Welcome to the Culinary Tides’ monthly Culinary Compass, where we chart the course of the food industry’s latest trends, data, and developments. Each month, we’ll be sharing our top research picks, breaking news, and favorite industry insights, alongside all the latest from Culinary Tides, Inc.—including trend insight research, upcoming speaking events, and expert navigation advice. We are excited to bring you these curated highlights and exclusive content, designed to keep you ahead of the curve in our ever-evolving industry.
Let us support your strategy plan for 2026/27! Consider partnering with Culinary Tides, Inc. as your Fractional Foresight team, or for White space identification & navigation, Trend origin, longevity & trajectory reports, Concept development & refinement, or Ideation, Concept review & Strategy workshops.
Anchored Insight: Research
- Deloitte: Research examined alcohol purchasing behavior, finding nearly 40% were value seekers, at-home spending fell 20–40%, on-premise spending dropped over 50%, only 25% cited health, and one-third of adults aged 21–29 prioritized low- or no-alcohol options.
- Institute of Optimum Nutrition: Plant-based products contained 199 vs. 100 additives, 1,566 vs. 1,110 ingredients, and 39 vs. 31 E-numbers. Researchers found higher additive use but did not conclude greater health risk or exposure
Regulatory Ripples: Government Updates
- USA: FDA released its 2026 Human Foods Program guidance agenda covering caffeine labeling, “Healthy” claims, food facility registrations, and public comment opportunities for food manufacturers.
- USA: HHS announced FDA is finalizing a federal definition for
ultra-processed foods and may initiate new front-of-package
The Best of Future Bites: Conference Insights
What were the most interesting and exciting trend topics from recent conferences? Take a quick educational break from your day and enjoy this 5-minute look at a trend that impacts the food industry.
The Ozempic Revolution: How Obesity Drugs are Redefining Consumer Food Behaviors
Anchored Insight: Tech Launches
- Coca-Cola: Freestyle Equinox and Mixology dispensing technologies provide customizable beverage dispensing, operational monitoring, and consumer preference data for foodservice beverage production and menu development.
- U of Queensland: Fermentation-based microbial cell factories convert cane sugar into low-calorie rare sugars for food and beverage applications, supporting scalable alternative sweetener production and ingredient development.
Culinary Tides in the News
- QSRs are gaining ground in dispensed beverages – cstoredive.com – 6/15/26
- Grilling, family-style promotions expected to help retailers, restaurants capture Father’s Day seafood sales – seafoodsource.com – 6/15/26
- Culinary nostalgia for the 1930s arrives with Great Depression trends – supermarketperimeter.com – 4/14/26
- Seafood’s “accessible luxury” set to boost Mother’s Day sales at US restaurants, retail – seafoodsource.com – 5/8/26
- Culinary trends from the Depression era may be back – bakingbusiness.com – 4/13/26
- Multicultural shoppers shape mainstream flavor expectations in bakery – supermarketperimeter.com – 05/04/26
- How c-stores are positioning to win the protein wars – cstoredive.com – 04/29/26
Most forecasters track the past, instead of the forces shaping the future. We know how frustrating it is to piece together data that misses the full picture.
Culinary Tides distills noise into foresight, helping you make smarter moves – sooner. You’ll stop reacting to change and start anticipating it. With foresight, you’ll confidently navigate trends, outpace competitors, and lighten your workload.
💡When you schedule a Capabilities meeting, you’ll receive a free 1-hour foresight consult —focused entirely on your category and challenges.
Culinary Tides, Inc. is booking meetings now for those curious about our services:
Announcing the 2026/27 Shifting Sands Yearly Trends Report
Launching April 10, 2026
The 2026/27 Shifting Sands Yearly Trends Report will be released on April 10, and organizations that purchase before the release date will receive 25% off pre-launch pricing. After April 10, the report returns to full price.
This year, 2,880 individual predictions from 208 trusted sources were cross-analyzed and narrowed into the final trend set—so your team can focus on what truly matters instead of sorting through noise.
There is no other trends report covering this breadth of intelligence in one place.
Shifting Sands connects insights across Food, Beverage, Consumer, Health, and Technology, helping organizations understand how trends intersect—not just appear in isolation.
Inside the 2026/27 report, you’ll find:
- A validated final trend set, distilled from thousands of signals
- Clear explanations of what’s driving each trend and where it’s headed
- A searchable trend database for fast access to relevant insights
- 5 hours of post-purchase support to help your team apply the findings
Organizations that prepare early gain the most value—not just in savings, but in readiness.
Purchase before April 10 to secure 25% off pre-launch pricing.
If you have questions about the report or how teams are using it to guide strategy, I’m happy to help.
Don’t just chase trends — get ahead of them.
👉 Explore the Report