Food trends: global + wellness
2026 food trend briefings flag a sharpened focus on wellness, renewed appetite for international flavors, and grain innovation (especially rice processing) reshaping staples for modern palates — meaning more global taste exploration with performance and sustainability in mind Food Trends to Watch in 2026 Transforming Grains: The Innovative World of Rice Processing.
The global functional‑foods and natural health‑products market is projected at $27.26 billion in 2026, reflecting rising consumer demand for fortified, gut‑health and performance‑oriented products. (globalgrowthinsights.com) A market analysis separately forecasts the broader health‑and‑wellness food sector will expand by $697.1 billion from 2025–2030 at a roughly 10% CAGR, underscoring why brands are reformulating toward fiber, adaptogens and clean‑label positioning. (technavio.com) Datassential’s 2026 Trends preview explicitly flags fiber as “poised to overtake protein” and reports that over 50% of consumers say eating more gut‑health foods will be important in 2026. (prnewswire.com) Datassential also finds that 69% of consumers now learn about new food trends via packaged retail products and 63% via prepared grocery offerings, shifting innovation pressure from restaurants to retail and CPG. (prnewswire.com) Forecasts for rice‑derived ingredients show rapid market growth but differing estimates: Fortune Business Insights values the rice protein market at $212.14 million in 2026 with a path to $387.2 million by 2034, while Mordor Intelligence reports a 2026 market size of $385.53 million and names Axiom Foods, Südzucker, The Scoular Company and Ingredion as major players. (fortunebusinessinsights.com) Industry reporting highlights concrete rice‑processing advances—waterless milling, carbon‑neutral plant designs, automated parboiling refinements and closed‑loop water/energy recycling—aimed at reducing waste and improving nutrient retention in staple rice products. (millermagazine.com) Processors and ingredient firms are converting by‑products into new revenue streams: RiceBran Technologies and similar companies extract oil and protein from bran for snacks and sports nutrition, while equipment makers are selling extrusion and puffing lines that turn rice into texturized proteins and ready‑to‑eat formats. (globalgrowthinsights.com) Menu and trend trackers point to how those ingredient shifts meet flavor demand—Datassential predicts big growth for tea‑based mocktails and fusion “new classics,” birria’s menu presence is forecast to rise ~118% over the next four years, and consultancies flag pan‑African/West African cuisines as 2026 breakout sources of global flavor inspiration. (prnewswire.com)
