FOOD AND DRINK TRENDS 2025

Proactive Practices: Sustainability food trends 2025

71% of consumers agree that they try to lead an environmentally friendly lifestyle* (+3 percentage points vs 2023)*
7 in 10 say that sustainability is an important factor when deciding which out of home venue to visit*
23% of 18-44 year olds choose where to eat based on eco-friendly options (vs 19% average)***

What is the Proactive Practices trend all about?

Consumers are still highly conscious of their impact within their own lifestyles and when they make choices in the out of home sector, and this isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. They are on the lookout for more sustainable dishes, ingredients and what venues are actively doing to support charities and local communities as well as to reduce their emissions. In fact, there are a number of different elements and practices that attract interest and enthusiasm from consumers.

3 things you need to know about the Proactive Practices trend

  • People will pay more for sustainable choices:

    45% of consumers say that they are willing to pay more for food and drink when out, if they know it’s coming from sustainable sources*, and 41% would be willing to pay more for low-carbon dishes*.

  • Your customers are clued up about your business!

    Over half of consumers claim to be aware of the sustainability reputation of the brands they engage with. **** So make sure you proactively build your sustainability strategy, culture and profile, as these are all closely linked.

  • Celebrating diversity and inclusion

    54% of consumers like venues that celebrate diversity and inclusion. So whether that’s celebrating Pride, or talking about your approach to equality, diversity and inclusion, consumers will be interested.

Reducing carbon

61% of consumers would like to see the venue they’re eating at is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint.

How can you reduce emissions?

Find out more

Seasonality

50% of consumers prefer to choose only seasonal produce on a menu.

What are the best ways to work seasonality into your menu?

Find out more

Certifications

20% believe that certification from a recognized sustainability organisation is important for the reputation of food and drink brands.

But which certifications do consumers recognise?

Find out more

Regenerative farming

58% of consumers find it appealing for menus to include information about regenerative farming practices

How can you build this into your offer?

Find out more

Sustainable seafood

56% of consumers are concerned about the sustainability of their favourite fish and seafood choices.

But what aspects will they pay more for?

Find out more

Reducing food waste

More than a third believe that food and drink waste reduction initiatives are key in creating a reputation for eating and drinking brands. ****

So consumers recognise that reducing food waste is important, and they are right, as food waste contributes to global emissions. In fact, one recent study found that the global food system, from production through to consumption, emits around one-third of total annual greenhouse gas emissions – some 18Gt CO2e, and food waste causes approximately half of this.*****

But what steps are they expecting operators to take?

The vast majority i.e. 70% of consumers say it’s important to them that a venue reduces food waste by supporting community food kitchens.

You can also explore using an app like “Too Good to Go” to divert any excess dishes that have not been sold between meal times (e.g. breakfast buffets, left over bakery or sweet treats) or after service.

But more than half would be happy to choose dishes from the menus that are made from ‘would-be wasted ingredients’. Check out the recipes below.

Recipe and blog

  • Foodwaste recipe and blog

Foodwaste recipe and blog

Interested to find out more?

Use some of the WRAP’s free resources available to help you reduce food waste in your operation available here. And, you can join their food waste reduction roadmap here.

Find our fact sheet on foodwaste reduction here.

Reducing carbon

In a hospitality or foodservice business, it is most likely that your emissions will be largely attributed to the products that you buy, so sourcing sustainably is key. So, take a close look at your suppliers and what initiatives they have in place.

To find out more about what Bidfood are doing here, including our 2045 net zero target, and our Carbon Reduction Roadmap.

Sourcing locally doesn’t always reduce emissions, but nevertheless it’s also important to consumers. In fact, it’s the most important factor consumers believe creates a sustainable reputation for eating and drinking brands. Many of our depots offer locally sourced products so talk to your Account Manager about which might be suitable for your business.

61% of consumers would like to see the venue they are eating at is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint- and half of consumers would like to see them have a net zero target*
46% of consumers want to see the carbon food print of dishes on menus*
41% most importantly, would happily pay more for low-carbon dishes*

Seasonality

50% of consumers prefer to choose only seasonal produce on a menu

Regenerative farming

58% of consumers find it appealing for menus to include information about regenerative farming practices.* Foodies and Millennials are particularly attracted to this (+10 percentage points for Foodies vs the average and +5 percentage points for Millennials vs the average).
57% are interested in dishes made from ingredients grown using climate-friendly farming practices e.g. vertical or regenerative farming.*

To what extent are you aware of regenerative farming practices?

However, whilst almost a third of consumers know what regenerative and vertical farming practices are, half are unsure and 22% don’t know about them.

To what extent are people aware of regenerative farming practices

CGA by NIQ Bidfood 2025 Trends Survey; Sample size: 2000

What are the benefits of vertical farming?

  • Can be grown consistently and all-year round
  • Growing produce vertically reduces the amount of land required
  • Reducing the need for pesticides, and the impact of climate and pathogens
  • Providing greater food security.

Source: CGA by Nielsen Desk research

What are the benefits of regenerative farming?

  • Supporting healthy soils
  • Supporting biodiversity
  • Can restore productive, healthy and resilient ecosystems.

Source: Cranfield University

So, how can you build vertical and regenerative farming into your foodservice offer?

  • Talk to your suppliers and find out what sustainable farming practices they use.
  • Consider building ingredients into your menu that are produced using sustainable farming practices or which have organic certifications. And, make sure you profile the suppliers on your menu.

Interested to find out more?

Read the blog “What I learned about regenerative farming” written by our Head of Sustainability, Julie Owst, here

Certification

20% believe that certification from a recognized sustainability organisation is important for the reputation of food and drink brands

Certifications provide a handy shorthand for responsible practices that consumers value. Whilst consumers show a high level of awareness across the wide range of different ones, many don’t actively look for these when eating out.

There are also differences by age groups in which they actively look for, so it’s important to tailor those you feature on your menus to your customer profile.

What are the top 5 certifications people look for when engaging with venues when out?

  • Baby boomers

    1. Red Tractor 32%
    2. Fairtrade 30%
    3. British Lion Eggs 25%
    4. RSPCA Assured 22%
    5. Organic 16%

    baby boomer food trends
  • Gen X

    1. Fairtrade 32%
    2. Red Tractor 30%
    3. British Lion Eggs 25%
    4. RSPCA Assured 22%
    5. Organic 20%

    generation x food trends
  • Millennials

    1. British Lion Eggs 26%
    2. Fairtrade 24%
    3. Organic 22%
    4. Red tractor 21%
    5. Food for Life 18%

    millennial food trends
  • Gen Z

    1. Fairtrade 32%
    2. Food for Life 20%
    3. Organic 19%
    4. RSPCA Assured 15%
    5. British Lion Eggs 14%

The certification landscape is also evolving. Many organisations are aligning with emerging ones like B-Corp status e.g. Pizza Pilgrims and Carbon Friendly Dining, particularly younger demographics.

Sustainable seafood

56% of consumers are concerned about the sustainability of their favourite fish and seafood choices

Which aspects of sustainable fishing and which certifications are most important in shaping consumer choices?

Great ways to leverage the Proactive Practices trend

We’ve highlighted some top tips you can put in place in your own business…

  • Talk transparency!

    Communicate about your practices and certifications on menus and packaging – you’ll attract more like-minded customers!

  • Education! Education!

    Engage your customers in your mission for example with workshops or collateral. Many consumers are concerned about the impact of their food and drink choices but may lack knowledge of how they can make a difference. Help them understand how to reduce food waste, what different certifications mean in practice and learn more about the sustainable ingredients and suppliers featured on your menu.

  • Responsible sourcing

    Select suppliers and ingredients that prioritise sustainable practices e.g. partner with local farmers and producers or those that have put in place e.g. organic or regenerative farms.

  • Don’t forget about the flexitarians

    Make sure you consider both those who are exclusively plant-based and those who wish to eat less meat.

  • Nose to tail

    Consider how you can use all parts of an animal- a great challenge for your chefs and a cost effective way of buying fresh meat.

  • Would-be wasted ingredients

    Be creative and confident in using and talking about them, it’s a real opportunity to challenge your chefs! For inspiration check out our recipes here.

  • Sustainable packaging

    Source and offer sustainable solutions (e.g. recyclable, compostable) but make sure you’ve put in place the right waste streams to dispose of them in the right way.

  • Nudge and nurture

    Offer incentives for customers to bring their own reusable containers for takeaways.

  • Community support

    Be a shining beacon of inspiration– share what you’re doing to work for the greater good and your local community.

  • Stay tuned

    There’s lots of innovation in packaging, materials and ingredients… keep an eye out for exciting new products and support those businesses that are inventing them. Sign up to Bidfood’s Open Door newsletter and find out which small producers Bidfood are championing.

Interested to find out more?

Find our fact sheet on Sustainable Fish here.

Read the blog “10 reasons to buy the MSC blue fish label” written by our Campaign & Activation Manager, Kirstie Smith, here.

How important is the locally sourced food trend in 2025?

For 34% of consumers, locally sourced products were the most important aspects of sustainability when it came to choosing an eating out venue, according to CGA by Nielsen in their 2023 Brandtrack survey. We don’t see this trend receding, because consumers equate provenance with quality, freshness and flavour (see our 2024 Rustic and Rural trend here).

In our survey this year*, we found that it’s not just food and drink local to where they live that consumers are interested in. In fact, 43% of the consumers we surveyed said they would like to try Scottish, Welsh and or Irish cuisines out of home in the next 1 to 2 years, and 36% said they were already eating them.

How are sustainable food trends going to evolve in 2025?

Reducing packaging and plastic waste, cutting our emissions, and seasonality have been a focus for consumers and businesses for some time, as has reduction in emissions and food waste. However, as we become more aware of the ways that our food and drink supply chain impacts the environment, topics like regenerative agriculture and lower carbon options are becoming more current.

Encouragingly, we’ve also seen this year that more than half of are happy to choose dishes that are from would be wasted ingredients.

How will climate friendly farming be different in 2025?

Sustainable farming practices have been in place for thousands of years, and there have been a number of organic control bodies in the UK certifying products for many years. For example, The Soil Association which launched its Soil Association certification scheme in 1973.

Over the last couple of years, however, regenerative agriculture has been a buzzword that has started to emerge, as it’s seen as a lever for improving environmental outcomes in a number of areas: regeneration of soil, land and biodiversity. With the increased realisation that intensive farming practices can degrade soil quality and quantity and result in higher greenhouse gas emissions, amongst other impacts, the holistic approach of regenerative farming looks to be an area of growing interest.

Interested in finding out more? Take a look at our fact sheet on Regenerative Farming here 

How will food waste be reduced in 2025?

Target, measure and act are a key start point when it comes to reducing food waste in any business. If you don’t know how much food you are wasting, then you can’t set a target and measure your progress against it. And, if we don’t join together as an industry we can’t see what progress we’re making overall and share best practice. Wrap offer some great tools as part of their Food Waste Reduction Roadmap which you can sign up to. They also offer some great free tools and resources to help you which are available here. Too Good to Go is an app that many business are now using to sell off would-be wasted food on a daily basis.

What sustainable foods will be on the rise in 2025?

Some of the findings from our survey this year have pointed to consumers finding appealing dishes that are low in carbon, made from would-be wasted ingredients, seasonal produce, locally sourced ingredients and locally caught or sustainable fish and seafood options.* There is also broader interest in regenerative farming practices and plant-based dishes, as well as certifications such as Fairtrade, Red tractor, British Lion Eggs.

What are the big challenges faced when implementing the Proactive Practices sustainability trend in 2025?

Whilst there’s a lot of innovation in the area of sustainable solutions right now, there’s a big gap between our expectations and what’s possible that only further research and development can close.

It’s also increasingly important to be able to validate any claims you make. It is difficult for consumers to make sense of the many certifications and claims about the environmental performance of food, drink, services and companies. Some claims have been found to be unreliable which has meant that consumers trust in them can be low. So, there’s some key legislation that businesses need to take into account when making any claims – the UK Green Claims code- find out more here.

However, it’s important to remember sustainability often makes good business sense. Cutting food waste, reducing your energy, and offering more plant-based choices on menus are examples of this. And we learned from our survey this year that consumers are often happy to pay more too: 45% said that they would be “willing to pay more for food and drink when out, if they knew it was coming from sustainable sources”*.

What sustainable foods look best on your menu in 2025?

Consumers are interested in the story behind dishes, information about where the ingredients are sourced from, how it is grown or caught, any information about whether it is a meat-free option, a low carbon option, a seasonal option, regenerative farming practices involved, whether the product or ingredient carries any certifications, is made from would-be wasted ingredients. So make sure you include details in your dish descriptions, being sure to validate any information or claims you do reference in line with the UK Green Claims code.

Promoting sustainable choices can be done with a little ‘nudging’. For example, by placing more sustainable choices at the top or bottom of menu list, in a box or featuring a photograph of the dish.

Listen to our Talking Food podcast episodes on sustainability

  • Podcasts

Podcasts

Discover our other food and drink trends for 2025

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  • Flavours Less Travelled - World food trends 2025
  • Closer to Home - Food trends UK 2025
  • Chocolicious - Drink trends 2025
  • Proactive Practices - Sustainable food trends 2025
  • Friendly Fibre - Healthy food trends 2025
Find out more

Sources:

‘* Source: CGA by NIQ Bidfood 2025 Trends Survey; Sample size: 2000

** Source: Kantar Profiles/Mintel, October 2023; February 2024 Base: 1,101 internet users aged 16+ who buy drinks from coffee shops; 1,900 internet users aged 16+ who eat in or order takeaway from food outlets or restaurants; 627 internet users aged 18+ who consider themselves to have a physical/cognitive issue

*** Source: Kantar Profiles/Mintel, February 2024; Base: 1,693 internet users aged 18+ who have eaten in at a restaurant or pub or ordered takeaway in the last month

**** Opus CGA Survey January 2024; Base: 4,982 UK OOH consumers

***** Cradle-to-grave emissions from food loss and waste represent half of total greenhouse gas emissions from food systems; Jingyu et al, published in Nature Food, 13/3/23

Source:

CGA by NIQ Bidfood 2025 Trends Survey Sample size: 2000

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