arrow
Top food trends in China 2025

Top food trends in China 2025

The food and beverage industry plays a vital role in Chinese society, creating shifting consumer preferences, fostering innovative culinary creations, and boosting the economy. Food trends in China are influenced by cultural heritage, evolving lifestyles, and technological advancements.
Healthy indulgence: Going sugar-free and plant-based in the confectionery space
Healthy indulgence: Going sugar-free and plant-based in the confectionery space
As Easter approaches, the F&B industry is in the midst of profiting from the annual boom in confectionery sales. US consumers alone are expected to consume over 33 million kilos of chocolate, equivalent to over 1 billion 1-ounce Easter eggs. But while the snacking traditions continue, the public’s taste for seasonal treats has changed. Demand for healthier options, plant-based alternatives, and ingredient reformulation is at an all time high, with a breadth of new technologies and production methods available to manufacturers. However, taste remains non-negotiable for confectionery products like chocolate, according to producers, and products ticking the newly evolving “healthy indulgence” category are required.  
EIT Food on “normalizing” upcycled ingredients by overcoming taste, health and safety barriers
EIT Food on “normalizing” upcycled ingredients by overcoming taste, health and safety barriers
Despite advances in food upcycling, consumers remain cautious of greenwashing, taste, and food safety compliance, according to a recent report by EIT Food’s Consumer Observatory. The study examines key gaps between consumer expectations and industry action across four categories: price, quality, health, and taste. The report offers insights for F&B businesses to navigate consumer perceptions and position upcycled ingredients (ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption) efficiently. 
Takasago’s La Vanille T™ - Traceability Trust Taste
Takasago’s La Vanille T™ - Traceability Trust Taste
Explore Takasago's La Vanille T™, where Madagascar's rich vanilla heritage meets advanced flavor technology. Our vanilla solutions combine sustainable practices and innovative techniques to craft exceptional sensory experiences that enchant consumers' taste buds worldwide. Explore our vanilla taste lineup and learn how our humanitarian efforts support local communities in Madagascar.This Technical Paper is brought to you by Takasago.
Max Planck Institute: Replicating foie grass texture and flavor to reduce force-feeding concerns
Max Planck Institute: Replicating foie grass texture and flavor to reduce force-feeding concerns

A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Germany has developed a process to manufacture foie gras, a delicacy often associated with concerns over force-feeding of ducks to increase liver fat deposits. Author Thomas A Vilgis explains the challenge of replicating the dish’s unique texture and flavor, and how the scientists overcame them by using lipase enzymes.

NPEW 2025 review: Top trends in healthier foods, functional beverages, and nutrition innovations
NPEW 2025 review: Top trends in healthier foods, functional beverages, and nutrition innovations
At Natural Products Expo West (NPEW) in Anaheim, California, US, the food and nutrition industries showcased their latest innovation in healthier food options, snacks, beverages, and supplements. Weight management, active nutrition, and products for gut, brain, mood, and women’s health took center stage. Exhibitors featured a wide selection of functional hydration, new delivery formats, low- or no-sugar foods, alt-dairy, fibers, and biotics. Protein reigned supreme, from plant-based options to whey, real meat, and eggs, across applications in sports bars, powder, snacks, pasta sauce, and clear drinks.

Latest headlines

View more
Schools in Spain limit sugary drinks and fatty foods while new rules enforce serving fresh produce
Boy with healthy school meal.
Schools in Spain will offer healthier menus in an effort to reduce childhood obesity in the country. New rules mandate that some fried and fatty foods will not be available, while schools will have to promote fresh fruit and vegetables on a daily basis, ensuring some fresh produce has been locally sourced.
Vitafoods Europe 2025 preview: dsm-firmenich’s new platform spans from healthy aging to gut health
Supplement assortment
At the upcoming Vitafoods Europe 2025 trade fair in Barcelona, Spain (May 20–22), dsm-firmenich will unveil its new nutrition supplement innovation platform, Healthy Longevity, advancing healthy longevity and gut health, among other well-being areas. The launch has a special focus on innovations targeting cellular senescence — the process in which aged cells accumulate and create a pro-inflammatory environment. “This platform combines scientifically verified ingredients that target biological aging, along with formulation expertise and end-to-end capabilities to address the growing global demand for solutions focused on healthy longevity,” details the supplier.
Scientists optimize coffee brewing to tackle climate change impact and price hikes
Drip coffee, barista pouring water on coffee ground with filter
US-based researchers have investigated how fewer beans and fluid dynamics can be used to reduce the rising demand for coffee beans. The study highlights an “avalanche effect” that suggests that instead of increasing the amount of beans, the sensory profile and the strength of the beverage can be adjusted by changing the flow rate and the pour height.
Tackling food fraud: Breaking down supply chain vulnerabilities with digital prevention strategies
Top view of worker standing by apple fruit crates in organic food factory warehouse
Food fraud is a growing and often invisible threat, undermining food safety, public trust, and economic stability. Its true scale remains elusive, as fraud is by definition “designed to avoid detection,” which makes it difficult to estimate its frequency or exact economic impact, states the US Department for Agriculture (USDA).
Beyond The Headlines: Kraft Heinz debuts alt-dairy pudding, Cargill and dsm-firmenich’s stevia sweetener’s EU entry
Stevia rebaudiana sweet leaf sugar substitute in wooden bowl on wooden background
This week in industry news, Kraft Heinz debuted an oat milk pudding to fulfill dairy substitute demands in the US. Cargill and dsm-firmenich joint venture Avansya rolled out its stevia sweetener in the EU. Meanwhile, Nestlé debuted its espresso concentrate in the UK, and Nigeria commenced construction of a US$538 million Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone to tackle food insecurity.
Trending fiber fortification solutions promote broad-spectrum health benefits
Woman making a healthy smoothie with fibers

Nutrition Insight

Consumers are increasingly aware of the health benefits of increasing their fiber intake, including gut health benefits linked to improved immunity, cognition, and overall health. However, as many don’t consume the recommended daily fiber levels, the nutrition industry sees substantial opportunities for new delivery formats and fortification strategies. Nutrition Insight discusses fiber fortification options to help consumers improve their intake with suppliers Ingredion, Tate & Lyle, Sensus, Alland & Robert, and COMET. 
Highlighted features
article image
Food Ingredients News

Cargill’s Easter trends: Nutrition, plant-based and ethical sourcing top 2025 consumer demands

European consumers are no longer approaching Easter with a sense of guilt over their chocolate intake, finds Cargill in its annual trends report. Rather, “indulgence with intention” is the year’s focus, as demand for healthy and ethically responsible confectionery options dominates the market. In its TrendTracker 2024 report, the F&B giant found that consumers are “embracing a new kind of sweet” and searching out seasonal treats that satisfy ethical, environmental, and health-conscious concerns. The findings reveal a wide range of opportunities for the industry to capitalize on current market developments.  

article image
Food Ingredients News

Slavery at sea: Indian Ocean tuna fisheries face rising pressure over forced labor in supply chains

The global tuna industry has been long tainted by human rights abuses on the high seas, where as many as 128,000 fishers are ensnared in forced labor aboard vessels. Economic giants like the EU, the US, Australia, and Japan are leading consumers of the US$42 billion industry. But with complex and opaque supply chains in places hard to get to, modern slavery is rife. The Global Tuna Alliance’s (GTA) new campaign, Lives On The Line: Protect Fishers, urges the development of crew welfare standards to address documented human rights abuses in Indian Ocean tuna fisheries, where a larger chunk of catches come from areas beyond national jurisdiction compared to the Pacific region. Over 90% of tuna sold in the EU comes from the Indian Ocean, according to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC).

article image
Food Ingredients News

EU leaders scramble to counter Trump’s trade war with retaliatory tariffs and divestments

Policymakers and politicians worldwide are reeling in the wake of US President Trump’s sweeping tariffs, while global F&B industry stakeholders brace themselves for the hard-hitting realities of this new trade war with the US. Many are calling for diplomacy and a measured response as the world is plunged into trade chaos following Trump’s tariff announcement. On the other hand, some stakeholders and politicians want firm retaliatory action as they navigate the changes on a range of goods, including those targeting agri-food. 

Ingredient focus

View more
technicalpaper

Shelf life extensionApr2025

Innova Market Insights data indicates a 5% CAGR in food and beverage launches with preservative ingredients between 2020 and 2024. Europe leads with 42% of global launches. Sauces & seasonings wer...

Product innovation

View more
product image

Plant-based eggs are cracking into the market Apr 2025

Easter has long been associated with eggs, but now sustainability and health claims are transforming the tradition. Innova Market Insights data reveals a 13% rise in plant-based egg launches from 2020 to 2024, as brands innovate with vegan alternatives such as scramble substitutes, poached options, liquid egg replacements, and even reinvented traditional egg recipes.

Trend analysis

View more
analysis chart image

Plant-based innovation growsApr 2025

According to data from Innova Market Insights, 48% of consumers worldwide perceive plant-based products as a healthier choice. This growing preference has fueled market expansion, driving a 13% increase from 2020 to 2024.

Multimedia

View more
headline
Video11:00
Max Planck Institute: Replicating foie grass texture and flavor to reduce force-feeding concerns

A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Germany has developed a process to manufacture foie gras, a delicacy often associated with concerns over force-feeding of ducks to increase liver fat deposits. Author Thomas A Vilgis explains the challenge of replicating...

FormattedPicture
Video12:51
Copa-Cogeca: Assessing the impact of Trump’s tariffs on the EU wine industry
FormattedPicture
Video06:15
Rousselot’s principal scientist talks peptides, collagens and GLP-1
FormattedPicture
Video06:58
Ever After Foods: Balancing scalability and sustainability for “financially viable” cultivated meat
Click Here
Subscribe to our newsletters
PlatformsFood Ingredients FirstNutrition InsightPackaging InsightsPersonal Care InsightsThe World of Food Ingredients
About usContact usAdvertisingPrivacy statementSitemap
Follow us
linkedinrss_header
trans