We at Upscale Avenue have done some homework to see what is trending in this coming 2026 in the food sector!
- Ambient Ready Meals – Innovative, healthy and premium brands recently have driven the rise of ambient ready meals. Ambient ready meals are ready meals in which do not require refrigeration. It is convenient for modern consumers with a busy lifestyles.
- Bottled Drinking Water – Bottled water is still continue to dominate the market as the healthier choice in the drinks sector.
- Flavoured Functional Milk – Gut health, high protein contents and caffein have been the current direction for dairy products.
- Sports & Energy Drinks – Sports & Energy drinks are continuing to climb steadily in sales throughout the years and will see more natural ingredients added into them.
- Yoghurts & Yoghurts Drinks – Gut Healthy & Friendly food have been rising rapidly among the consumers and we will see the growth to continue in 2026.
- ‘Fricy’ – Fricy is a mash up of Fruity & Spicy! Think Mexico’s love of lime & chilli salt with mango, and Thailand’s fiery fruit forward salads, for example. It is predicted this flavour combination will be popping up in food products this year – such as Spicy Honey. Spicy Margaritas, Mexican Chamoy and Japanese Yuzu Kosho.
- Mini(Smaller) Portions of Snacks – Snacking foods such as nuts, chocolates, finger foods will see smaller portions that serve as as diet function, cute & fun.
- Added Function Food – The idea of food’s special function will be huge in 2026! Customers have been emphasizing towards quality and nutrient density. Consumers have been actively seeking products with added Protein, Fibre and Minerals in their packaged foods. Online searches for such products have seen a whopping growth of 2,578% over the past 12 months. Examples of added social function includes Protein Pasta, Protein & Fibre Ice Creams, Protein Instant Noodles and Probiotic Sodas.
- Global Flavours – With the world is getting smaller and with higher rate of travellers, one will see massive growths in international food trends. In 2025, Dubai Chocolate, Matcha & Turkish Pasta were seen dominating headlines across the globe. And in 2026, we expect to see major brands to come up with trends originated from South East Asia region such as Sambal Spicy Sauce and Laksa Noodles.
