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The Top Trends Driving Food and Beverage in 2023

Consumers want fresh products with functional ingredients that will boost health, and they want to know that they’re contributing to a more sustainable food system. But they want it all at a price they can afford.

Getty Images Top Food Trends 1082043722

Innova Market Insights recently took its annual dive into the key trends driving consumer behavior in the food and beverage industry. Though some themes might repeat from year to year, there are several trends veering increasingly toward health, sustainability, and digital media.

In the climate we’ve been in lately, it’s not necessarily an easy market to figure out, notes Lu Ann Williams, co-founder and global insights director for the Netherlands-based market research firm. “We’re coming after two very difficult years,” she says. “This year may be even more difficult than previous years to figure out what’s coming.”

Nonetheless, Williams put her 30 years of insights into taking a stab at the trends for the coming year.

1. Redefining value

We’ve seen it plenty of times, and Innova has found it to be true in its examination of the food and beverage industry. “What consumers value is not necessarily what they’re paying more for,” Williams says.

So where are consumers willing to draw the line? In its survey of lifestyles and attitudes, Innova found that the top answers were fresh products, locally produced products, and functional ingredients that boost physical health.

Consumers are also seeking out brands that respond to their core values but do so at an economic price. They want to minimize food waste; recycle, upcycle, and repurpose products; and choose products with environmentally friendly/less packaging. “A lot of people feel like so many things are out of their control—climate change, war, housing,” Williams notes. “Consumers are looking for more things they can control.”

2. Affordable nutrition

Consumers are certainly seeing the effects of inflation when they visit their local grocery stores. It’s not easy to get the right kind of nourishment at the right price, making affordable nutrition an untapped opportunity, according to Williams.

It used to be only lower- or middle-income countries that received the focus of nourishment concerns. But now there are big opportunities in richer parts of the world, Williams points out. Data shows a big swing upwards in undernourishment over the past couple years.

“Consumers are looking for healthy food and things they associate with health,” Williams says. “It is possible to do things that are very innovative around affordable nutrition.”

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