Sugar Talk
Sugar Talk

Food and beverage industry trends 2025: what do consumers want?
Food and beverage trends are constantly evolving as consumer preferences shift to the latest fad diet or viral food craze. Trends may be fleeting but, as food and beverages producers know, they are often cyclical.
In this blog, we explore the evolution of food and beverage trends by looking at the past and investigating the present and how the role of sugar has evolved, and highlight food and beverage trends for 2025, and what this means for the industry’s product producers.
Meat and two veg: food and beverage trends of the past
Consumer preferences and trends are often cyclical in nature, and it’s not uncommon for once-popular ingredients, recipes or foodstuffs of the past to resurface and regain popularity, usually with a new twist.

Until the 1950s, the food that was eaten generally depended on what was in season, and most home-cooked meals were often the classic meat and two veg. However, by the 1970s, lifestyles grew busier. Women who were traditionally homemakers entered the workforce in greater numbers, and there was a significant rise in the popularity of convenience foods such as instant mashed potato, ready meals and fast food. As a result, consumer intake of fresh foods and vegetables declined.

Reliance on these convenience foods increased as more people worked outside the home and ate on the go. In the same decade, households typically spent 25% of disposable income on food. [1] Treats were considered expensive and only bought on rare occasions, such as for birthdays or celebrating holidays.
From cheaper, more processed food to natural foods
Today, UK households spend around 11% of disposable income on food. [2] Huge advances in food processing and production have reduced food prices, particularly the cost of convenience meals and confectionery, and made these products more accessible to a wider group of consumers. Access to lower cost foods, such as cereals, has been largely beneficial, but has been linked to rising obesity rates. [3]
Social media has played a role in building consumer awareness and increasing the demand for ingredients and products that support a healthier, balanced diet. Consumers are returning to products with more natural ingredients and moving away from foods that contain additives.
This reiterates the importance of knowing what trends have been in the past and the trends we identify today while keeping in mind that trends are cyclical in nature.

Trends in the food and beverage industry for 2025
At Ragus, we’ve identified a number of key trends currently shaping the food and beverage, and sugar, landscape. Consumers are increasingly, albeit slowly in terms of volume, opting for healthier and more sustainable food options and seeking out new flavours. The following trends reflect the shifting priorities of UK consumers:
1. Global flavours and innovations
Consumers are exploring bold and innovative flavours from around the world, driving demand for unique flavour combinations. Ingredients such as cardamom, tamarind and tahini are mainstream in supermarkets in the UK. Sugar plays a role in enhancing these flavours, especially in beverages, desserts and baking. This is also visible in the popularity of sweet and savoury fusion products, such as sweet and salty popcorn and salted caramel products.

Food and beverage manufacturers can benefit by experimenting with flavours that appeal to more adventurous palates. Reinventing or reformulating old recipes with a modern twist may appeal to those who link food with nostalgia. For example, caramel is a taste that has become synonymous with quality. By pairing caramel with exotic spices or flavours, food and beverage manufacturers can create distinctive product lines.
2. Responsible sourcing and sustainability
Sustainability in the food and beverage industry is no longer a choice but an expectation. Around 72% of UK consumers assess the sustainability of a product before buying, and 95% saying they are acting in a more sustainable way. [4] Consumers increasingly choose products with responsibly sourced and sustainable ingredients.
The UK government is committed to reaching net zero emissions and waste minimisation targets and has issued legislation requiring food and beverage producers to make more sustainable choices in the production of their products.

At Ragus, we only source our raw materials from suppliers that meet the requirements of our sustainable procurement strategy. We subscribe to organic and fairtrade principles via our accreditations and our sugar products are manufactured in our advanced manufacturing facility. Our products reach our customers via delivery and distribution partners that share our values.
3. Clean labels and transparency
Consumers want to know where their food comes from, how it’s made and how its production impacts the environment. Consumers are scrutinising labels more than ever and seeking products with a simpler ingredients list – a clean label. Emerging regulations will require even more transparency and visibility from food and beverage manufacturers over their supply chains.

Every week, a new food scandal is reported in the media. There is pressure for food and beverage brands to demonstrate ingredient traceability and supply chain visibility. Increasingly, food brands are forming closer relationships with their suppliers to avoid complexity in their supply chains.
We’ve supported our customers to innovate and reformulate recipes with pure sugar ingredients that replace additives and make the resulting product more attractive to consumers. This helps to build trust among our customers’ consumers and strengthens their brand.
4. Plant-based preferences
The plant-based foods market grew by 9% between 2020 and 2022. [5] It is expected to grow by a further 10.6% by 2030. [6] The popularity of plant-based eating aligns with sustainability and health-conscious consumer interests. However, not everything plant-based is healthy. Some plant-based products are considered ultra-processed foods (UPFs), like meat-free sausages, burgers and nuggets.

Food and beverage producers depend on the functional properties of sugar to create appealing plant-based products as sugar plays a critical role in enhancing the taste, texture and colour of these products. For example, sugar can improve the flavour profile of non-dairy ice cream while extending shelf life.
5. Health-conscious consumers
Chronic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes are driving the demand for better dietary options, with 54% of consumers now prioritising nutrient rich foods when grocery shopping. [7] The rise in consumers seeking healthier options has increased demand for reduced calorie and sugar substitute sweeteners, such as stevia in food and beverages. However, many of these sweeteners or reduced calorie alternatives contain additives. This strips away clean labelling credibility and potentially marks the product as a UPF.
With the UK government introducing the next stage of legislation this year targeting high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) foods and UPFs to combat obesity, sugar ingredient brands are in a unique position. Sugar is plant-based and clean label as nearly all manufactured pure sugar ingredients are not ultra-processed products. Sugar supports food and beverage manufacturers to reformulate products that might otherwise be subject to HFSS scrutiny.
Actionable insights for food and beverage manufacturers
Being flexible and adaptable is the key to unlocking the potential of consumer trends. Here are some actionable insights for food and beverage brands seeking to navigate an evolving consumer landscape in 2025:

As consumer trends shift towards simplicity, sustainability and transparency, to be successful, products must adapt. Through embracing natural, minimally processed and compliant ingredient solutions, food and beverage producers can align with consumer interests and remain competitive.
We support our customers’ product innovation through our pure sugar expertise. To learn how we can support you to innovate, contact our Customer Services Team. For more sugar news and updates, continue browsing SUGARTALK and follow Ragus on LinkedIn.