Inflammation – a term formerly confined to medical journals – is transitioning into mainstream consciousness. In 2026, consumers will explore its root causes as interest in ageing well and disease prevention accelerates. Food, drink and supplement producers will position anti‑inflammatory ingredients as functional upgrades, and tech brands will build tools that track and personalise anti‑inflammatory routines. See also Look Ahead 2026.

Now recognised as essential to wellbeing, hydration’s increasingly linked to the emerging ‘cognitive energy crisis’ – the understanding that sustained mental effort drains the brain’s finite reserves. People are ingesting minerals, salts and electrolytes for balance, energy and recovery. This demand drives product innovation, with functional beverage and wellness brands racing to deliver solutions. For earlier thinking, see Food & Health Trends: 25/26.

GLP‑1s have reshaped obesity management, curbing appetite and shifting food mindsets towards restraint – think smaller portions, fastidious attention to macronutrients and controlled indulgence. However, as the drug edges towards midterm adoption for weight-loss outcomes – and its efficacy is established – longer‑term sustainability, access and risk factors remain under review. For more, see Ozempic & Friends: Society’s Saviour or Saboteur? 

Food is increasingly reframed as a frontline tool for wellbeing: instead of waiting for pharmaceuticals to fix problems later, people are turning to targeted nutrition now as an everyday approach. Here, fermented foods, phytonutrients, antioxidants, healthy fats, proteins and fibre diversity spin into focus. This widescale cultural shift sees the plate as a vehicle for mind and body resilience.

Consumers are linking clean, minimally processed food with their broader pursuit of wellness, seeing transparency, sustainability and ingredient integrity as inseparable from holistic health. This convergence means ‘healthy’ and ‘clean’ are aligned value propositions. For food, beverage and wellness companies, the opportunity lies in positioning products as simultaneously positive, credible and ethical. See also Meet the Food Intellectuals.