2025 CPG Outlook: Industry Update & Trends Predictions

As we step into the new year, we take a look at some trends that we predict will drive the CPG industry forward in 2025. We dive deep into topics like consumer preferences with staying power, rising functional ingredients, packaging pivots, disruption through textures, and how shoppers are searching for products differently in the age of AI.

IN THIS REPORT YOU’LL LEARN: 

• How the natural products industry has performed in the past year
• How healthspan and personalization continue to gain consumer attention and how consumers are thinking about it
• What are the emerging functional ingredients in the supplement space
• What flavors and textures have grasped consumer attention
• How AI and social media continue to change the way consumers look for products
• And much more!

External Forces

Consumer sentiment is finally improving, and the economy is solidly on the rise.

While still fragile, economists agree virtually all signs are positive of a flourishing economy.   Capital should increasingly be freeing up and starting to flow in the months to come.

Source: *Fed Funds rate on 11/21; up from 4% prior year; **52 week inflation in 10/23 via Food CPI ***SPINS Consumer Panel, 12 weeks ending 11/5/24

Our Industry

NPI Sales and unit growth are strong. Once again, the natural industry has resiliently weathered the storm!

Natural product sales are again consistently outpacing conventional products. The Natural Channel’s growth is outpacing other channels. As more investment begins to flow, brands and retailers with profitable growth should benefit most.

Source: *Fed Funds rate on 11/21; up from 4% prior year; **52 week inflation in 10/23 via Food CPI ***SPINS Consumer Panel, 12 weeks ending 11/5/23

Natural and Wellness Products Are Driving Growth Across All Channels

Natural products growth is outpacing conventional product growth in every channel. The Natural Channel has the highest overall growth rate and the highest NPI growth — a consistent recent month after month trend.

Consumer Sentiment

Within our industry, new values-based consumers are joining the movement. They are spending more and buying more often.

With younger shoppers even further favoring natural, wellness, and transparency, there are strong consumer preference tailwinds expected for years to come.

Source: SPINS All Outlet Consumer  Panel (powered by Circana), 12 weeks ending .Oct 6, 2024

Fewer Products ≠ Less Innovation

When looking at the number of new products launched in the F&B Department, we can see that it has been decreasing with each year. Coming out of COVID, many manufacturers chose to focus on their core products as they dealt with supply chain issues. As that began to abate, rising interest rates meant that investment dollars had begun to dry up. Thus, brands had to be more diligent around spending, causing a shift to a more profitable growth strategy and a more disciplined R&D strategy.

However, fewer newer products doesn’t necessarily mean less innovation. Rather, it means that brands are evolving.

R&D strategies have evolved with tight investment dollars, yet innovation is still critical to stay ahead. Approaching innovation with disciplined, quality brand launches, has proven to be a winning formula. This has led many to cut off the tail of their product lines and focus instead on possible new categories that might yield a bigger impact.

3 of the Top 5 Innovation Categories Are Within Beverage

The new item dollar share index helps us understand how pronounced the innovation is in the context of food & beverage.

Shopper Preferences With Staying Power

The preferences and behaviors transforming our industry over the next few years.

A new generation of reliably health-focused, and increasingly self-centric, values-oriented consumers.

Biological Age and Beyond

The logical next step to thinking about healthspan – proteomic clocks etc. can serve as a check engine light for our health.

As consumers become drawn to the idea of healthspan, many are leaning into the idea of lowering their biological age – this can span from maintaining cellular health to ensuring they have strong muscles that can help them age gracefully and prevent falls.

Aging has mostly been talked about in the context of outward appearance, but consumers are now looking inward and optimizing for better functionality and performance as they age.
Though chronological age remains a strong predictor of chronic disease and even death, the idea of the ‘biological age’ could add depth to conversations around health.

From proteomic clocks to epigenetic clocks, these ‘omic clocks can be used to predict biological age. Based on DNA methylation, these clocks could one day in the future help with testing interventions that could extend longevity.

Consumers Turn To “Biohacking”

With consumers treating themselves as n=1 studies, routine adjustment happen in practically real time.

Optimization Through Wearables

From rings to watches, consumers can track sleep, stress and so much more – allowing them to optimize like never before.

Consumers not only want to live sophisticated, but they want to maintain their health & body as they grow older. Now more than ever, there are ways to track metrics ranging from your hours of sleep to your blood oxygen saturation, all through a gadget that can be bought at the click of a button.

Consumers are finding ways to optimize their lives through the real-time feedback these health tech wearables such as fitness trackers, blood glucose monitors, etc. can provide. Plus, you can be sure that whatever you’re changing in your routine is working for you rather than following advice that is meant to work for the general population.

As health tech wearables grow more sophisticated, we could enter a world where food, beverages, supplements, personal care, and more can be tailored to a specific person with the right dosage and combination to achieve a specific goal in mind.

Nutrient Density

Personalized diet, eating protein first? More fiber, fast and slow carbs. Real-time feedback on blood sugar.

These days we’re inundated with nutrition advice – eat more fiber, eat protein for your first meal of the day, think about slow and fast carbs and the list goes on and on. But, how can you know for sure that any of this is helping you?

Before, you could only rely on how you ‘felt’ that is unless you took a blood test or have been prescribed a blood glucose monitor.

However, in 2024 blood glucose monitors are available over-the-counter, enabling anyone to truly track how their eating habits affect their blood sugar.

This real-time feedback allows consumers to understand how their dietary choices affect them and make changes to their diets with more confidence.

Personalized diets could be seeing their next evolution as tech companies try to push the envelope next with no-prick blood glucose monitoring in the works.

Skincare to Healthcare

Skincare got a head start in the personalization game, will healthcare be able to go down the same route?

Personalization in the skincare sector has boomed in recent years. Aided by social media, consumers have become better educated on all things antioxidants and acids.

Just 10 years ago, salicylic acid and niacinamide were compound names that the average consumer might not be familiar with but fast forward to the present and consumers are getting these active ingredients down to specific percentage points when purchasing their skincare.

Will we reach that era of personalization with supplements soon? Will there be a day when consumers can buy a pill that has 5mg melatonin, 10mg ashwagandha, 5mg creatine, and so forth instead of the multivitamin that’s meant for the average person – it’s an all-in-one supplement meant for a specific person?

We Cannot Underestimate the Likely Impact of Glp-1s, Particularly With the Likely Approval of Oral Versions

Quality of Life and Holistic Wellness Has Become Integral to Our “Personal Brand”

Ingredients to Watch in 2025

While functional ingredients have a storied and impactful presence within the health and wellness products industry, their impact on categories and their resonance with shoppers continues to change and evolve.

1. 2025 will bring innovation and breakout trends rooted in wellness and functionality to a category near you.
2. Some will fail to gain long-term traction while others will reverberate across the aisles for years.
3. With SPINS’ attribution offering multiple unique views of the functional ingredient and product marketplace, be in the best position possible to make smarter and more strategic decisions for your brand or category.

Functional Ingredients: What’s Next?

Linking Functional Foods & Ingredients to Health Trends

Let’s unpack key health trends to better understand how shoppers will approach functionality and nutritional profiles in 2025.

This can help uncover a lasting trend with broad marketplace appeal. Keep an eye on products that support these health trends as well as functional ingredients that combat the negative affects of unhealthy behaviors and risk factors of chronic disease.

The Point of Origin: What’s Emerging in Supplements?

Trending need-states often take root in Vitamins & Supplements before crossing over to food & beverage. By looking at SPINS Supplement subcategories and Health Focus attribute, we can see some early signals begin to surface:

Health Focus

Knowing what shoppers are looking for in supplements helps unlock cross-over potential and formulation considerations.

Anti-Aging & Cellular Health

Look for Supplements, Ingredients, and Foods that Support Healthy Aging to Continue to Prosper in 2025 as the population gets older.

High Protein Snacking

Products in the Snack and Beverage categories with 15g+ of Protein amount to $4.9B – that’s nearly 70% of the sales volume attribute to the Protein Supplements category. With 9.3% growth, we predict high protein innovation to continue across a wide range of categories – from pantry staples to frozen meals.

Functional Beverage Ingredients

Functional beverages are tapping into rising consumer interests and expanding the audience beyond traditional beverage buying habits. Up-and-coming ingredients and formulations will continue to create new opportunities for brands and retailers.

Hemp, Cannabis, and Euphorics

Hemp-derived THC regulations paired with more mindful consumption are breathing new life into the mainstream cannabis and euphorics market, specifically in Convenience.

Cannabis

• Hemp-derived delta-9 can be Farm Bill compliant and viewed as legal
• Shoppers continue to seek out alternatives to alcohol
• A rising tide: a viable pathway for mainstream hemp means additional spotlights on other euphoric ingredients
• THCV (appetite reduction, entourage effect) and other hemp compounds hitting the market

Clean & Sustainable Ingredients

A rising imperative for sustainable innovation in the modern kitchen.

Essential Space Understanding

A known approach to innovation has focused on introducing natural or premium products within established and stagnant categories. However, this approach is evolving as consumers develop greater culinary knowledge and engage in more component-based cooking. Rather than relying solely on certifications, they are exploring individual ingredients that blur category lines and have new origin stories to craft exciting, customized meals, redefining their everyday routines.

This shift reflects an elevation driven by a diversification of product types and enhanced storytelling through packaging, as consumers seek both creative inspiration and meaningful connections with the foods they choose.

Everyday Staple Elevation

Protein diversification and allergen support driving behaviors.

The American pantry is undergoing a reimagining as consumers redefine what constitutes “staple products”. No longer limited to basic essentials, shoppers are seeking premium products across traditional categories like dairy, condiments, meats, and carbohydrates. This shift is driven by a growing emphasis on functionality, with consumers prioritizing products that support specific health goals, aligning with the evolving mentality from maximizing lifespan to optimizing healthspan.

The pursuit of gastrotourism—the desire to experience global flavors from home—and the increased focus on honing culinary expertise have further reshaped the modern kitchen. As a result, pantries now feature artisanal sauces and ancient grains that blur the lines between indulgence and wellness, transforming everyday cooking into a space for experimentation and intentional nourishment.

Packaging Pivots

Marrying storytelling with form for accelerated purchase cycles.

The reimagining of the American pantry is also accompanied by an accelerated shift toward products with a design-forward look and feel. The market has redefined the contemporary visual identity, moving away from pastoral colors and rustic cues traditionally used to communicate quality and sustainability. Today’s consumers are drawn to packaging that feels current, with design becoming a critical part of the value equation.

Natural and premium brands must embrace larger pack sizes to offer better value and build routine use, helping fend off competitors.

Packaging will remain a crucial storytelling tool, with a growing reliance on materials like glass, which have gained renewed relevance due to concerns regarding microplastics and forever chemicals. Brands are now balancing design, and social responsibility to meet the evolving expectations of the modern consumer.

Finding Flavor Ante

Eliminating the ethnic aisle and redefining the notion of fusion.

American consumers continue to shift away from sugar, seeking intense, satisfying flavors that offer depth without relying on sweetness. This has driven interest in sour and spicy combinations, introducing bold formulations that cater to evolving palates. At the same time, the awareness of umami continues to find new form factors, with the reappraisal of MSG leading to broader acceptance along with layered savory flavors.

Alongside this, we see a shift toward new sources of salinity—as exemplified by the rise of the dirty martini—which enhances familiar products in unexpected ways. Moving forward, these trends will converge, with products blending sour, spicy, and salty elements, offering adventurous, layered taste experiences that reflect the modern consumer’s desire for more complex and exciting flavors.

Disruption Through Textures

New textures have shaken up quiet categories by bringing a novel experience to consumers.

Texture in food is a way to shake up categories, often ones that haven’t seen much innovation.
Chili crisp for example brought a crunch to the condiments aisle that has been largely saucy or liquid-y in general, giving consumers a sense of novelty.

Gummy clusters, Nerds’ standout product combines nostalgia with novelty as they pair their classic beloved crunchy nerds with a gummy center. A texture that had not been seen in the candy aisle yet.

But, what’s next for texture? Well, the jerky category could be in for some disruption with chip-like products hitting the market, deviating away from the chewy texture of Jerky to a crispy, crunchy version. Additionally, there could be space for crunchy snacks with a creamy/jam filling as consumers look for antagonistic textures in their products.

TikTok Trending

Viral recipes in 2024 are often a play on textures from crunchy candied fruit, to crispy rice paper croissants.

As consumers continue to explore with their food, texture seems to play a large part. The viral recipes this year seem to combine antagonistic textures or bring textures that are opposite of a familiar ingredient.

Tanghulu: A candied fruit dessert that has a glass-like sugar crunch on the outside and juicy fruit on the inside

Rice Paper Croissant: Air-fried layers of rice paper that result in a crispier croissant

Cheese Pickle, A fried single slice of American cheese with a pickle wrapped inside. If done right, the cheese is crispy and the pickle stays crunchy

Pasta Chips: Air-fried pasta that brings pasta into the snack category with a new crunchy texture

Dubai Chocolate: A milk chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream and kataifi (thin, shredded pastry dough)

The shift in where, and how, shoppers discover, engage, and commit to brands

Evolution of Search

Search engines used to reign supreme but now, consumers have more ways to find the products they’re looking for.

Top Sources of Information for Supplement Purchases

Where supplement consumers are primarily getting information on the supplements they’re purchasing.

AI Search Takeover

Below is what it’s like to ask AI what are the best healthy sodas – how does a brand get on a list like this?

AI, AI, AI. It’s all anyone talks about these days and as consumers integrate it into their search journey, it could change the ways brands choose to market their products online.

Some consumers have become unhappy with search engines like Google as low-quality spam articles and SEO-gamified articles show up in search results. Some have turned to AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity to get their answers, so they don’t have to trawl through multiple pages themselves.

Now, consumers often add ‘Reddit’ (a forum site) to the end of their Google search so they can get relevant answers from what seems to be genuine people.

In fact, Reddit turned a profit for the first time in its history last quarter. This comes from high growth in users as well as the fact that Reddit now sells its data to OpenAI and others as they use it to power their models.

Search on Video Platforms

From beverages to supplements and beyond, consumers are using short form videos to inform their purchasing decisions.

Want to buy a new shirt or visit that new restaurant? What do you do before doing either of those things?

Perhaps you’d do a Google search, or maybe you read some reviews where available. But now younger consumers are increasingly turning to video platforms to learn more.
Now they can see the shirt on someone and hear their opinions on it or watch someone visit the restaurant and rate the dishes they tried.

The same can be said about CPG products, recipes, top snacks, and best supplements – consumers can now get recommendations on these video platforms. From taste tests to viral recipes, the video channel is fast becoming a way to discover and evaluate a product before buying it.

Products Are Found in the Comments

68% of TikTok users say brands should use the comment section to better understand their customers.

Comments have become a way to discover products and on short-form video platforms, it is no different. Becoming discussion forums of their own, social media companies have realized the power of comments in keeping consumers engaged with platforms like YouTube featuring top comments on video previews on the mobile feed.

There is no obvious way to tell if a comment is planted or is a genuine recommendation, but consumers engage with them all the same. Comments range from recommending similar brands not mentioned in the video, to confirming opinions expressed in the video and lastly, comments that cause further deliberation.

On supplement videos for example you can find consumers discussing dosage, what product they use, side effects, etc. – all of these are discussed in the comments.