Brits could be swapping sweet for bitter, turning beans into the main event and looking to their food cupboards for their next beauty fix in 2027, according to Whole Foods Market’s annual food and drink trend predictions for the UK.
The retailer’s Trends Council has identified eight trends it expects to shape how people shop, cook and eat over the year ahead – from the rise of “Beautrition”, where food and beauty increasingly collide, to a growing appetite for Japanese comfort food, intensely bitter flavours and premium beans and legumes.
Also on the agenda is a greater focus on where food comes from, simpler ingredient lists, reinvented versions of familiar dishes and a new wave of products designed to reduce waste – signalling a shift towards food that delivers on flavour, provenance, functionality and value.
The Whole Foods Market Trends Council – a collective of foragers, buyers and culinary experts – develops the predictions each year through industry experience, keen observation of consumer preferences, and long-standing relationships with emerging and established brands.
“This year’s predictions reflect a shift in how people are eating here in the UK. Customers are increasingly curious about where their food comes from, open to discovering new and reinvented flavours, and show an overall desire for simple, whole-food ingredients that deliver on both quality and taste. From the growing appetite for beans and legumes to Japanese-inspired comfort food and more complex bitter flavours, we’re seeing shoppers embrace a wider variety of ingredients and cuisines. At the same time, provenance and reducing waste continue to influence choices, showing that customers are thinking not only about what they eat, but where it comes from and how it is made,” shared Jade Hoai, Executive Lead of Purchasing, Whole Foods Market UK.
Whole Foods Market’s eight food trend trends to watch in 2027
The Bean Boom
Once relegated to side-dish status, beans and legumes are now becoming the main event as consumers seek whole-food sources of protein and fibre that are also budget-friendly and gut-friendly.
From brothy butter beans and crispy chickpeas to lentil-forward bowls and heirloom bean stews, chefs are increasingly treating legumes as premium ingredients rather than pantry basics. Social media is helping fuel the shift too, with viral dense bean salads, cosy “beans on toast” reinventions and aesthetically styled pantry content (dubbed BeanTok) centred around colourful heirloom varieties.
Try the Trend: Odysea Gigantes Beans In Tomato Sauce, Bold Bean Co Queen Butter Beans, Baked Masala Beans and Baked Smoky Chilli Beans, Brindisa Alubia Haricot Beans.
Beautrition
Glowing skin is becoming an inside job, as food, beauty and wellness continue to overlap.
Consumers are turning to ingredients rich in collagen, antioxidants, healthy fats and hydration, while products including collagen jelly sticks, olive oil shots and sea moss are blurring the lines between snack, supplement and skincare.
Nutrient-dense foods including sardines and oysters are gaining attention in the beauty conversation, alongside ingredients such as carrots, cucumber and cabbage.
Try the Trend: Doughlicious Collagen Banana Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie, Whole Foods Market Freekeh, Chickpea and Pomegranate bowl, Sea Sisters Cornish Sardines with Rosemary and Capers, Freja Chicken, Ginger & Turmeric Sipping Bone Broth, Free Soul CreaGlow, Freja Chocolate Collagen Protein Shake, Linwood’s Psyllium Husk.
The Yōshoku Effect
Japanese comfort food is set to make a bigger mark in the UK in 2027, with growing interest in yōshoku – Japanese interpretations of Western dishes.
Think tonkatsu, Japanese curry rice, omelet rice (omurice) and Wagyu hamburger steak (hambagu), alongside konbini-inspired katsu and tamago sandwiches.
Social media is accelerating discovery through viral omurice, shio pan and Japanese convenience-store content, while the trend is increasingly moving from restaurant menus into grocery aisles through sauces, bakery products, snacks and ready meals.
Try the Trend: Dream Sake Daiginjo Sake, Jude’s Matcha Ice Cream, Little Moon’s Green Tea Mochi, Ombars Oat Milk Matcha Latte Filled Bar, Clearspring Matcha Misa Maple Biscuits, XOXO Prebiotic Grape Kyoho Soda, Nudie Snacks Katsu Curry Cauliflower Crisps.
Bitter Done Better
Customers aren’t simply tolerating bitterness – they are actively seeking it out.
As palates become more adventurous, bitter ingredients are showing up on restaurant menus and in packaged goods and beverages – from amaro-inspired non-alcoholic serves to chocolate enhanced with ingredients like fennel pollen, tarragon, burnt sugar, liquorice root, ash and quinoa. Grocers are also offering more bitter greens, like radicchio, endive, escarole, broccoli rabe and dandelion greens. Meanwhile, social media continues to fuel curiosity around licorice, salmiak, bitter melon and other intensely bitter or herbal flavour experiences.
The trend is being driven by a combination of expanding tastes, digestive wellness and the growth of the sober-curious movement.
Try the Trend: Botivo Batch 46 Non-Acholic Aperitivo, The Dessert House Black Forest Tiramisu, Soul Fruit Chewy Mandarin Slices, Ocelot Chocolates Organic Dark Chocolate + Lemon Olive Oil, FATSO dark chocolate bars range.
Terroir’s New Territory
The idea of Terroir – the soil, climate and geography that shape a product’s taste and character – is moving far beyond the wine aisle.
Interest in provenance and Protected Designations of Origin are drawing customers to the distinct flavours of regional honey, single-estate chocolate, named-source grains and products with a stronger connection to where they were grown or made.
The concept has even expanded into categories like seafood through “merroir,” which highlights how the ocean environment influences flavour.
Try the Trend: Whole Foods Market Parmigiano Reggiano, Whole Foods Market Carlingford Oysters, Principe San Daniel Prosciutto, Lykke Coffee Ugandan Single Origin, Cox & Co Chocolate Aleppo Chilli & Cherry, Sea Sisters Cornish Sardines with Chilli Oil.
Dish Reinvention
Some of 2027’s most exciting foods may not necessarily taste new – they will simply appear in unexpected forms.
Consumers are increasingly embracing playful mash-ups and reinventions of beloved dishes into entirely new forms, from birria ramen and smash burgers tacos to cinnamon rolls focaccia.
Restaurants and food brands are also fuelling the trend with inventive creations like Korean BBQ-inspired duck confit and mango sticky rice ice cream.
Try the Trend: Whole Foods Market Iced Berry Chantilly Matcha Latte, Whole Foods Market Chicken and Stuffing Pie, Esti Everything But The Bagel Dip, Fleur De Lan Croissant Crisps, YEW Pickle Sparkling Water.
Ingredient Minimalism
When it comes to ingredient lists, less is becoming more.
Growing scrutiny around additives and ultra-processed foods (UPF), alongside viral “read your labels” content, is encouraging some consumers to seek out products with simpler formulations and recognisable ingredients.
Manufacturers are responding by simplifying ingredients lists, while new apps are emerging to help shoppers navigate products on shelf. Whole Foods Market’s own Quality Standards currently ban more than 300 food ingredients.
Try the Trend: Whole Foods Market Paleo Salmon and Chicken, Dorset Dairy Yoghurts, The Coconut Collab 100% Coconut Water, Cru8 Kaley Cheesy Keto Crisps, True Dates Sour Cola.
Zero Waste 2.0
The next phase of zero waste is moving beyond simply throwing less away.
Food and drink brands are increasingly looking at ways to build more circular systems, using ingredients and by-products that may previously have gone unused.
Rubies in the Rubble transforms surplus fruit and vegetables into condiments, while DASH Water uses wonky fruit that might otherwise go to waste to flavour its sparkling drinks. Elsewhere, Nibs Etc. gives ingredients such as leftover fruit and vegetable pulp a second life, turning food by-products into granola and other everyday products.
Retailers are also continuing to explore refill models, bulk formats and partnerships designed to keep food out of landfill.
Try the Trend: Whole Foods Market bulk bins and Make Your Own peanut butter machines, Rubies in the Rubble Vegan Mayonnaise and Mustard, Dash Water range, Nibs Etc. Honey Oat and Almond Granola, Face Off Oil Milk Cleanser, Northern Pasta Co. Range.
