The 2027 Food Trends Lists Are Out. Read Them Backwards.

October 27, 2026

Why the Most Useful Part of a 2027 Food Trends Report Is the Part Everyone Skips

The 2027 food trends reports started landing last week, and I already know how most planning meetings will use them. Someone will pull up the watch list. Buldak. Doubanjiang. Koji milk. Makgeolli. The room will get excited, and a few of those names will end up on a slide labeled innovation.

I would start at the other end of the report. For most food brands, especially the ones selling cases instead of plates, the money is not in what is emerging. It is in what is already arriving.

 

How a Trend Actually Moves

Datassential released its 2027 Trends Report on October 7. Like every year, it maps trends against its Menu Adoption Cycle. The cycle has four stages. Inception, Adoption, Proliferation and Ubiquity. A trend starts on a handful of chef driven menus and, if it lasts, ends up nearly everywhere.

That trip takes longer than most people assume. Datassential CEO Jim Emling put a number on it. “We flagged Nashville Hot in 2014, and it reached Ubiquity on the Southern MAC in 2025.” That is roughly 11 years. We named Nashville hot chicken one of the defining food trends of the past decade back in 2023, and it was still spreading. Ube followed a similar path. It was a Datassential trend to watch in 2017 and graduated to the New Classics list only last year.

Now compare that to how long most brands give an idea. The product plans I review usually run on a 12 to 18 month runway from brief to launch. Build around a watch list item and you are betting that launch on the earliest, least predictable stretch of a curve that can run a decade.

 

The New Classics Are Where 2027 Food Trends Pay Off

This year Datassential moved ten items into its New Classics. The list includes whipped feta, chili crisp, sticky toffee pudding, hibiscus and dirty soda. These are no longer trends. They are expectations.

That shift changes what operators need. Early on, a chef wants a story and an ingredient to play with. At Ubiquity, an operator wants the same result every time, at a known cost, made by whoever is on shift. That is a manufacturing problem, and manufacturers can solve it. A chili crisp built to perform on a busy line is a bigger business than the hundredth small batch version.

Jim made the same point from the sales side in his NACS recap last week. Operators are buying products that solve operating problems, not products that create new ones. Mainstream trends are where that need is biggest.

 

Familiar Is the New Novel

The most interesting section of this year’s report covers what Datassential calls late stage concepts. Banana, anchovy, mango, the old fashioned and deli salads. “Heading into 2027, we see some later stage MAC concepts getting new life,” said Jaclyn Marks, Datassential’s senior publications manager and trendologist.

Think banana coffee or mango sticky rice ice cream. The ingredient is known. The format is new. Suzy Badaracco of Culinary Tides gave the idea a name at the NACS Show last week. She called it “newstalgia.”

For a brand, this is the lowest risk place to innovate. Consumers already trust the ingredient. Operators already stock it. Your job is to give them a new use for something they already know how to sell.

 

Three Questions Before a Trend Goes in the Plan

When a client brings a trend list into planning, my team asks three questions before anything goes on a slide.

Where is it on the curve? A watch list item and a New Classic call for completely different plans.

What does the operator need at that stage? Inspiration early. Consistency, cost control, and speed late.

Can we deliver that at our scale? If the honest answer is no, the idea belongs in culinary and chef engagement work or a limited-time test, not a core launch.

 

Reading 2027 Food Trends Like a Strategist

None of this means ignoring the watch list. Early signals matter, and someone in your organization should track them. But your 2027 food trends plan should not live there. For most food brands, growth sits at the back of the report, where trends turn into volume.

Read it backwards. You will spend less time chasing what is new and more time owning what is next.

 

Planning 2027 innovation around this year’s trend reports? We can help you sort out which trends fit your brand, your channel and your timeline. Let us start the conversation.

 

Key Takeaways

Datassential released its 2027 Trends Report on October 7, 2026, naming foods to watch such as buldak, doubanjiang, falooda and kinilaw, and beverages such as koji milk, makgeolli and the cantarito.

Food trends move slowly. Datassential flagged Nashville Hot in 2014, and it reached Ubiquity on the Southern Menu Adoption Cycle in 2025, roughly 11 years later.

Ten items graduated to Datassential’s New Classics for 2027, including whipped feta, chili crisp, sticky toffee pudding, hibiscus and dirty soda, meaning they are now mainstream expectations.

Late stage concepts such as banana, anchovy, mango, the old fashioned and deli salads are gaining new life through new applications, a lower risk innovation path for food brands.

Mainstream trends call for consistency, known cost and simple execution, which favors manufacturers that can deliver at scale.

Before adding a trend to a plan, place it on the adoption curve, define what operators need at that stage, and confirm the brand can deliver it at scale.

 

FAQ

Q1.  What are the biggest 2027 food trends?

Datassential’s 2027 Trends Report highlights Mexico City cuisine, with 58 percent of U.S. consumers interested, plus foods to watch like buldak, doubanjiang, falooda and kinilaw. Beverages to watch include koji milk, makgeolli and Vietnamese lemonade. Banana, mango and anchovy are late stage ingredients gaining new life in new applications.

Q2.  What is the Menu Adoption Cycle?

The Menu Adoption Cycle is Datassential’s framework for tracking how food trends spread. It has four stages, Inception, Adoption, Proliferation and Ubiquity, and is built on more than 20 years of menu and consumer data. A trend can take a decade or more to move through all four stages.

Q3.  How long does it take a food trend to go mainstream?

Often much longer than a product planning cycle. Datassential flagged Nashville Hot in 2014, and it reached Ubiquity on the Southern Menu Adoption Cycle in 2025. Ube was a Datassential trend to watch in 2017 and moved to its New Classics list in the 2026 report, released in late 2025.

Q4.  What are New Classics in food trends?

New Classics is Datassential’s label for trends that have become mainstream. Heading into 2027, ten items graduated to the list, including whipped feta, chili crisp, sticky toffee pudding, hibiscus and dirty soda. At this stage, operators value consistent quality, predictable cost and easy execution over novelty.

Q5.  How should food brands use trend reports in planning?

Start by placing each trend on its adoption curve. Early stage trends suit chef partnerships and limited time tests. Mainstream and late stage trends suit core launches, because operators need dependable, scalable versions. Confirm the brand can deliver what operators need at that stage before committing budget.