Chances are, if we were all asked to name three big trends from 2025, we’d come up with largely the same things. In this recap, I look beyond the headlines to understand more about what’s driving evolution within our industry.
Ingredients we already knew were the biggest winners
The truth is, the biggest successes of the year have been centred around ingredients that already existed. Just look at hydration blends and creatine – they’ve exploded in popularity and yet nothing about these ingredients has fundamentally changed.
What has changed is the way that these products are being framed and how their value is being communicated to customers.
Hydration products, once about replacing electrolytes and salts lost during exercise, are now blending together additional ingredients to offer cognitive support, energy and immunity. Creatine, a long-trusted staple for muscle synthesis, is increasingly being talked about in terms of longevity or cognitive performance. Even if brands can’t directly make these claims, there’s enough buzz around it in the media that consumers are buying in regardless.
Meanwhile, products like protein powders, probiotics and meal replacement drinks are being repositioned for GLP-1 users.
Creating something from scratch is no longer the only way to innovate; success is also coming from reframing something that already exists in a way that resonates. But the last part of that sentence is the important bit. The biggest form of innovation is the ability to tell compelling stories: innovation by communication. Whether that’s communicating a product’s benefits by aligning them to lifestyle, age, aspirations; the products that are leading the way are the ones that are doing this well.
Functionality is everywhere
Does functionality get more mainstream than Starbucks offering a protein foam or Brewdog launching a functional alcohol free beer? Never mind a trend, functionality is the new normal.
Gone are the days when a monthly magazine would report on the benefits of a particular ingredient; now a social media influencer can make a product sell out in minutes. The savvy brands are the ones tracking these trends and responding quickly. And where one successful product goes, others quickly follow.
The result? Functionality is popping up everywhere.
Gut health claims are appearing in sparkling waters, bars, cereals and ready-to-drink coffees, while brain health claims are popping up in energy drinks and breakfast foods, no longer confined to nootropics. Protein may be the obvious example but even this continues to evolve, with many protein-led products adding functionality such as energy, immunity, mental clarity and digestive support.
As such, the lines between categories are becoming increasingly blurred. And these blurred lines are making a one-size-fits-all approach to categories and data obsolete.
Categories mean different things to different people and there’s a skill to understanding these nuances. Rather than assuming that a macro-level category review (in its traditional sense) will tell you all you need to know, data should be being used to gain a deeper understanding of a category in relation to a company’s own specific questions.
After all, where one person draws a line between two blurred categories is entirely subjective.
New supply chains are more relevant than ever
Rising ingredient costs, the mainstreaming of once-niche categories and consumer demand for transparency are just a few of the challenges facing the industry and making resilience within supply chains essential. Add into this the volatility we see in commodity prices, logistics and energy, and it’s no surprise that companies are looking for solutions with more predictable economics.
Diversification is fast becoming a strategic necessity rather than an optional innovation. It’s no longer enough to build alternative models around sustainability alone, new supply chains must be economically viable, scalable, and capable of supporting growth under pressure.
For years, fermentation-based ingredients, side-stream innovations and alternative proteins have been seen as aspirational but today, they’re practical solutions that are helping brands manage unpredictability, control costs and deliver consistent quality.
These supply chains aren’t entirely new, but the ecosystem around them has matured: stronger partnerships, better infrastructure, digitalised forecasting and clearer regulatory pathways mean adoption is more realistic than ever. The timing is right and more critical than it has ever been and the brands that align innovation with real-world supply capabilities will be the ones that gain a genuine competitive edge.
As for next year…?
Just as we’ve seen throughout 2025, the trends we expect to define 2026 go far beyond new formats or ingredient discoveries. Instead, they centre on understanding the behaviours, routines and contexts that drive consumer choice.
The strongest opportunities lie in reimagining what’s already familiar and designing products that genuinely slot into people’s daily lives. Ultimately, growth will come from solutions that pair credible function with meaningful experience, meet real needs and deliver everyday dependability.
