Whole Foods Market has asked its expert Trends Council what shoppers will be eating and drinking in 2027, and the answers lean heavily on where food comes from, how it looks on the skin and what it left out. The retailer published its top eight predictions on 15 October.
Terroir moves beyond wine
Terroir, the soil, climate and geography that shape a product’s taste, is gaining ground far outside the wine aisle. The council points to growing interest in provenance and Protected Designations of Origin, which are pulling customers toward regional honey, single-estate chocolate and named-source grains.
Brands such as Jacobsen Salt Co. and Counter Culture Coffee are helping to normalise origin-specific storytelling. Row 7 Seed Co. sells tinned vegetables from specific regional farms, so the place survives from field to finished product. Seafood has its own version, “merroir”, which describes how the ocean environment shapes flavour.
The store is leaning in. It cites single-estate extra-virgin olive oils, Parmigiano Reggiano from select farms in Parma, Italy, and Principe San Daniele prosciutto from the only Certified Humane farm in Italy. Jacobsen salts, a product of Oregon, are in select stores. Row 7’s tinned vegetables, from single organic farms across the U.S., launch in 2027. The single-origin list also includes coffees from Costa Rica, Guatemala and Kenya, Seggiano vinegars from Italy, Damya olive oil from Tunisia and Steelhead Trout from Norway. HEYDOH Single-Origin Soy Sauce belongs to the chain’s 2026 LEAP Early Growth Cohort, and its Transparent Trade Peruvian 70% Dark Chocolate arrives in fall 2026.
Beauty from within
The second prediction is that glowing skin is becoming an inside job. Shoppers are turning to collagen, antioxidants, healthy fats and hydration. Collagen jelly sticks, skin glaze gummies, olive oil shots and “drink your sunscreen” products are appearing, blurring the line between snack, supplement and skin care.
Content creators and wellness media keep pushing carrots, cabbage, cucumber and tinned fish. Sardines get credit for omega-3s and vitamin D, oysters for zinc and copper. Vital Proteins Sparkling Collagen Water is due in fall 2026, and a Detox Blend reaches the salad bar in January 2027.
Japanese comfort food and playful mashups
Japanese comfort food is gaining momentum in the U.S., centred on yōshoku, the tradition of adapting European and American dishes to Japanese tastes. Think tonkatsu, spaghetti Napolitan, Japanese curry rice and omurice. Viral omurice and shio pan videos drive discovery, and the style is moving from restaurants to grocery shelves. The chain’s late-2025 Japanese-style milk bread quickly went viral.
A related trend is the familiar dish in an unexpected form. Birria tops ramen, smash burgers become tacos, cinnamon rolls turn into focaccia. Whole Foods points to Elote Pizza, Beef Shawarma Soup and Buffalo-Style Chicken Lasagna in its prepared foods and bakery. The soup launches summer 2027.
Shorter labels, bitter flavours, zero waste, beans
On labels, less is more. Viral “read your labels” posts and scrutiny of ultra-processed foods have shoppers favouring short ingredient lists, and manufacturers are shortening theirs. Whole Foods says its Quality Standards already ban more than 300 food ingredients.
Bitter is the next taste. Driven by expanding palates, digestive wellness and the sober-curious movement, bitter ingredients are turning up in nonalcoholic cocktails, amaro-inspired drinks and chocolate with fennel pollen or licorice root, as well as in radicchio, endive and broccoli rabe.
Shoppers are also adopting a broader zero-waste mindset. Wasted Pasta makes dried pasta from unused bakery bread, Renewal Mill bakes with oat pulp and okara, and Graza uses olive pomace in its Frizzle cooking oil. The retailer works with Mill, which turns produce scraps into chicken feed, and with Too Good To Go and Enjoy Today.
The last prediction promotes beans and legumes from side dish to centre of the plate, with instant lentil bowls, chickpea and lupini snacks, and bean clubs from Rancho Gordo and SIMPLi. Social media even has a name for it, BeanTok.
