Utrecht, Netherlands, Nov. 29, 2024 – FutureBridge, a leading techno-commercial advisory firm, assessed innovation potential and market impact to identify 2025’s top FoodTech trends.

The industry is at an inflection point, with enabling technologies and consumer needs evolving rapidly. To remain competitive, meet shareholder growth expectations, and ensure regulatory compliance, the industry must adapt. Food and drink companies must focus on innovative product reformulations and ingredients repurposing. In the UK alone, nearly 40% of companies surveyed by FDF expect R&D investment to increase in 2025, with 50% set to maintain current levels.

FutureBridge key consumer and technology trends tackle the industry’s core challenges—cost, taste, health, sustainability, and digitization—shaping the path forward through 2025 and beyond.

• Eating My Emotions: Consumers seek more than physical nutrition – they want mood-boosting foods. Surveys show 75% look for energy-boosting functional foods, and 71% prioritize mental health support. This is driving demand for stress-relieving ingredients, such as nootropics and adaptogens, supported by disruptors like Unilever’s acquisition of Onnit.
• Fueling Every Stage: Life-stage nutrition beyond infancy and senior age is largely untapped. Health awareness fuels interest in targeted ingredients, from magnesium to menstrual relief. In 2024, Nestlé’s Health Science division affirmed the significant market need for these solutions.
• Valorizing The Unusable: Sustainability is becoming a legal requirement driven by the UN’s goal of 50% food waste reduction by 2030. Technologies like nanotechnology, fermentation, and pyrolysis will aid in upcycling of food and agricultural waste into valuable resources. Hershey’s investment in the US startup BlueStripes, which upcycles cacao waste, highlights this movement.
• Thinking For Me: AI-driven emotional intelligence exposes hidden needs, with over half the consumers believing data sharing benefits society. This enables brands to be proactive rather than reactive, as shown by Samsung’s market-leading activity in emotional AI patents.

“The future of food is undergoing rapid, transformational change, and companies need a clear roadmap to keep pace. Our analysis reveals that success in 2025 hinges on addressing emotional wellness, personalized nutrition, sustainability, and AI-driven consumer understanding,” says Jaideep Raje, SVP and Head of Food & Nutrition Practice at FutureBridge.”FutureBridge is uniquely positioned to help companies through this complexity translating trends into actionable, high-impact strategies with speed.”

To access the FoodTech Trends 2025 report or experts curated tailored insights, reach out to us

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