Likelihood is, if we have been all requested to call three huge tendencies from 2025, we’d provide you with largely the identical issues. On this recap, I look past the headlines to know extra about what’s driving evolution inside our business.
Substances we already knew have been the largest winners
The reality is, the largest successes of the 12 months have been centred round components that already existed. Simply have a look at hydration blends and creatine – they’ve exploded in recognition and but nothing about these components has essentially modified.
What has modified is the way in which that these merchandise are being framed and the way their worth is being communicated to prospects.
Hydration merchandise, as soon as about changing electrolytes and salts misplaced throughout train, are actually mixing collectively further components to supply cognitive help, power and immunity. Creatine, a long-trusted staple for muscle synthesis, is more and more being talked about by way of longevity or cognitive efficiency. Even when manufacturers can’t straight make these claims, there’s sufficient buzz round it within the media that customers are shopping for in regardless.
In the meantime, merchandise like protein powders, probiotics and meal alternative drinks are being repositioned for GLP-1 customers.
Creating one thing from scratch is now not the one strategy to innovate; success can also be coming from reframing one thing that already exists in a means that resonates. However the final a part of that sentence is the essential bit. The most important type of innovation is the flexibility to inform compelling tales: innovation by communication. Whether or not that’s speaking a product’s advantages by aligning them to way of life, age, aspirations; the merchandise which are main the way in which are those which are doing this properly.
Performance is all over the place
Does performance get extra mainstream than Starbucks providing a protein foam or Brewdog launching a purposeful alcohol free beer? By no means thoughts a pattern, performance is the brand new regular.
Gone are the times when a month-to-month journal would report on the advantages of a specific ingredient; now a social media influencer could make a product promote out in minutes. The savvy manufacturers are those monitoring these tendencies and responding rapidly. And the place one profitable product goes, others rapidly observe.
The outcome? Performance is popping up all over the place.
Intestine well being claims are showing in glowing waters, bars, cereals and ready-to-drink coffees, whereas mind well being claims are popping up in power drinks and breakfast meals, now not confined to nootropics. Protein would be the apparent instance however even this continues to evolve, with many protein-led merchandise including performance akin to power, immunity, psychological readability and digestive help.
As such, the traces between classes have gotten more and more blurred. And these blurred traces are making a one-size-fits-all strategy to classes and information out of date.
Classes imply various things to completely different folks and there’s a ability to understanding these nuances. Somewhat than assuming {that a} macro-level class overview (in its conventional sense) will let you know all it is advisable to know, information ought to be getting used to realize a deeper understanding of a class in relation to an organization’s personal particular questions.
In spite of everything, the place one particular person attracts a line between two blurred classes is fully subjective.
New provide chains are extra related than ever
Rising ingredient prices, the mainstreaming of once-niche classes and shopper demand for transparency are just some of the challenges dealing with the business and making resilience inside provide chains important. Add into this the volatility we see in commodity costs, logistics and power, and it’s no shock that corporations are in search of options with extra predictable economics.
Diversification is quick turning into a strategic necessity moderately than an optionally available innovation. It’s now not sufficient to construct various fashions round sustainability alone, new provide chains should be economically viable, scalable, and able to supporting development below stress.
For years, fermentation-based components, side-stream improvements and various proteins have been seen as aspirational however right this moment, they’re sensible options which are serving to manufacturers handle unpredictability, management prices and ship constant high quality.
These provide chains aren’t fully new, however the ecosystem round them has matured: stronger partnerships, higher infrastructure, digitalised forecasting and clearer regulatory pathways imply adoption is extra lifelike than ever. The timing is true and extra important than it has ever been and the manufacturers that align innovation with real-world provide capabilities would be the ones that achieve a real aggressive edge.
As for subsequent 12 months…?
Simply as we’ve seen all through 2025, the tendencies we anticipate to outline 2026 go far past new codecs or ingredient discoveries. As a substitute, they centre on understanding the behaviours, routines and contexts that drive shopper selection.
The strongest alternatives lie in reimagining what’s already acquainted and designing merchandise that genuinely slot into folks’s each day lives. In the end, development will come from options that pair credible operate with significant expertise, meet actual wants and ship on a regular basis dependability.
