is moving biomaterial packaging from outlier to mainstream. Back in 2013, co-founders Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez and Pierre Paslier developed their edible water bubble prototype at London's Imperial College. Their biomaterial of choice seaweed, which disappears naturally. In 2022 they won the Earthshot prize for their innovation.
Today, Notpla is collaborating with major brands including Porsche and Just Eat, targeting the food service sector with solutions for food-to-go packaging like seaweed-based sandwich and sauce packaging, which demonstrates scalability.
Brands wanting to follow Notpla's lead should do as they do – collaborate with others in industry. Their work with Porsche's in-house canteen, removing the last pieces of plastic while increasing shelf life, shows how biomaterials can meet corporate sustainability goals without compromising functionality.
Major brands like Tropicana and Glenlivet are also experimenting with Notpla's biomaterial packaging, signaling that this trend is moving firmly into the mainstream.
But seaweed isn't the only biomaterial being embraced by innovators in 2026. Australian design firm Heliograf has developed holy carp, a compostable soy sauce dropper made from renewable plant pulp for takeaways, while McDonald's Japan is replacing its paper straws with strawless rPET lids globally. The move is part of plans to switch all its primary guest packaging to recycled, recyclable or certified materials internationally.
The alternative protein market is entering a new phase characterised by linguistic and strategic shifts.
Brands are moving away from polarising terms like "vegan" and "alternative," instead embracing hybrid approaches that appeal to flexitarians. Hospitality brand Levy, part of Compass Group, has introduced a 50:50 burger – half beef, half mushroom – at its major venues Aintree, the O2, and Villa Park.
Levy's hybrid burger boasts 33% fewer emissions than the sector standard. Combined with Wildfarmed regenerative flour for brioche buns, plant-based mayo, and seaweed-based packaging, each burger has a footprint of 2.732kgCO2e—about 35% lower than standard offerings.
The environmental impact here offers bigger brands looking to cut emissions something to think about in 2026. For an article for Wicked Leeks, sustainability expert Joseph Poore calculated that if McDonald's and Burger King replaced 50% of the beef in their Big Macs and Whoppers with a plant-based alternative, it would cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 34 million tonnes annually.
While alternative proteins were traditionally driven by emissions reduction and attracting new audiences, climate change itself is now creating market opportunities. Lower cocoa and coffee yields have led to higher prices in 2025, making alternatives more economically attractive especially to challenger brands.
Prefer, an alternative coffee producer, is expanding its market reach from consumer into B2B, offering a more affordable flavouring alternative to brands. But the market in general remains in flux – Kerry's pivot from hybrid milk to dairy-only when it didn't find a market demonstrates that timing matters. What didn't work in 2025 might succeed in 2026 as consumer attitudes evolve.
Alternative egg options like Very Aquafaba (chickpea-based egg white replacement) and Kerry's Hyfoama are also gaining traction, showing that innovation extends beyond meat and dairy and is being adopted by industry professionals.
"What didn't work in 2025 might succeed in 2026 as consumer attitudes evolve.
Quick-service restaurants are making choices on behalf of consumers with remarkably positive results, often serving as early adopters of sustainable innovations.
Research at the University of Bristol recently demonstrated that simple menu tweaks can significantly reduce environmental impact. In a trial involving 300 canteen users, repositioning sustainable options reduced the carbon footprint of food consumed by 30% and saturated fat content by 6%.
Dr Annika N Flynn told New Scientist: "What we realised is that a lot of interventions tend to encourage consumers to eat a little bit more of something or less of something. But the likelihood that we choose a food or a dish will be mostly dependent on whether a tastier dish is on offer."
Levy has been making these kind of decisions for its customers with considerable results. In its first climate impact report, developed in partnership with carbon accounting partner Foodsteps, it revealed impressive progress, which included 71.5% reduction in beef burger emissions between 2019 and 2024, 28 tonnes of CO₂e saved by switching to Notpla seaweed-based packaging and 8.4 million reusable cups used, replacing single-use rPET cups.
We are hoping more QSR brands will follow Levy's lead in 2026 and build these kind of sustainable choices into the business plans going forward.
Two innovative approaches to sustainability are emerging at the community level, showing how collective action can amplify individual impact. A trend we hope to see grow in 2026.
In the United States, Perpetual works with communities and groups of QSR businesses to offer unified sustainable packaging solutions, eliminating single-use disposables at scale. Currently launched in Ann Arbor, Galveston and Hilo, Perpetual helps design and implement city-scale open-loop reusable foodware systems.
This collaborative approach recognises that sustainable packaging works best when it's a shared infrastructure rather than a competitive differentiator. When everyone in a neighbourhood or district uses the same system, consumers can easily participate regardless of which restaurant they visit.
Rijnvliet in Utrecht has taken a similar approach, becoming the first "edible neighbourhood" in the Netherlands. This represents a radical reimagining of urban space. Pear trees grow on pavements, a fifteen-thousand-square-metre central food forest produces apples, persimmons, and berries, and residents can pick nuts and fruits from mature trees.
This is a neighbourhood that didn't wait for institutions or governments to step it. Instead it built its own climate resilient neighbourhood complete with edible trees, digital tree maps for harvesting, and seven layers of vegetation supporting biodiversity and cooling.
Several trends on the horizon merit watching:
Jerusalem artichoke is emerging as an ingredient to watch, valued for its prebiotic properties and versatility.
Fibremaxxing is gaining traction on TikTok, suggesting that fibre may be the next macronutrient to experience protein-level hype.
Weight loss drugs like GLP-1 will increasingly impact the food industry, potentially requiring reformulation strategies for products as appetites and eating patterns change.
Food allergen testing continues to evolve, with innovations promising faster, more accurate detection methods that could transform food safety protocols.
The food industry in 2026 is characterised by optimism tempered with pragmatism, innovation grounded in tradition, and sustainability that doesn't sacrifice sensory pleasure. From queenagers discovering stretchy yogurt on TikTok to municipalities creating edible neighborhoods, from AI redesigning crop genetics to seaweed replacing plastic, the year ahead promises to be one where hope – and taste – drive meaningful change.
The brands and businesses that will thrive are those that recognise consumers want to do the right thing without sacrificing joy. They want their food to be sustainable and delicious, healthy and exciting, innovative and familiar. 2026 could be the year the food industry figures out how to deliver all of the above.