Whole Foods Market has unveiled its top food trend predictions for 2027, with the retailer’s annual report pointing to a year defined by terroir, Japanese comfort food, food as skincare and a rise in bitter flavors.
The predictions are developed each year by the Whole Foods Market Trends Council, a group of team members ranging from foragers and buyers to culinary experts, drawing on industry experience, observation of consumer preferences and relationships with emerging and established brands.
“This year’s predictions reflect a real shift in how people are eating: a curiosity about origin, a willingness to try bitter and unexpected flavors, and a meaningful return to simpler, whole-food ingredients,” said Cathy Strange, ambassador of food culture for Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market and member of the Trends Council.
“Our Trends Council spends the year in the field, from farmer’s markets to trade shows to neighborhood restaurants, and the 2027 list captures just how quickly these ideas are moving from emerging concepts into everyday kitchens,” she said.
Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, VP of worldwide grocery stores private brands and marketing and Whole Foods Market’s chief merchandising and marketing officer, added, “Since we opened our doors, Whole Foods Market has led the industry in seeking and stocking the latest innovations in food and beverage. From being an early prognosticator of fermented foods to highlighting essential movements like regenerative agriculture, we’ve been on the forefront of what’s new and next.”
The eight trends
Terroir’s new territory. Interest in provenance and Protected Designations of Origin is drawing customers to regional honey, single-estate chocolate and named-source grains, with the concept extending to seafood through “merroir.” Whole Foods points to single-estate extra-virgin olive oils, select-farm Parmigiano Reggiano and single-origin coffees.
Beautrition. “Beauty from within” is gaining momentum as consumers turn to collagen, antioxidants, healthy fats and hydration to support skin health, blurring the lines among snack, supplement and skincare. Sardines and oysters are gaining attention as skin-supportive foods.
The Yōshoku effect. Japanese comfort food, rooted in the adaptation of European and American dishes to Japanese tastes, is moving from restaurants to grocery aisles: tonkatsu, Japanese curry, omurice and milk bread. Whole Foods’ late-2025 Japanese-style milk bread launch quickly went viral.
Dish reinvention. Playful transformations of familiar dishes into new forms – birria-topped ramen, smash burger tacos, cinnamon roll focaccia – are moving into grocery through items like lemon miso chicken Alfredo and mango sticky rice ice cream.
Ingredient minimalism. Fueled by “read your labels” social content and scrutiny of ultra-processed foods, shoppers are treating pared-down ingredient lists as a quality marker, with non-UPF (ultra-processed foods) apps and certification programs emerging to help navigate shelves.
Bitter done better. Driven by expanding palates, digestive wellness and the sober-curious movement, bitter ingredients are spreading from nonalcoholic apéritifs and amaro-inspired drinks to bitter greens like radicchio, endive, escarole and broccoli rabe.
Zero waste 2.0. Upcycling has moved beyond produce into broader product innovation, bread turned into dried pasta, oat pulp and okara into baking ingredients, olive pomace into cooking oil, while retailers invest in refill formats, bulk departments and markdown programs such as Too Good To Go.
The bean boom. Beans and legumes are claiming center-of-plate status as whole-food sources of protein and fiber that are budget- and gut-friendly, from brothy butter beans and heirloom bean stews to lentil bowls and lupini snacks, with “BeanTok” fueling enthusiasm online.
Each trend in the full report includes “Try the Trend” product examples available at Whole Foods, several from the retailer’s LEAP early-growth supplier program.