For 2026, Whole Foods Market predicts shifts in grocery products and home cooking, while the National Restaurant Association forecasts what may appear on restaurant menus. Their lists point to familiar comforts with new flavors, convenience, and value—but they are forecasts, not proof that every trend is already widespread.
How to read the 2026 food forecasts
The two lists cover different parts of the food world. Whole Foods Market’s October 8, 2025 forecast focuses on retail products, food at home, and packaging. Its Trends Council includes foragers, buyers, and culinary experts; the retailer says its predictions draw on industry experience, consumer observation, and collaboration with brands. These are retailer predictions, not measured adoption rates. Whole Foods Market’s 2026 forecast is the source for the eight trends below.
The National Restaurant Association’s November 19, 2025 culinary forecast concerns restaurant menus and operations. It drew on insights from hundreds of culinary professionals surveyed in October 2025. Its companion summary, published November 20, says nearly 300 chefs and industry operators weighed in; that is a contributor count, not a representative consumer poll. The Association’s culinary forecast and its 2026 summary provide the details.
Neither organization provides comparable adoption or market-size figures for each individual prediction. Treat the examples as signals of what these organizations expect, not a ranking of what people already eat.
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Whole Foods Market’s eight grocery and at-home predictions
1. Beef tallow returns to the kitchen
Whole Foods predicts renewed interest in beef tallow as a cooking fat for frying and baking, including whipped and herb-infused versions. The retailer names Epic Provisions Beef Tallow, FOND Grass-Fed and Regenerative Beef Tallow, and South Chicago Packing Wagyu Beef Tallow Cooking Spray as examples. Those are products selected to illustrate the forecast, not independent product tests or health endorsements.
2. Fiber moves into more packaged foods
The forecast anticipates more fiber-forward pastas, breads, crackers, bars, and prebiotic drinks, with ingredients such as cassava, chicory, konjac, and oats. Whole Foods frames the interest around digestive wellness and satiety; that trend description is not evidence that a particular product prevents or treats a health condition.
3. Women farmers gain visibility
Whole Foods expects more attention to women in agriculture through media, events, brand stories, and packaging. The retailer points to the National Young Farmers Coalition’s grant program and notes that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer. This is a prediction about visibility and support, not a claim that women-owned products will dominate the market.
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4. Pantry staples become countertop décor
“Kitchen Couture” is Whole Foods’ name for visually distinctive packaging and pantry goods treated as display-worthy objects. Its examples include olive oil, hot sauce, tomatoes, tinned seafood, and chocolate. This is an aesthetic and packaging prediction, rather than a claim about taste or nutrition.
5. Frozen meals borrow from fine dining
The retailer predicts a broader selection of restaurant-inspired frozen meals, appetizers, and sides, including globally influenced foods such as arancini, pupusas, dumplings, and birria quesadillas. It presents these as convenient at-home options for meal planners and budget-conscious diners. An air fryer is one possible preparation method, not a necessary purchase.
6. Vinegar gets more uses—and more attention
Whole Foods expects interest in sipping tonics, fruit-infused vinegars, raw or unfiltered varieties, and premium small-batch products. It also points to vinegar in dressings, sauces, cocktails, mocktails, and creamy condiments. Social-media claims about drinking pickle brine to stabilize blood sugar are not established medical guidance.
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7. Sweets take a “mindful” turn
The forecast sees confectionery and snacks made with real fruit, honey, maple syrup, or modest amounts of cane sugar, as well as date-based candy imitations. Examples span spreads, chocolate, gummies, and snack bars. This is a prediction about product formulation; choosing one sweetener over another does not by itself make a sweet healthy.
8. Instant food gets an upgrade
Whole Foods predicts refreshed convenience options such as travel-ready latte sticks, instant ramen with add-ins, ready-made rice, meal cups, and shelf-stable meals. Social media, the retailer suggests, is helping update the image of instant food. These formats may suit pantry meals or desk-drawer lunches, but specific products may not be available in every market.
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What the National Restaurant Association expects on menus
The Association’s ten overall culinary trends mix dishes and ingredients with pricing, presentation, and operating choices:
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- Local sourcing
- Comfort foods
- Value menus and options
- Smashed burgers
- Clear menu labeling, icons, and cues
- Allergen-friendly menus
- Global comfort foods
- Cleaner recipes with fewer additives and dyes
- Proteins offered as add-ons
- Compostable or reusable packaging
Examples in its summary include customizable smashed burgers, Caribbean curry bowls, elevated instant noodle dishes, smoothie bowls, protein add-ons, and low- or no-alcohol drinks. The throughline is not a single cuisine: the Association describes restaurants balancing comfort and creativity with affordability. Its chief economist, Dr. Chad Moutray, summed up the emphasis this way: “Comfort and value are the twin pillars shaping America’s menus right now.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Beverage occasions are part of the forecast
In a separate summary published August 25, 2026, the National Restaurant Association says younger consumers are active, adventurous beverage customers, with Gen Z and millennials driving beverage-only occasions especially in mid-afternoon. The categories it identifies include lemonades, juices, smoothies, teas, coffee drinks, craft sodas, and other flavor-forward nonalcoholic options. It also says alcoholic drinks remain relevant, particularly in full-service restaurants, where discovery, local sourcing, tastings, pairings, events, and permitted convenient formats are possible strategies. The Association’s 2026 Beverage Trends summary covers these findings.
One figure in that public summary is specific to delivery: 83% of delivery customers say they would order beverages more often if they were better packaged. It is a response from delivery customers, not an estimate for all restaurant diners or a measure of any food trend’s popularity.
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What the forecasts have in common—and what they do not
Across the grocery and restaurant lists, several themes recur: familiar comfort foods paired with new flavors, convenient formats, wellness-related positioning, and attention to value. But the lists are not directly interchangeable. A prediction about fiber-forward packaged foods is a retail product trend; a smashed burger or clearer menu cue is a restaurant menu or operating trend. Neither list establishes how widely a given idea will spread.
For a practical watchlist, look for tallow and fiber-forward foods in grocery aisles; premium frozen dishes and upgraded instant meals in convenience-focused sections; and global comfort dishes, customizable burgers, and better-presented drinks on restaurant menus. Their presence in a forecast is a reason to notice them—not a guarantee that they will appear everywhere.
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