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2026 is shaping up as the year FoodTech stops selling promises and starts selling ingredients, formats, and functionality. The companies below are front-running not because they’re loud, but because they’re already embedded, piloted, or positioned to be.

The latest Innova top food trends Insights data cements 2026 as the year when protein innovation must intersect with lifestyle relevance.

Innova Market Insights has named digestive health, protein, and mental wellness as the leading food predictions for 2026, marking a global consumer shift toward holistic functionality and authentic nutrition.

Dietary Next-Gen Proteins are here where consumers are swapping rigid protein targets for diversity-first eating that blends plant, fungal and algal sources with fibre-rich, heritage-coded formats. MINTEL expects portfolio moves into mung bean, hemp, mycoprotein and microalgae, with APAC know-how seeding Western launches.

Whole Foods Market’s 2026 food trend forecast confirms a consumer reset: less artificial, more ancestral. The focus on tallow, fibre, vinegar, and female producers reflects a convergence of nostalgia, nutrition, and social consciousness shaping grocery innovation.