• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, October 24, 2024

Whole Foods Market fancies itself as more than just a high-end grocery store. It’s earned a reputation as a world-class food trendspotter, too. The retailer’s new "Top 10 Food and Beverage Trends for 2025" shows it expects a handful of well-established trends to add to their momentum, like hydration upgrades and protein obsessions. But it also sees newer fads, including crunchy everything, exotic seaweeds and a great leap forward in compostability.

In its report -- the 10^th annual forecast -- Whole Foods says its Trends Council is worth paying attention to. “From important food movements around animal welfare, climate, and transparency to the evolving tastes and preferences of consumers, trends in food end up driving our dinner table conversations for years to come and help spark some of the best ideas and solutions for the future,” says Cathy Strange, Whole Foods’ ambassador of food culture and member of the Trends Council.

Here’s what to expect:

International snacking. Salty, sweet or both, look for more global flavors and fusions, like mango sticky rice chips or a chili crunch oil edamame and nut mix.

Ever-adaptable dumpling. Whether ravioli, pierogies, wontons or bao buns, “pocket foods” are getting unexpected mashups and upgrades, including shelf-stable varieties.

Crunch: texture of the moment  It’s not just snacks. Consumers want to incorporate crispy grains, fermented nuts and roasted chickpeas into everything, from crème brûlée espresso martinis to pistachio-topped pastries.

Hydration hype. Electrolytes continue to captivate people, entering popsicles, mini coconuts and pouches.

Tea’s time. It’s not just the continuation of functional tea flavors with adaptogens -- they are now invading ice cream and turning up in new formats, like tea strips, powders and cold-brew formats.

Next-level composting. Reduced and composting packaging is intensely important to Whole Foods customers, and the company sees breakthroughs just ahead. Those include brands like Compostic, which makes sure all components can compost in a home bin rather than a commercial process. And Rainer Fruit is working on commercially compostable produce stickers.

Boozy brands with a conscience. With sustainable wine brands focusing on shedding 25% of bottle weight by 2026, look for innovations in packaging. Ingredients are also changing, with beer and whiskey brands adding ingredients like drought-resistant fonio or regeneratively farmed kernza.

Sourdough steps up. This pandemic star keeps rising, making its way into pizza crusts, flatbreads, brownies, crackers and chocolate.

Plant-based aquatic add-ins. Seaweed’s popularity isn’t slowing, so expect more greens from the deep. Sea moss, duckweed and agar-agar are on the menu.

Protein power-up. Powders, bars and bone broth aren’t enough. People are hungry for real-food protein ingredients to ramp up their consumption, turning to cottage cheese and animal proteins, especially organ meats. Expect to see liver, kidney and heart touted as next year’s superfoods.