As a better food leader, you’re likely feeling the same tension that we’re hearing across the food and beverage industry right now: the market demands on food often appear to be diametrically opposed. 

  • Are consumers craving indulgence or restraint… or both? 
  • How can consumers want simpler ingredient lists and also maximalist flavors? 
  • Where does sustainable nutrition fit when affordability still drives the shelf? 
  • How do I build a 2026 strategy without chasing every shiny new trend? 

At Eat Well Global, we spend every day helping brands navigate what’s now and what’s next in food and health. As we analyzed dozens of 2026 consumer trend reports, one message came through loud and clear: 

“Better food” is no longer a single idea. It’s multidimensional, emotionally driven, and deeply personal. 

Consumers want balance. It’s about health and indulgence, familiarity and adventure, simplicity and excitement… not necessarily in one bite, but across moments and occasions. This dynamic view of “better food” is shaping the next generation of food and beverage innovation. 

Let’s break down the most meaningful trends of 2026 and share Eat Well Global’s unique perspective through our four strategic levers: Insights, Strategy, Portfolio, and Engagement. 

1. Health as a Daily Driver of Food and Beverage Choice

Nutrition Is Guiding Every Bite in 2026

Taste, experience, and identity are driving the current wave of food excitement, but health and nutrition remain foundational decision-drivers for the majority of consumers. Consumers are no longer treating “healthy eating” as a separate add-on to their lifestyle. Instead, nutrition is woven into everyday behaviors, small choices, and micro-moments. 

Psst... did you know that 78% of consumers say that health matters to them when making food choices? Learn more about what health-conscious consumers are looking for here:

Download the Health-Conscious Consumer Segmentation Report

 

This shift shows up across nearly every trend report: 

  • Protein remains a global priority, but no longer just for athletes—it's tied to satiety, energy, and metabolic balance. 
  • Fiber surges as the new must-have, especially among Gen Z, due to its perceived benefits for digestion, energy, and long-term health. 
  • Gut health is seen as a path to whole-body wellness, shaping choices in snacks, beverages, yogurts, and even comfort foods. 
  • Mental wellness takes a front seat, with consumers seeking products that support clarity, stress relief, and relaxation. 
  • Hydration becomes holistic, with beverages offering physical and cognitive benefits. 
  • Affordability and accessibility remain essential, as many consumers view “healthy eating” as a privilege that must be made more attainable. 

Collectively, these signals reflect a move from macro diet culture to micro wellness culture: small, functional, intuitive choices that add up to feeling better throughout the day. 

Eat Well Global's Take 

Consumers want foods that work harder for them without sacrificing flavor or joy. In the nutrition world, we call this nutrient dense, but consumers are benefit-focused as they seek foods that support energy, gut health, mood, focus, metabolic function and more. Our research uncovered that they are also increasingly skeptical of exaggerated health claims, turning instead toward benefits that feel real, tangible, and directly relevant to their lived experiences. 

 Health communication in 2026 must be evidence-based, emotionally intelligent, and focused on empowering consumers. 

 How We Help Brands Navigate Nutrition’s New Role 

  • Insights: Understand how different audiences prioritize the health impacts of topics like protein, fiber, gut health, immunity, and mental wellness in your product categories, and what language resonates most. 
  • Strategy: Build nutrition-forward platforms that balance regulatory compliance with compelling consumer messaging. 
  • Portfolio: Develop product ecosystems that offer functional benefits across occasions and need states, such as hydration in the morning, fiber-forward satiety at midday, recover-and-relax rituals in the evening. 
  • Engagement: Create scientifically grounded storytelling and equip HCPs, influencers, and partners to communicate nutrition benefits responsibly and persuasively. 

2. Wellness Redefined as a Metabolic Mindset

Metabolism is now a modern health metric.

The topic of metabolic health has begun to rise in the minds’ of consumers, in part due to the emergence of GLP-1 weight management drugs. More than just weight loss, consumers are interested in metabolic wellness, as they understand that blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels can all be supported through dietary choices. 

This trend is likely a strong driver behind more specific nutrient trends like protein. While protein remains a global powerhouse across forms, formats, and moments, 2026 marks the rise of another nutrient hero: Fiber. There is also a broader shift to focus on products that offer overall metabolic support, such as hydrating beverages, anti-bloat snacks, yogurt-based dips, and clean energy boosts for the afternoon slump. 

Eat Well Global's Take 

Metabolic wellness is more than just a trend, it’s a reorientation of consumers’ expectations from foods and beverages. Consumers are looking for foods that support how they feel throughout the day. They want to feel focused, energized, balanced, and comfortable. This requires brands to put emphasis behind science-based storytelling and careful benefit framing. 

How We Help Brands Connect with Health-Conscious Consumers

  • Insights: Map how real consumers and healthcare professionals understand gut and metabolic health, and how to translate to purchasing patterns. 
  • Strategy: Build responsible functional benefit architectures that connect science with consumer language. 
  • Portfolio: Orchestrate products across use cases: morning energy, afternoon focus, evening digestion, and more. 
  • Engagement: Translate evidence into education for consumers, HCPs, and partners.

3. Global Discovery Rooted in Tradition

Heritage, identity and exploration are guiding culinary flavors.

Global flavors as an annual trend are hardly anything new. However, in uncertain times, consumers are gravitating towards flavors and tastes that reconnect them with culture, both their own and others’.  

Whether it’s flavors, ingredients or techniques that bring them back to their own traditions or those that transport them to new-to-them worlds and culinary experiences, they are drawn to: 

  • Hyperlocal cuisine 
  • Global street foods 
  • Traditional preparation methods 
  • Cross-cultural fusion done thoughtfully 
  • Food as identity and community 

In a world mediated by AI, algorithms and social and political upheaval, authenticity and the human stories behind food matter more than ever (Kerry, Innova, Nielsen). 

Eat Well Global's Take 

Authenticity is a responsibility. Brands must approach global flavors with nuance and respect, ensuring cultural inspiration is never reduced to aesthetic. This strategy works best when it’s intentional and grounded in authenticity, providing a moment to educate someone about other cultural identities or reconnect them with their own. When done right, heritage-rich innovation builds trust, differentiation, and emotional resonance.  

How We Support Authentic Innovation 

  • Insights: Culinary and cultural landscape mapping beyond surface-level flavor trends. 
  • Strategy: Guidance on positioning that honors roots and lifts up real stories. 
  • Portfolio: Innovating with ingredients, formats, and recipes that balance discovery and approachability. 
  • Engagement: Partnering with credible cultural voices, chefs, and experts to amplify authenticity

4. Value Measured in Simplicity and Transparency

Consumers want clarity, not complexity.

Consumers are increasingly clear about what matters when choosing foods. They want short ingredient lists, real foods, clear sourcing, and transparent benefits. 

Accessibility and affordability remain dominant drivers of consumers purchasing decisions, but consumers are also concerned about the value of their purchases and the healthfulness of what they’re feeding themselves and their families. Consumers want to see: 

  • Shorter ingredient lists 
  • Products made with real foods that they recognize 
  • Fewer additives 
  • Fewer artificial food dyes 
  • Transparency in sourcing and processing methods 

Consumers want food that they can feel good about feeding their families. 

Eat Well Global's Take 

Value is no longer defined just by price and taste. It’s defined by quality, perceived healthfulness, taste, price and convenience, along with other individualized factors, such as experience and purpose. Brands that can demonstrate across these values will earn long-term loyalty. 

How We Help Brands Communicate Value 

  • Insights: Understanding what “value” and “simplicity” mean across diverse consumer groups. 
  • Strategy: Crafting claim hierarchies and messaging frameworks that avoid overload. 
  • Portfolio: Guiding brands toward hero SKUs that show value visibly and consistently. 
  • Engagement: Storytelling that makes sourcing, process and nutrition more visible.

5. Food as an Big, Bold, Joyful Experience

Consumers want to be delighted by maximalist flavors, textures and eating experiences.

And here’s where it gets interesting. Conversely to trend #4 above about simplicity, flavor and sensory maximalism are having a moment across the industry. In a digital culture overflowing with sameness and a world seeking joy and fun, food has become a place where people want to be surprised. Consumers are seeking: 

  • Big, bold, expressive flavors 
  • Unexpected textures and layers 
  • Nostalgic yet playful formats 
  • An emotional spark, not just a sensory one 

Eat Well Global's Take 

Maximalism is about fun and meaning. Consumers want experiences that break up their routines and spark joy. But maximalism works best when it’s intentional and grounded in authenticity, connection and realism. 

How We Help Brands Find Balance

  • Insights: Uncover the fine line between consumers’ desire for more healthful, simple products and their maximalist desire for surprise and joy. 
  • Strategy: Determine when maximalism can strengthen brand positioning and when restraint is the smarter move. 
  • Portfolio: Guided innovation that balances “wow” moments with everyday appeal. 
  • Engagement: Tell sensory stories that feel vibrant, not gimmicky.

6. Sustainability Made Tangible and Local

Consumers want sustainability that they can see.

It's no secret that sustainability is often considered lower down on a consumers' food purchasing decision making process (often after taste, price, convenience and nutrition). But consumers do care! They just want to be able to see the impacts that their decisions make. Consumers increasingly act on sustainability when it feels: 

  • Local 
  • Visible 
  • Tangible 
  • Personally beneficial  

Sustainable nutrition often looks like measuring progress against SDG goals, focusing on positive agricultural practices and sourcing decisions, and decreasing climate impacts. However, consumers are more immediately moved by sustainability stories that feel more personal, local and immediate. (Kerry, Innova) Climate-resilient and upcycled ingredient products are one example of this. 

Eat Well Global's Take 

Sustainability isn’t often seen as a key driver of consumer decision making when it comes to food and beverage products. But they are starting to understand the impacts of climate on the food supply chain, so what differentiates brands now is clarity and honesty. Tangible impact beats abstract promises. 

How We Guide Impact-Focused Innovation 

  • Insights: Uncovering which sustainability attributes consumers actually trust. 
  • Strategy: Building credible sustainability narratives with proof points and KPIs. 
  • Portfolio: Integrating sustainable ingredients in ways that enhance taste and experience. 
  • Engagement: Empowering stakeholders (from HCPs to retail partners) to advocate for sustainable choices. 

What “Better Food” Really Means in 2026 

Consumers no longer think of “better” as an either/or proposition. It’s not indulgence or health, flavor or simplicity, value or sustainability. 

Better food in 2026 is: 
✔ Health-forward 
✔ Balanced
✔ Culturally rich
✔ Transparent and trustworthy 
✔ Exciting and Delightful
✔ Moment-driven 
✔ Impactful

And the brands that thrive will be those that can hold this complexity with clarity. 

At Eat Well Global, we apply our consumer demand and global food system expertise to help clients navigate this terrain with confidence through: 

  • Insights to uncover what consumers truly mean when they say “better.” 
  • Strategy to translate those insights into actionable direction. 
  • Portfolio to bring balance across products, formats, and moments. 
  • Engagement to ensure that every story a brand tells builds trust and connection. 

2026 is a year full of opportunity and a moment for food companies to win with better food. If you’d like support applying these trends to your brand or category, we’d love to partner!

 

Let us know how we can help!

 

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Eat Well Global

Eat Well Global