From protein to plant variety: Mintel highlights changing nutrition priorities

Mintel has released its 2026 Food and Drink Predictions report, offering a look at how consumer behavior will shape the future of food, beverage and refreshment services.

The report identifies three emerging trends —“Maxxing Out, Diversity In,” “Retro Rejuvenation” and “Intentionally Sensory”— that reflect evolving expectations around nutrition, nostalgia and sensory appeal.

According to Mintel, despite ongoing product launches leaning into high protein and low sugar trends, consumers are poised to move beyond focusing on single nutrients such as protein or fiber and instead adopt a broader wellness approach.

Alex Beckett, senior director of food and drink research, said that history supports this shift. “Look back at fat-free in the 1980s or carb-free in the Noughties: history shows how dietary patterns shift from fixation to moderation,” he noted. A growing interest in dietary diversity for cost, health and environmental reasons — as well as the link between gut health and popular GLP-1 medications — will renew focus on fiber-rich foods.

“From 2030, consumers will shift away from rigid nutritional goals toward a more inclusive, diverse diet. The cost, health, taste and ecological benefits of diversifying protein and fiber sources will appeal to consumers and producers,” he said.

This shift could create new opportunities for convenient, plant-forward innovation. Examples include pre-mixed legume blends and seed-based toppings, as well as packaging that promotes the plant sources within a product. Digital tools, including AI-powered nutrition trackers, are already helping consumers monitor dietary diversity, Beckett noted.

The second trend, “Retro Rejuvenation,” taps into the emotional comfort consumers find in nostalgic foods and traditional formats as they seek “refuge from a volatile and artificially intelligent world in an idealized view that life in the past was simpler.”

Principal analyst Alice Pilkington said that long-shelf-life items such as canned and jarred goods are experiencing renewed attention as brands modernize their appeal. “Elsewhere, and as climate change intensifies, the old adage of ‘nothing goes to waste’ will find renewed relevance in upcycling — which itself will be re-branded by consumers as ‘resourceful,’” Pilkington said. “This holds potential to generate new taste and textural experiences."

The third theme, “Intentionally Sensory,” explores how brands will move beyond novelty.

“Whether it’s ‘dirty sodas’ or Dubai chocolate, multi-sensory innovations have become synonymous in recent years with playfulness, novelty and viral sensations. However, as sensory cues become less novel and more prevalent in [the] future, brands will start to differentiate by using color, texture or aroma in more strategic ways, to create food and drink that stimulates the senses and reinvigorates experiential eating. For example, certain, emotionally resonant textures will be utilized to appeal to the increased number of GLP-1 medication users, who report to no longer feel joy from snacking.”

For convenience services and refreshment operators, these predictions underscore how changing consumer expectations around nutrition, sustainability, and emotional experience may need to influence product choice and innovation in the coming years.