June 4, 2025 – Innova Market Insights releases yearly predictions for top food and beverage trends in the next calendar year. For 2025, the Innova Top Trend #8 is Tradition Reinvented. This trend captures the essence of a world that always is changing. Consumers are seeking authentic and traditional flavors of their heritage.
Traditional and Heritage Foods for Countries and Generations
Different countries around the world place different levels of value on authenticity of culinary culture and foods. Consumers from Asia (China and India), Latin America (Mexico and Brazil), and France place the greatest value on their own culture’s authentic foods, according to consumer trends research by Innova Market Insights. Consumers in the Asian countries of China, India, and Indonesia and the Latin American countries of Brazil and Mexico also place the highest value on authentic food from other countries and regions.
Millennials and Generation X consumers are the most interested in authentic foods from their own heritage and from other cultures. Generation Z and Boomer consumers are less interested.
Families and Communities Foster Tradition and Heritage
Approximately half of global consumers, according to Innova’s consumer trends research, attach great importance to enjoying food with their family, friends, and community. Another important aspect of enjoyment is having food from local producers. Combining family and friends, community, local foods, and global food culture can heighten the enjoyment in eating foods made from traditional recipes and cultural foods reflecting heritage.
Traditional Foods Offer Comfort During Times of Stress
Foods and meals can offer support to consumers by helping them share eating experiences and traditional flavors that offer comfort. A majority of global consumers, according to consumer trends research, say that they treasure heritage foods. This is especially true for consumers living in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Spain, whose desire for heritage through traditional foods is greater than the global average.
Traditional and older recipes bring the comforts of home to consumers around the world. Consumer trends research participants from Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Mexico lead others in their desire for traditional and heritage older recipes used for products on the supermarket shelf.
Tradition Reinvented Offers Opportunities for Brands
Innova’s #8 2025 Trend, Tradition Reinvented, offers several opportunities to brands. One is to target products made from traditional recipes to those who value them most, namely Millennials, Generation X, and consumers from Latin American and Asian countries. Brands can encourage consumers to share traditional foods with their families and communities. Another approach might be to use a traditional recipe as the basis for innovation and then adapt and update the format and positioning of the dish, make the dish more convenient, and encourage different occasions for consuming the dish. Brand positioning and communications can emphasize comfort, tradition, global food culture, and culinary heritage.
Target Traditional and Cultural Products to Millennials and Gen X
Consumers who are Millennials or Generation X most value foods and dishes with cultural heritage. Consumers in these two generations appreciate foods from their own culture, as well as authentic foods from other cultures. Product-related communications around heritage and tradition, including traditional methods of cooking and preparation, are especially important in the regions where tradition matters most, namely Latin America and Asia.
Emphasize the Community Aspects of Heritage Foods
Traditions come alive when people share meals together. This is applicable to meals featuring local foods and meals that support local farmers and producers. Brands can consider innovating with convenient product features such as easy-to-prepare and ready-to-serve and local ingredients. These features may be especially valued for entertainment. Consumers also globally say in consumer trends research that they are attracted to products that name a local producer or artisan, so co-branding or a partnership may be a way to support consumer values and celebrate global food culture.
Traditional Recipes May Need Updating
Sometimes traditional recipes can feel like the same old dish, so brands can take advantage of the opportunity to innovate a heritage dish to position it differently, package it for convenience, and encourage new occasions.
Remember to Use Heritage and Cultural Claims
Some food and beverage categories, for example, soup, may not carry or display traditional or heritage claims. This misses an opportunity since many soups represent culinary culture and heritage and also offer comfort to the consumer. Comfort can be combined with tradition and heritage in positioning, especially for categories that are not taking advantage of opportunities to communicate heritage.
What’s Next in Traditional Foods and Beverages?
Expect brands to acquire other brands that offer authentic cultural dishes. Watch for changes in packaging to make traditional foods and traditional drinks more convenient for the consumer. Look for the combination of cultural authenticity, global food culture, and local ingredients and products. Observe the efforts of large brands to expand their product lines with various global flavors and pair these with digital promotions for cross-cultural experiences. Delight in mash-ups among different countries, authentic flavors, food and beverage categories, and eating occasions. And as nationalist movements expand around the world, consumers may return to traditional cultural cuisines and foods as a way to show pride in their country and community. This opens the door for companies to acquire others and expand across borders.
This article is based on Innova’s Top 10 Trends 2025: #8 – Tradition Reinvented – Global report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more
