Datassential has released highlights from its 2027 Trends Report, predicting the foods, flavors and beverages set to shape menus and retail in the year ahead. The Chicago-based food and beverage intelligence firm found 75 percent of consumers saying they are looking forward to new food and beverage trends, and because trends tend to start on restaurant menus before reaching grocery shelves, the forecast offers a preview of what could land in retailers’ assortments.
The report draws on Datassential’s Menu Adoption Cycle, built on more than 20 years of menu and consumer data, which tracks trends from inception through adoption and proliferation to ubiquity.
“Heading into 2027, we see some later stage MAC concepts getting new life,” said Jaclyn Marks, senior publications manager and trendologist at Datassential. “Banana, anchovy, mango, deli salads and the old fashioned, for instance, have been around forever, but enterprising operators are showcasing them in next-level applications and as flavors. Think banana coffee and cocktails or mango sticky rice ice cream and pies.”
Key findings
- Late-stage comebacks: Five long-established concepts are finding new life through reinvention: banana, anchovy, mango, the old fashioned and deli salads.
- New Classics: Ten trends Datassential flagged early have graduated to mainstream must-haves, including whipped feta, chili crisp, sticky toffee pudding, hibiscus and dirty soda. Ube followed the same path, moving from a 2017 Trend to Watch to last year’s New Classics list.
- Foods and flavors to watch: Emerging concepts include buldak, Korean spicy chicken in a gochujang and chile sauce; doubanjiang, the fermented fava bean and chile paste central to Sichuan cooking; falooda, a South Asian dessert of rose syrup, vermicelli and basil seeds; and kinilaw, a Filipino dish of raw fish “cooked” in vinegar and citrus.
- Beverages to watch: A first-time beverage list includes Vietnamese lemonade made with salted preserved citrus, koji milk, makgeolli (a milky Korean rice wine) and the cantarito, a Mexican cocktail of orange, lime and grapefruit soda served in a salt-rimmed clay cup.
- Cuisine to know: Mexico City (CDMX) cuisine is the one to watch, with 58 percent of U.S. consumers interested in trying it, rising to 75 percent of Millennials. Pulque, a fermented agave-based beverage, is up 147 percent on alcoholic beverage menus over the past four years, and 49 percent of consumers are interested in trying pambazos, a griddled roll dipped in red chile sauce and stuffed with potato and chorizo.
“We flagged Nashville Hot in 2014, and it reached ubiquity on the Southern MAC in 2025,” said Jim Emling, CEO at Datassential. “With 70 percent of consumers optimistic about the year ahead, now is the time to innovate.”
The full report, with deep dives into the trends plus macro forces shaping the industry, is available to Datassential subscribers. Founded in 2001, Datassential provides menu, consumer and sales intelligence through its Datassential One platform.
Related: Whole Foods Market Forecasts 2026 Top Food, Beverage Trends