2024 Food Trends You’re About to See Everywhere

Admittedly, we didn’t have cottage cheese ice cream on our Bingo card of 2023 food trends. Nor did we predict that smash burger tacos would be all the rage. But we were pretty spot-on about tinned fish and dates every which way; both of which definitely whet our appetite for the surely-tasty trip around the sun ahead. 

Thanks to TikTok, Instagram, and the rapid pace of knowledge-sharing, food trends are flying through the zeitgeist at a more rapid clip than ever before. So to help us distill what might be bubbling up to the top of 2024 food trends, we devoured early trend forecasts, then tapped the following experts for their insider intel:

Read on for the dish about the top 2024 food trends we can’t wait to gobble up.

2024 Food Trends You’re About to See Everywhere

The Rise of Solo Dining

No need to sheepishly answer “just one,” when a host asks, “how many?” Proudly ask for a table for one and prepare to focus on making it your best meal out yet. The Brandwatch Food Trend Report says that solo diners will only become even more commonplace in 2024.

Without other diners in the mix, you can select the venue and dish(es) you desire, no additional “noise” involved. Plus, you can revel in the deliciousness without worrying about keeping the conversation alive. 

“We expect to see more restaurants designed to comfortably accommodate solo diners,” Freeman explains. “This could mean more bar seating, counters, or small nooks where solo diners don’t feel like people are watching them. We love seeing places that offer the ¼-liter wine carafe [about 8 ½ ounces] which is perfect for solo diners. We’re also interested to see if we’ll see any specific promotions for dining solo.”

If it feels awkward to fly solo at first, tote along a book or your phone. Or pull up a seat at the bar and enjoy conversation with the staff. Soon enough, you’ll become a staff BFF and a regular just like a Cheers cast member.

Newstalgia

Fuller House, the *NSYNC reunion, and the renaissance of ‘90s fashion trends are just the beginning. 

Food companies are refreshing nostalgic brands in fresh ways on supermarket shelves and in restaurants, according to IFT Outlook 2024: Flavor Trends. Whether it’s due to the cozy, secure feelings that memories of the past bring (especially in an uncertain era) or the cheeky if you know you know factor, what’s old is new, 2024 food trend forecasters say. 

The revival of flavors, formats or recipes from the past gives people something familiar to gravitate towards. It’s that familiarity, whether it’s linked to an actual memory from the past or is a link to a past that people have only seen on TV, that makes a new or additional purchase easier to justify when food budgets are tight, Zegler explains.

“Nostalgia always brings out good feelings, and it always seems especially prominent after some tough times,” Freeman tells BHG. “Recently we’ve seen chefs bringing back Pop Rocks (remember those?!) in unexpected ways. While Pop Rocks were once a fun novelty candy for kids, now we’re seeing creative chefs adding the surprising bursting candies to savory dishes like peking duck, roasted carrots, or corn ribs.”

Childhood cereals are now being recreated in freezer waffle form, Dunkaroos are back in a new array of flavors, and McDonald’s viral Grimace shake in summer 2023 paved the way for holiday 2023’s Grimace Crocs collaboration.

“In 2024 and years to come, it’s highly likely that food and drink will follow fashion trends in finding inspiration from the past,” Zegler adds. “This gives people a tangible way to reminisce or experience a time they were too young to know personally.”

Healthspan-Supporting Foods and Drinks

Rather than focusing solely on maxing our our lifespans, wellness experts and food brands are honing in on habits and strategies that support our “healthspan.” Unlike lifespan, which is all about the quantity of years we have, healthspan also involves the quality of those years; it’s the quantity of healthy, productive, rich years we can live.

“People are realizing the high likelihood that they will live longer, and they want to make sure that they are as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Recognizing the potential for longer lifespans, Mintel 2024 Global Food Trends predict that ‘healthspan’ will become a buzzword starting in 2024, as people seek to extend the period of their lives when they are in good health,” Zegler clarifies.

As more consumers seek out wellness-supporting items to add to their daily routines, food companies will likely release more foods and drinks that help ease symptoms of common aging-related factors, such as menopause, achy joints, as well as individual health concerns based on health or family history.  Herbal coffees and inflammation-taming turmeric foods and drinks are just a couple of many recent examples of this 2024 food trend bubbling up already.

“Generation X, who are 44 to 58 years old in the US in 2023, is kickstarting the focus on healthspan. But taking a proactive view toward staying as healthy as possible for as long as possible is likely only going to continue as millennials and Generation Z reach middle age and up,” Zegler says.

Plant-Based Food Made with Actual Plants

Once upon a time, in fact, just a few years ago, many food fortune tellers anticipated that plant-based meat alternatives like Impossible and Beyond were the start of a massive sea change in the alternative protein category.

“After a boom in plant-based claims, people are seeking a return to the basics with plant-based products that are tasty, affordable, convenient and obviously made from plants,” Zegler says. “This will require more truth from food and drink that claims to be plant-based by highlighting their formulations that are made with few, recognizable plant ingredients.”

Store shelves, sales data, and Whole Foods Market’s 2024 Top 10 Food Trend Predictions say that 2024 is going to be all about returning to our roots.

“The plant-based category has been growing exponentially for years now, but what we’re thrilled to see in this space is new plant-based products return to their roots in a way and launch with more whole ingredient protein sources like mushrooms, walnuts, tempeh and legumes, and fewer ingredients on their labels in general,” Bukowski explains. 

New brands like Meati, which is made with a foundation of mushroom root, are already taking off at retailers from coast to coast.  

Compared to 2022, 2023’s consumers are seeking to add more vegetables to their diets, Marion says. In 2023, 59 percent of nutrition-engaged consumers were actively trying to add vegetables to their diets compared to 54 percent in 2022. 

“The demand for more plants in plant-based food and drink links to the original driver of the plant-based trend: a desire to get more plants into our diets. Eating more fruits and vegetables is foundational to a healthy diet, but our busy schedules and eating preferences don’t always make that easy,” Zegler adds. 

Convenience foods like Actual Veggies Purple Burger and Dr. Praeger’s Cauliflower Broccoli Veggie Fries are on a mission to bridge that gap to prove that it is easy being green.

Complex Spice-Boosters

Just like many fast food chains, Minneapolis, Minnesota-based burger and ice cream restaurant Bebe Zito offers a spicy chicken sandwich. Things really spice up when you peruse down the pint menu where you’ll find an ice cream named “Hot as Hell!” alongside Gochujang Brownie, a chocolate delight spiked with spicy-umami Korean red chili paste.

They’re far from the only ones hopping aboard the trend train of all things fiery. Watch for a proliferation of unique chili peppers, even more “swicy” fare (sweet and spicy), as well as more hot food challenges, such as Banza and Tabasco’s “Hotter By the Bite” pizza.

“Gen Z is much more open to spice than prior generations. Spice continues to attract interest and make other flavors stand out from the crowd,” Freeman says.

Pinpointed as one of Whole Foods Market’s 2024 Top 10 Food Trend Predictions, the retailer’s Trend Council reveals that scorpion, guajillo, Hungarian goathorn, and other global peppers are about to start popping up in every aisle—including the drink section. Pepper-infused kombuchas, smoothies, juices, as well as a swell of sweat-inducing condiments will likely be all the rage in 2024.

Taking a cue from the popularity of hot honey and the wildly-successful YouTube series Hot Ones, the next generation of spicy or hybrid spicy flavors allows diners to get adventurous with their food and drink with a splash of sauce, a dip, or a drizzle, Zegler says. 

“The trend continues to grow, opening more opportunities across food and drink categories for complex spicy-with-sweet, spicy-sour, spicy-creamy, and other creative flavor combinations,” Zegler continues. “Global spicy flavors also can cross over into sweet heat, as shown by Momofuku and Raaka’s dark chocolate chili crunch bar.”

Little Luxuries

On the heels of the “quiet luxury” home design trend, small culinary luxuries are going to be big in 2024, according to Whole Foods Market’s 2024 Top 10 Food Trend Predictions.

Be it a mid-afternoon macaron, a prebiotic soda to power you through a long meeting, or a chic selection of tinned fish as part of a snack dinner, this 2024 food trend proves that you need not spend more than $10 to treat yourself to the finer things in life.

“Americans have always liked a treat, but we suspect that the rise in mindfulness and mindful eating may be contributing to this trend, which is about savoring little delights,” Marion explains.

Her team at Murphy Research found that mindful eating has become significantly more popular since 2022, with 38 percent of nutrition-engaged consumers engaging in mindful eating in 2023 compared to 34 percent in 2022. 

This rise—in tandem with the ongoing looming potential of a recession—makes these pint-sized splurges feel luxe without being so lavish that you make a big dent in your bank account.

Next-Level Convenience

Speaking of convenience, Mintel 2024 Global Food Trends suggest that personalization, ease, and efficiency will only get more common as options abound at brick and mortar and online retailers.

“Busy people are looking for advice and products that help them optimize their time planning, shopping and making meals. New products like Kraft Heinz’s Home Bake 425°/:30 streamline the planning of a meal by offering mix-and-match main dishes, veggies and sides that all cook at the same time and temperature,” Zegler says.

Another growing 2024 food trend? Brands like Foodberry, which Freeman describes as “an innovative company that works with leading food and beverage manufacturers to reimagine popular snack foods.”

Using proprietary patented technology to mimic fruit skins and peels to create flavorful, edible plant-based coatings, Foodberry offers manufacturers the opportunity to create self-contained, bite-size versions of their signature products like hummus encased in a red pepper shell or a blueberry filled with fresh yogurt.

As companies develop new formulations, technology is also evolving at a rapid clip. In an era of snowballing uses of artificial intelligence (AI), we now live in a world in which it’s possible to score personalized time-saving recommendations like automated shopping lists and recipe recommendations based on search history and ingredients on-hand, Zegler adds.