As we approach a watershed moment in the U.S. food system—one that will prompt further scrutiny, controversy, new regulation, and a shift in consumer mindset and behavior—it’s important to remember that we’ve weathered these before. Key inflection points in history include the establishment of the Pure Food and Drug Act and Federal Meat Inspection Act (1906), Soil Conservation Act (1936), Environmental Protection Agency (1970), increased rigor around pathogen reduction and food safety (1993), GMO regulation (2000), change born out of COVID-19 food supply disruptions (2020), as well as the emergence of a new international tool —the Clean Food Consumerism scale—in 2025.
What’s curious is the waning consumer confidence in U.S. food safety, while confidence around the safety of imported foods grows.
Source: Food Business News
Ironically, Europeans are skeptical about their food too, and nearly split down the middle on believing it’s safe.
Across continents, concerns are tied to a great number of topics ranging from foodborne illness, carcinogens, pesticides, heavy metals, additives and preservatives to sustainability, packaging and PFAs.
As we await the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines slated for end of year, let’s focus on the positives, as in our new opportunities.
Nutrient density is moving mainstream as people seek functional health benefits.
A term originating in nutrition circles in the 1970s that we expect will eventually become part of the consumer vernacular. It has to do with food that provides “significant amounts of essential nutrients per serving,” and has never been more important than in our current GLP-1 era, as users now find themselves undernourished. Fortunately, fortifying products with functional ingredients can strengthen nutrition panels across categories and provide targeted health benefits for some of today’s key concerns, namely:
- Gut Health. Currently, 8 in 10 Americans report becoming “more interested in foods or products that support gut health.” As consumers recognize the links between the gut microbiome and total health, as well as the difficulty of consuming enough daily fiber, gut health will move from emergent to ubiquitous. Expect more pre/post-biotics claims, ingredients and foods, especially “the four K’s,”—kimchi, kraut, kombucha, and kefir (dairy and water-based)—and fiber-filled whole grains. Particularly intriguing to us is the Olipop brand embarking on a longer-term study to assess its effect on blood sugar and digestion, and inform new claims.
- Stress, Sleep and Immunity Support. Spate’s new report, overlaying Google and TikTok data to unearth trends, reveals consumers are researching magnesium glycinate, NAD, theanine, colostrum, vitamin K, and Ashwagandha. We also see continued interest around nootropics.
- Women’s Health. Creatine is one of the buzziest supplements of the year, moving from the bodybuilder segment to menopausal women for aid in muscle tone, strength, recovery, bone density, cognitive function, and more. The ingredient is so popular, it’s achieved over $1.1 billion in sales, and boasts a 25.2% CAGR, with huge potential predicted for fortified food and beverage products.
Protein innovation is surging despite warnings about “protein junk food.”
This year, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Vox proclaimed Americans “protein obsessed.” They went on to suggest we were eating too much and from the wrong sources, warning specifically against “protein junk food.” Billionaire investor Ron Penna begs to differ, seeing protein-infused indulgence as an unmet need. His company Legendary Foods has been raking it in with “healthier” sweets and snacks.
Within the protein space, we note the following developments:
- Nearly half of GLP-1 users claiming to be eating less beef, due to decreasing appetites
- Studies examining the health benefits of eating collagen-enriched protein bars as a substitute for GLP-1 drugs
- Six key protein-rich ingredients: microalgae, mycoprotein, collagen, duckweed, soy, and pea
- Starbuck’s cold foam add-on, packed with 15 grams of protein
- Aranex Biotech’s efforts to create allergy-free peanuts
Seed oil skepticism is boosting interest in tallow, ghee, and alternative oil.
Questions about the safety of seed oils have led not only food companies to consider replacements, but also restaurants and home cooks. As a result, beef tallow is having a moment. Social listening shows a 135% increase in beef tallow discussion growth, and a 14% increase around ghee.1 In addition, olive oil, avocado oil and butter are thriving.
Personalized nutrition across life stages is building new brand loyalty.
One of the Top 20 Food Science Trends involves “tailoring nutrition for different life stages, from infancy to old age,” a space with promising implications for brand loyalty.
Recyclable and compostable packaging is becoming a consumer expectation.
A McKinsey & Company study released earlier this year reinforces “recyclable” as the single most important influence on consumers when considering sustainability, followed by “made of recycled content,” “compostable,” and “reusable.” There are two brands with some interesting work in this area:
- Amazon’s Sustainable Materials Innovation Lab is attempting to create recyclable, compostable materials, collaborate on a redesign of the entire plastic recycling infrastructure, AND make them readily available to all companies
- Keurig’s beta testing of plastic- and aluminum-free coffee pods
Ingredient suppliers are growing as reformulation drives clean-label demand.
Reformulation needs are driving sales at powerhouse companies like Ingredion and ADM as manufacturers work to remove artificial ingredients. Hopefully, continued demand will lead to not just profits, but an ongoing reinvestment in additional natural, efficacious solutions.
Natural emulsifiers, sweeteners, and colors are replacing synthetics with added benefits.
- Emulsifiers. The natural emulsifiers market predicts a CAGR of 6.5% from 2026 to 2033. Emulsifiers—key to improving the texture, shelf life and consistency of products like dressings, sauces and dairy alternatives—will increasingly shift to plant, animal, microbial, and seaweed-based versions. One key benefit from this change? Reducing allergens and strengthening allergen-friendly claims in products currently relying on egg yolk and soy-based emulsifiers. Another? Potentially reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes when consuming products where emulsifiers, colors and sweeteners are combined.
- Sweeteners. With consumers cutting back and the FDA mandated front-of-pack changes in added sugar labeling, sweeteners are increasing in importance. IFT assures us that breakthroughs in natural sweeteners and flavor-modulating technologies are here, don’t require compromising on taste, and cite fruit purees and vanilla as ingredients that can enhance sweetness without adding sugar. We can continue to expect more natural sweeteners like monk fruit, stevia, maple syrup and agave, but the one that’s really caught our eye is Oobli, an ultra-sweet protein fermented from a West African tropical fruit that can replace up to 90% of sugar in most food and drinks without impacting blood sugar.
- Colors. Why do we need them? Three key reasons. First, foods lose color in the production process and no longer look “natural.” Second, coloring can provide important experiential cues (e.g., red = spicy) and stimulate cravings. Third, some just make foods and beverages more “fun.” Since they’re not going away, and consumers and regulators are cracking down, demand for natural versions has risen dramatically. Though not as stable as synthetic counterparts, analysts point out an important counterbalance—colorants made from compounds found in fruits and vegetables can offer added health benefits, such as anti-inflammatory agents. Some fruit and vegetable-derived colorants hail from beets, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, and grape skin, while other natural alternatives include turmeric, saffron, paprika, butterfly pea, annatto seeds, chlorophyll, spirulina, red algae, edible grasses, matcha, and even calcium phosphate (to enhance whites). For those not opposed to insect-derived colorants, there’s lac dye and carmine already in use.
To succeed in the above changing landscape, we recommend:
- Transparency around food safety (in all its incarnations) and where food comes from, as more than one-third report it would increase their confidence
- Incorporating smart labels to provide detailed allergen info, origin stories, additive explanations and sustainability scores
- Exploring soft claim innovation, e.g., “supports a cleaner living lifestyle”
- Well-supported claims that safeguard against litigation, as class action lawsuits were up 58%, particularly those challenging “naturally flavored,” or “made with real fruit,” as well as those alleging “healthy” but containing heavy metals or PFAs
- Reevaluating caloric content, gastrointestinal-friendly ingredients and portion sizes, in response to GLP-1 user needs
- Balanced storytelling that also provides front-of-pack real estate for “fast get” convenience claims like “ready in 90 seconds”
- Investigating distribution in natural grocery channels for key products or reformulated products that meet the criteria, as fresh formats led grocery channel growth in the first half of 2025
- Adding a “healthy kids” platform to your innovation pipeline—especially in foodservice, where the new administration is “calling on restaurants to participate” and school cafeterias are looking to reduce added sugar and salt, increase whole grains, etc.
- Incorporating biometrics and psychological data into sensory testing, for a more holistic look at the multisensory experience, as Google Gemini (AI) suggests a future less reliant on taste-panel evaluations alone
Katherine Plueger
Vice President, Strategy & Insights at JT Mega
Katherine Plueger conducts category, competitive and consumer research to develop the actionable insights that lead to better strategy for our clients.
1 Tastewise, 2023-2025.