Top Trends in the Food and Beverage Industry

What's changed in conversations about food and beverages, and what trends are we seeing emerging? 

Food and beverages topics usually generate massive engagement online, and right now, wellness is driving the conversation. We’re seeing major shifts in what people drink: matcha mentions surged 135%; coffee mentions grew 11%, and alcohol mentions dropped 12%.  

Wellness is also driving consumer food choices, with many opting for wholesome, balanced diets. More consumers are rethinking what they eat and drink, leaning toward healthier options. 

So, what’s trending right now, and what should brands be aware of?  

We analyzed food and beverage conversations between October 2024 and October 2025 using Brandwatch Consumer Research. Here are the trends we discovered:  

1. Healthy eating is self-love
2. Kitchen gadgets make healthy eating affordable
3. Coffee and matcha replace cocktail hour

Let’s look at each of these trends in more detail. 

1. Healthy eating is self-love

When it comes to eating habits, for many consumers boring is the new cool: balanced lifestyles and wholesome diets are on trend. 

Over the past year, online mentions of “healthy eating” grew 9%, with 3% more new authors joining the conversation.  

In these discussions, people often talk about topics like healthy meals and creating more sustainable eating habits. Mentions of “eating habits” rose 19%, while meal prep mentions grew 2% compared to the previous period. 

These might seem like small increases, but they signal a wider conversational trend about wellness and self-care – a lifestyle that goes beyond dietary preferences. 

As tech evolves, many turn to apps to track calories, find new recipes, and create weekly plans for balanced meals. According to Business of Apps, the health app industry generated $3.74 billion in 2024, up 9% from the previous year.  

What this means for brands

Consumers are increasingly viewing healthy eating as an act of self-love. Brands that genuinely embrace this mindset can build deeper emotional connections with their audience.  

People want tools and products that support healthy habits without overcomplicating their lives. 

Kitchen gadgets are a prime example of this shift, and air fryers frequently came up in these conversations. Turns out, they are part of a larger story about how kitchen tools are helping people eat healthier – while saving time cooking and money. 

2. Kitchen gadgets make healthy eating affordable

Mentions of “health” and “healthy eating” often pop up in conversations about kitchen gadgets like air fryers, slow cookers, and multi-cookers. 

Here’s the context: around 7 in 10 consumers say high prices have made it harder to stick to a healthy diet. This clashes with a growing desire to eat better, so consumers are adjusting – cooking at home more and eating out less.  

As meal prep gains traction, people are seeking ways to simplify their cooking routines, and kitchen gadgets are filling that gap.  

Social media is flooded with kitchen influencers promoting the latest trendy tools – whether they are actually good or not. Certain gadgets fade in popularity over time (remember the zucchini spiralizer when the paleo diet made its way into people’s kitchens?), but occasionally, a gadget can genuinely change how people cook.  

Air fryers are a perfect example. Mentions grew 30% in the year leading up to September 2025, with 27% of people talking about them being new to the conversation. Air fryers became the cooking trend of 2024-2025. 

The appeal is clear: they’re easier to clean and use less oil in cooking. No wonder they’re popular at a time when people want healthier, cheaper meals quickly. 

Looking at the broader market, conversations around kitchen gadgets increased by 5% and mentions of recipes alongside kitchen gadgets hit 229k. 

What this means for brands

Now that consumers have linked kitchen gadgets and healthy eating, these products have more appeal than ever before.  

This gives brands an opportunity to highlight the value of their products. For example, showing how they can be used to make healthy, cost-effective, and restaurant-quality meals at home.   

Brands can create relatable content by acknowledging budget constraints: sharing cost-per-serving breakdowns, budget-friendly recipes, or quick hacks to speed up meal prep. 

This is particularly relevant at a time when many consumers are short on time. 

Partnering with nutrition influencers and blogs can also help brands communicate these messages to a wider audience and tie them together with other trends. 

Viral cookware brand Our Place is a great example of a company’s socials balancing a mix of kitchen prep shortcuts, healthy eating, and even mindfulness.  

Health is a recurring theme across all three of our trends, and our final trend shows that the beverage industry is no different.  

3. Coffee and matcha replace cocktail hour

According to Brandwatch data, mentions of alcohol and cocktails were down 12% between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025. That’s a big drop. 

On the flip side, mentions of coffee grew 11%, with 3% more authors being new to the conversation. But the real winner in beverage conversations was matcha – with a 135% increase in mentions, reaching 326k in total.  

This shift reflects a growing awareness of how beverage choices impact health. People on social media talk about the importance of being mindful about what they drink, with an understanding that it can affect mood, appearance, and overall wellbeing. 

Coffee and matcha share similar appeal: not only do they offer an energy boost and potential health benefits; they allow people to indulge in mindful daily rituals. 

Sixty-three percent of consumers drink coffee more than any other beverage – and that includes water. Matcha isn’t a niche drink anymore. 

Matcha's popularity is surging because people are excited about innovative flavors and creative twists. There’s also a strong matcha lovers community on social media where enthusiasts share their favorite drinks and experiences.  

And just like with the kitchen gadgets trend, there’s a shared desire to invest in specialist equipment to become an expert at making favorite drinks at home. Rather than proudly displaying a home bar or cocktail cabinet, people are more likely to have a coffee machine or French press on their kitchen counter. 

What this means for brands

When brands sell the ritual and not just the drink, they’ll find it easier to connect with consumers. In other words, you need to market the experience, not just the product.  

Trends in the beverages industry move fast, and we’re currently experiencing a matcha boom that’s bigger than all kitchen gadgets put together. Why? Perhaps because matcha is as much about the experience (the ritual: buying, photographing, tasting) as the product.  

Encouraging and reposting user-generated content is a great way to showcase these daily rituals, and it can drive both engagement and discovery.  

Key takeaways

These three trends point to a fundamental shift: consumers increasingly view food and beverage choices through the lens of wellness and self-care, but they want simplicity, not hassle.  

The brands that authentically show how their products align with health-conscious consumers – whether it’s through kitchen gadgets that make eating healthy easier or beverages that offer both wellness benefits and meaningful experiences – will win the attention of their audience.