Published 21 March 2025

Author

12 min read

Scoring a slam dunk in creative food and drink innovation, Foodex Japan 2025 (March 11-14) delivered all the gastronomic goods and more. From nutraceuticals-laced oils and plant-sap beverages to soya-sauce ‘leaves’, Manuka honey quail eggs and freeze-dried cubed tea, products answered key consumer needs: easy wellness, charming convenience, accessible escapism and imagination-bending novelty.

Pioneering Texture Play

Curiously Crafted Consumables

Small Treats, Big Taste

Amplified Wellbeing

As explored in Future Flavours Forecast 25/26: Sensory Cues, titillating textures – designed to challenge and stimulate – emerged at Foodex Japan 2025. Emphasis is placed on modulated mouthfeel, from super-sticky and squidgy to unctuously oozing and crisp and crunchy.

Summary

Pioneering Texture Play	As explored in Future Flavours Forecast 25/26: Sensory Cues, titillating textures – designed to challenge and stimulate – emerged at Foodex Japan 2025. Emphasis is placed on modulated mouthfeel, from super-sticky and squidgy to unctuously oozing and crisp and crunchy.
Curiously Crafted Consumables	Product developers aren’t afraid to push creative boundaries to the maximum when it comes to flavour and format. Harnessing novelty and overlooked ingredients to surprise and delight consumers – an idea explored in Food in 2030: Extreme Edibles – new products challenge traditional tastes.
Small Treats, Big Taste	Consumers’ desire for small edible treats to provide moments of joy and escapism endures as social media continues to fuel this trend. Crucially, these levelled-up consumables don’t always need to sit on the sweet side of the flavour wheel – savoury, tart and umami taste sensations are also highly desirable.
Amplified Wellbeing	Functional foods are pitched at wellness-seeking consumers also looking for superior taste sensations. A robust emphasis remains on lesser-known superfood ingredients (like jujube). Meanwhile, innovative hydration products neatly align with our Energised by Electrolytes trend in Food + Health Trends: 25/26.

Foodex Japan 2025

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Topics

Want to see the full report?

Offering access to over 350 consumer and cross-industry reports annually, Stylus Membership is your window to tomorrow’s most exciting opportunities.

We already arm more than 500 of the world’s most forward-thinking brands and agencies with the creative insights they need to make transformative business decisions.

We’d love to do the same for you.

Book a demo with us today to discover more.

Membership