Nestlé is one of the largest food companies in the world. So, with such a major interest, they can be trusted to have their corporate thumb on gustatory trends for 2025. And It’s always instructive to note their annual predictions…
Resealable snack packages: An icon of emerging ‘little treat culture’…
The food giant has an unmatched stake in in correctly predicting coming food universe trends. Nestlé owns least 2,000 food and related brands worldwide, including healthcare, performance nutrition and even pet care products.
People take note…
So, when they release their annual predictions for the coming year, a lot of people take note. Nestlé has identified four major trends or movements it expects to se surface or strengthen in 2025…
‘Newstalgia’
Marketing types can’t help themselves when it comes to coining new words to name everything from commodities to concepts. ‘Newstalgia’ in particular refers to the movement among food processors and restaurateurs to revive ‘heritage’ and ‘retro’ concepts and products – but with crucial 21st Century twists..
“This is an attempt by marketers to cater to elder millennials while also introducing Gen Z to some-thing they might never have tasted before,” Marnie Shure writes in Food & Wine. “Take White Castle, for example, which brought back its 1921 Slider (see photo, top of page) — a recipe formulated to taste exactly like the burgers 100 years ago did — and then added ghost pepper cheese to it for a modern twist.”
A number of other Fast Food purveyors and manufacturers have jumped on this bandwagon. Not the least of which has been Oscar Mayer, which is currently running a promotion specifically targeted to baby Boomers. The older set are being challenged to submit videos of themselves singing the Oscar Mayer Bologna jingle. Significant prizes are offered.
Nestlé expects Newstalgia to continue strong through 2025, “as brands try to keep multiple genera-tions and demographics engaged with their products.
Little treats
Nestlé notes that Gen Z – defined young folks now aged 12 to 27 – is the strongest demographic for snack sales. As such, one it’s leading trends is what the industry has dubbed ‘little treat culture‘ (LTC). LTC refers to the growing tendency among younger, on-the-go folks to reach for little snacks to keep them going as they rocket through their days. It’s might be called the polar opposite of the ‘Family Size’ or ‘Party Pack’ movements a few decades back, which emphasised sharing and group activities.
LTC has been marked by the proliferation of resealable plastic pouch packaging. This concept lets the Gen Zer pop open a pack of ‘treats’, grab just a few, and close it back up for later. Resealable packs have appeared on all sorts of products – notably cookies.
“We believe in the power of intentional indulgence and celebrating the small moments that bring us joy,” Loacker USA president T.J. Rooney said in the statement. “We are delighted to offer our popular dark chocolate wafers in a convenient format for anyone to enjoy at any time of day, no matter where they are.”
Global and spicy flavors
‘Global’ and spicy flavours have had a really strong run over the past several years. Snack and Fast Food companies have been in a headlong race to see who can produce the ‘hottest’ products – short of landing intrepid fans in hospital, or in extreme cases, the morgue.
But Nestlé says the Hot and Spicy Stakes have hit a wall, and the trend in n2025 will be toward middle-ground spicy flavours – such as the recently popular ‘Swicy’ sweet-and-spicy crossbreed – and more complex exotics, in general.
Nestlé is betting heavily on this prediction, readying two new frozen brands of Mexican and Asian ‘global flavour’ foods: Tapatio and Mings, respectively. That hpould tell us something…
Home-cooked convenience
Sounds like a contradiction in terms. But Nestlé insists it’s a ‘thing, and defines it as ‘flavor done fast’ — home cooking that relies on pre-made sauces, marinades, and prepped ingredients like pre-cut veggies to create something comforting in as little time as possible. Older folks who no longer have the energy to stand in front a stove for hours cooking, and Millennial-and-younger types who value convenience but still want it ‘fresh’, are apparently gravitating in this direction.
The persistence of excessive food delivery fees, and the probability that restaurant dining – including the Fast Food option – will remain pricey, Nestlé says more and more of us will be doping ‘home-cooked convenience’ as 2025 wears on.
My take
I can’t argue too much with Nestlé on those predictions. On reflection, Erin and I have already started seguing toward ‘home-cooked convenience’. Though, as retires caterers and professional cooks, we haven’t – and will never – resort to pre-prepped ingredients. Our version focuses on minimal ingred-ients for maximum flavour and satisfaction, while maintaining a healthy overall diet.
And that’s not a bad principle on which to base one’s cooking philosophy, at all…
~ Maggie J.
https://www.foodandwine.com/nestle-food-trends-report-2025-8742880