Just the Insights: The Food Report
Future Food Industry Trends: The Innovator’s Guide to What’s Next
THE FOOD REPORT TO FUEL FOOD INDUSTRY INNOVATION
Heart health support is the #1 benefit consumers seek in functional foods (44%), but only 32% have purchased a product for it, a 12-point gap that signals under-met demand. Across 26 health benefits, these gaps reveal exactly where functional food innovation can close the distance between consumer interest and available options.
Nextin™ Food Trends is a 36-page, future-facing insights report that decodes the consumer attitudes, satisfaction gaps, and ingredient demand signals shaping the future of packaged foods. Powered by Nextin’s proprietary survey of 1,235 U.S. food consumers, it’s the food report that looks to the future.
From fortified snacking and functional food adoption to flavor preferences and ready meal decision-drivers, this food report translates primary consumer data into food industry trends of the future.
Innovate with Confidence: the Packaged Food Strategy Advantage
This food insights report equips industry professionals with current, validated consumer data to support decisions from product concept through go-to-market execution:
- Product development and innovation teams: Identify satisfaction gaps across 22 packaged food categories and validate concepts with consumer-backed protein, fiber, and taste preference data
- Ingredient and formulation partners: Determine which protein sources, fiber types, and functional ingredients consumers actually prefer and explore where emerging demand outpaces current options
- Retail buyers and merchandisers: Apply cross-category purchase data and channel insights to inform assortment decisions across snack, frozen, and fortified food segments
- Investment and M&A analysts: Evaluate category growth potential using primary data on unmet needs, functional food adoption, and consumer willingness to pay
- C-suite leaders and category strategists: Anchor long-range planning in current psychographic and lifestyle data that reveals how benefit-driven trends are reshaping packaged food from snacks to frozen prepared meals
The packaged food landscape is ever-changing. This food report delivers the consumer perspective behind those shifts, grounded in the latest primary research.
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What’s Inside: 36 Pages of Forward-Looking Food Industry Trends
Data Vintage: February 2025 survey of 1,235 U.S. adults aged 18 and older who report having personally shopped for and purchased food in the prior month; among the most current primary consumer research available in the packaged food category.
Nextin’s Food Insights Report explores emerging, growing, and under-met food trends with a consumer-first lens. Coverage spans packaged food satisfaction and purchase-drivers, protein and fiber demand (sources and preferences), savory and sweet flavor trends, functional food adoption and benefit gaps, snack category spotlights (sweet, savory, kids’, and fortified), consumer attitudes and appliance use regarding meal preparation, marketing channels, corporate responsibility influence, and retail and foodservice purchase behaviors. Designed to inform product development, marketing strategy, and executive presentations.
Detailed Table of Contents
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The Forward-looking Food Report: Full Table of Contents (36 pages)
Food Industry Trends and Category Insights
a Nextin Research Trend Report
Introduction and Methodology
Meet the Audience: the U.S. Food Consumer
- Top Categories Purchased
- Important Factors
- Psychographic Insights
Food Trends and the U.S. Consumer
- Food Purchase Trends and Opportunities
- Food Purchase Trends and Satisfaction Levels (Table 1.01)
- Packaged Food Priorities: Factors That Influence Purchase
- Consumer Priorities When Comparing Packaged Foods (Table 1.02)
- The Protein Push: Sources and Satisfaction
- Protein Sources That Consumers Seek in Packaged Foods (Table 1.03)
- The Fiber Factor
- Fiber Sources That Consumers Seek in Packaged Foods (Table 1.04)
- Innovation and Merchandising Insight
- Better-for-You Food Trends: Evolving Consumer Criteria
- Ingredients Consumers Avoid (Table 1.05)
Flavor-Full: Familiar, Fun, and Fanciful
- Top Savory Flavor Preferences (Table 1.06)
- Top Sweet Flavor Preferences (Table 1.07)
The Marketing Mix: Grow Awareness, Gain Interest, Drive Sales
- Top Sources of Food Information and Inspiration (Table 1.08)
- Marketing Insight
Purchase Influence: Driving Trial and Long-term Loyalty
- Corporate Responsibility Initiatives and Influence (Table 1.09)
Food Purchase Trends and Channels: Where Consumers Shop
- Retail and Foodservice
- Partnership Potential
- Retail Channels for Food Purchases (Table 1.10)
Snack Category Spotlight: Snacking, Sweet and Savory
- Satisfaction by Category
- In-Demand Snack Attributes
- Did You Know: Snack Consumer Psychographic Insights
- Snack Flavors That Promote Trial (Table 2.01)
- Sweet Snack Trends
- Purchased in the Prior Month
- Sweet Snack Flavor Preferences
- Recently Consumed
- Savory Snack Trends
- Purchased in the Prior Month
- Important Factors in Packaged Foods Purchases
- Recently Consumed
- Favorite Flavors in Packaged Foods
- Most Likely to Use in Food Preparation
- Kids’ Snack Trends
- Purchased in Households with Kids 18 and Younger
- What Shoppers Seek in Kids’ Snacks (Table 2.02)
- Those Who Purchase Foods for Kids 12 and Younger
- Did You Know: Psychographic Insights
- Fortified Snacking: Protein, Fiber, and Functionality
- Preferred Protein Sources in Snacks (Table 2.03)
- Preferred Fiber Sources in Snacks (Table 2.04)
- Fiber-Focused Snackers
- Functional Fiber
- Functional Snacking: Satisfying More Than Cravings
- Preferred Functional Benefits in Snacks (Table 2.05)
- Preferred Ingredients and Attributes in Snacks (Table 2.06)
Functional Food Spotlight: The Functional Food Phenomenon
- The Effect of Functional Benefits on Food Purchase Consideration (Table 3.01)
- Functional Benefits Sought in Food (Table 3.02)
Ready Meal Spotlight: Get Ready, Get Set, Eat
- Ready Meal Consumer Attitudes Regarding Food Preparation (Table 4.01)
- Top Appliances Used by Ready Meal Consumers (Table 4.02)
- Savory Flavor Preferences
- Food Decision-Drivers Among Ready Meal Consumers (Table 4.03)
- Functional Food Benefits
About Nextin Research
About MarketPlace
Index of Available Charts
Explore Integrated Services
Do More with Nextin Food Industry Trend Data
These additional services help you uncover specific details about your audience or product segment, inform innovation strategy, and enhance your presentations.
Strategy Consulting: $5,000<
Consulting from an experienced Strategist in your category. Discuss the possibilities specific to your ingredient, product, or brand. Includes a documented Executive Summary. Learn more.
Protocept Renderings: $7,500 for a set of 3
Illuminate the possibilities with three digital Protocept Mockups that demonstrate how innovation might come to life in a packaged good. Ideal for presentations. Includes discovery call, delivered in PNG and JPG formats. See protocept examples.
Trusted by Leading Food Brands, Retailers, and Industry Media
Nextin Research insights have been cited by SupplySide Food & Beverage Journal, Food Industry Executive, The National Confectioners Association, Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, Yahoo Finance, and leading ingredient, brand, and retail organizations.
Backed by more than two decades of food and CPG expertise from MarketPlace, Nextin Research bridges proprietary consumer data with supply chain perspective to deliver insights built for food industry innovation professionals who need to act on what consumers want, not just report on it.
On-Demand Access: What You’ll Get
The Insights Report: A 36-page food industry trends report connecting consumer behavior to product development, ingredient innovation, and brand strategy. Coverage includes functional foods, savory and sweet snacking, protein and fiber trends, kids’ snack priorities, ready meal consumer attitudes, packaged food purchase-drivers, flavor preferences, marketing channels, and satisfaction gap analysis across 22 categories. Available now and ready for download upon checkout.
Level Up with the Full Data Set: Nextin Food Trends Research Package
This insights report is one component of Nextin’s comprehensive food consumer research. For on-demand access to the full data set underpinning this report, plus 82 PowerPoint charts and tables and a Consumer Intelligence Snapshot in Excel, explore the complete research package:
Explore the Nextin Food Trends Research Package
Dig into Food Category Insights
Instant access upon checkout. Download the Nextin Food Insights Report now.
Questions?
Preview sample charts and discuss how the data applies to your category, or send us a message to start a conversation.
