What meals predictions got here true in 2025 abstract
- Plant-based shifted from meat substitutes to clean-label standalone merchandise
- Practical meals surged with robust demand for protein and mind well being
- Meals tech funding did not rebound as traders stayed extremely cautious
- Sustainability curiosity weakened as well being considerations overtook eco-friendly priorities
- Tariffs disrupted international meals commerce creating important uncertainty for producers
On the finish of final yr, everybody was making predictions about what can be large within the meals business, what may not occur and what forces would form the panorama. Many have been proper; some have been flawed.
Which meals predictions got here true in 2025? And which of them didn’t?
Proper: Plant-based strikes away from direct meat replacements
The plant-based development continued in 2025, however in a really completely different kind. Slightly than sticking with direct meat and dairy substitutes, key gamers created merchandise that may stand on their very own.
Many of those have been clean-label, or at the very least have been developed with clean-label in thoughts. For instance, UK model This developed a product referred to as ‘that is tremendous superfood’, which in line with the model was freed from components. One other alt-meat model, Shifting Mountains, even launched a falafel.
In the meantime, extra conventional substitutes noticed success. The marketplace for meals like tofu and tempeh remained stable, with some manufacturers rising considerably, even whereas plant-based general declined.
Fallacious: Reinvigoration of meals tech funding
Late final yr, meals tech was already struggling to draw funding. However, it was predicted to choose up once more in 2025, with meals more and more being thought-about a ‘disruptive’ market.
Sadly, this was not the case. Many traders are nonetheless extra cautious, and extra discerning, than they’ve been previously in relation to meals tech.
Funding within the space is way from over, however traders are much less keen to gamble on new, unproven applied sciences, and are wanting way more intently at capital effectivity and unit economics.
Proper: Practical meals dominates
The marketplace for purposeful meals has solely grown in 2025. From purposeful drinks to purposeful snacks to even purposeful bread, customers are clamouring for meals that may present them extra advantages to style and texture.
Some purposeful advantages specifically are being sought out by customers. For instance, mind well being is seeing robust demand as customers seek for larger focus.
Protein and fibre are nonetheless the most well-liked purposeful components, with protein specifically predicted to be the primary development for 2026. Nevertheless, customers are anticipated to diversify their sources of those components.
Fallacious: Sustainability continues to develop
Final yr, the sustainability development was nonetheless going robust. In line with a report by AI analytics platform Tastewise, this was prone to proceed into 2025, as increasingly more customers sought to scale back their carbon footprint and have been even keen to pay a premium for extra eco-friendliness.
Now, issues are wanting fairly completely different. Some analysis exhibits that shopper curiosity in sustainability is weakening, and sustainability-focused tendencies resembling veganism have been seen to say no.
It isn’t over for sustainability – many key meals business gamers nonetheless have robust sustainability objectives, as an example – however it now not has the momentum it as soon as did.
In the meantime, customers are way more considering well being, turning away from sustainability-focused merchandise resembling plant-based meat as a result of notion that they’re ultra-processed. Even those that do go vegan typically accomplish that for health-related causes.
Proper: Tariffs create chaos in meals
With the election of Donald Trump to the US Presidency in November final yr, many commentators in meals and past have been bracing themselves for the impression of tariffs, which have been a key a part of the President’s platform.
Tariffs have certainly had a major impression on the meals business. Commerce obstacles, the thresholds of which have been modified all year long, have created robust market uncertainty for meals and beverage producers. Tariffs concentrating on sure packaging, resembling canned drinks, have been a specific fear.
Whereas tariffs on sure key commodities, resembling espresso, tea, cocoa, and spices, have been just lately lifted, this doesn’t imply that producers haven’t felt important pressures from uncertainty such obstacles have created.
Fallacious: EUDR deadline passing
After we did a roundup of which predictions had come true final yr, considered one of them was that the EUDR would go. In fact, as a consequence of 2024’s year-long delay, this didn’t turn into the case.
Nicely, we’ve come to the identical level once more, because the EUDR has been delayed for an additional yr. After quite a few shifts, simplifications, and new proposals by the Fee, the Parliament and Council have come to an settlement to approve one other delay.
This additional delay additionally features a ‘simplification evaluation’, that means the Fee should reevaluate the regulation by 30 April 2026.
Might we be protecting this as an unfulfilled prediction in 2026? Who is aware of. The EUDR is a narrative with many twists and turns.
