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Four prominent voices in the UK food and drink industry have revealed their predictions for the trends shaping consumer preferences in 2025. Expect a focus on functional foods, elevated standards in low and no-alcohol drinks, the discovery of new European flavours, environmentally mindful consumption, and steady growth in organic offerings.
Here the UK’s advisors to the EU’s ‘More Than Only Food and Drink’ campaign reveal their trend predictions which pave the way for a more mindful and dynamic food and drink landscape for the year ahead:
Better gut health with functional foods
As consumers increasingly seek to protect and improve their gut health, the global digestive health market is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.3% in the next five years. As a result, fermented foods and products made using traditional methods continue to find favour in consumer health choices. Sourdough is one such product growing in popularity as consumers look for authenticity and a return to low intervention production methods.
Simon Atkins, an expert on the UK and EU bakery industry and advisor for the EU’s ‘More Than Only Food & Drink’ campaign, predicts that this focus on authenticity and traditional methods will drive further demand for a wider variety of artisan breads in the UK.
Simon explains: “As awareness around ultra processed food continues to gain momentum and people place more focus on how the food they eat makes them feel from the inside out, consumers are seeking out products which are made using traditional baking methods. Sourdough is an example of this. There are different variations made across Europe – from pain au levain (French sourdough), a traditional bread made with wild yeast to create rustic, crusty loaves with a mild tangy flavour; to Denmark’s rugbrød, a traditional sourdough rye bread that is dense and hearty, made with whole rye grains, seeds, and a natural sourdough starter.”
“Whilst local grains and fermentation times vary, at the heart of sourdough is centuries old breadmaking traditions, celebrated for their natural and gut-friendly properties. These breads will become a key part of the functional food movement in the year ahead.”
The functional health agenda is also driving new product development in confectionery, according to Katherine Shipley, retail product development expert and confectionery advisor to the EU’s ‘More Than Only Food & Drink’ campaign.
Katherine says: “Products with lower sugar or more natural sugars are gaining momentum, certainly in the natural sugar arena. We are seeing gummies made with fruit juice without added sugar or sweeteners. This is paired with innovation in wellness confectionery, such as adding nutrients and vitamins or adding mood enhancing ingredients..”
The bar will be raised in the low and no sector
According to the IWSR, the overall no and low-alcohol segment showed volume growth of 47% from 2022 to 2023, with forecast volume CAGR of 19% from 2023 to 2028.
Neil McAndrew a wine industry consultant and advisor to the EU’s ‘More Than Only Food and Drink’ campaign says: “Moderation is increasingly a key factor for many consumers and there is a greater tendency to socialise without alcohol or opt for no and low alcohol alternatives. These changing habits are driving a surge of new wine related drinks with a leap in the quality and flavour profile available..”
He adds: “This new demand has been recognised by some of the world’s leading wine producers and the prospect of famous producers in key regions such as Bordeaux in France, applying their expertise to this emerging sector is particularly exciting.”
“I expect to see consumers demanding more from the low and no category in 2025 – both in a restaurant and bar setting, as well as in off-trade environments. Offering a choice of high quality alcohol free beverages will be crucial to meeting changing customer demands.”
Sustainability will move from plate to packaging
Following a recent visit to Champagne, drinks writer Alice Lascelles reported that sustainability was dominating the conversation like never before, with packaging the hot topic.
An estimated 46% of total greenhouse gas emissions, from picking grapes to bottling the wine, comes from glass production and European wine producers have been seeking ways to reduce the weight and environmental impact of the packaging for a number of years.
“In 2025, consumers will be playing event closer attention to the sustainability credentials of the food and drink that they are consuming”, predicts Neil McAndrew. “But it’s not just about the way that food is produced, packaging will be a key consideration too.”
Neil continued: “In Italy, one winery has been reducing the weight of its glass bottles gradually since 2021 and worked with a glass supplier to create a lighter bottle. Since 2023, it has been using a 420g bottle (this was not patented to allow other wineries to use the design). The company estimates the latest model reduces its glass consumption from 512 tonnes of glass with the old 650g bottle, to 398 tonnes with the 420g bottle.”
“The winery also stopped using aluminium screw caps and replaced the zinc capsules on cork-closure bottles with paper ribbons, estimating that these moves reduce the use of zinc alloy and aluminium by five tonnes a year.”
“Whilst in Spain, recent regulations require all wine packaging to be 100% recyclable by 2030, those that do not meet the requirement will be banned.”
“Eco-design is a way for the Spanish wine sector to achieve ‘packaging circularity’, starting with measures aiming to prevent and reduce waste through better wine packaging criteria. These criteria include cutting out superfluous additional packaging, such as replacing labels with techniques such as screen printing, eliminating corner pieces on tertiary packaging, eliminating additional elements such as collars and communicating wine information through other means, such as QR codes.”
Confectionery is also seeing developments in more sustainable packaging, Katherine Shipley advises: “We are starting to see a lot more chocolate and confectionery packaged in paper, whether this is an outer sleeve or a paper sealed envelope. We are also seeing more compostable materials and packaging made from post-consumer recycled bottles. This will really gain momentum in 2025 as people actively seek out products with elevated sustainability credentials.”
