Food took fashion’s crown.

Where fashion once reigned supreme, food has emerged as a new expression of personal identity and luxury, often serving as social media bragging rights. The oversaturation of fashion, driven by fast production cycles, e-commerce accessibility, and social media’s relentless trend churn created a cultural fatigue where fashion no longer held the status it once did. In December 2022, we predicted the shift, advising readers that the way to consumers’ hearts was now through their stomachs. We mentioned the cult status food franchises were quickly taking on. Fast forward to February 2023, when we reinforced food as the new fashion, adding interiors to the narrative. The manifestation is apparent today, where the lines between food and fashion are all but erased—from fashion brands using food motifs, such as the Heinz ketchup bag and Loewe’s fruit basket collection, to the popularity of food as the ultimate flex, as seen with the viral $17.50 cookie sensation. Food imagery, even in makeup packaging like Benefit’s whimsical designs, taps into this growing intersection between culinary and style-conscious culture. This trend will likely evolve as brands across industries dive deeper into integrating food into lifestyle experiences. As luxury houses like Dior and LVMH continue to create cafes, coffee bars, and sought-after sweets, we expect more brands to follow suit.

NEXT INDUSTRY TO GET THE FOODIE FIX: Beauty & Wellness

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Products vs. Ingredients

Key-wording products and positioning them to leverage on certain trending conditions, benefits, or components — “gut health,” “psilocybin,” “GLP-1s” — has distracted from scrutinizing the good ole’ ingredient list. Amplified by the conversation about chronic illness and metabolic health, people are interested in getting as close as possible to the origin and understanding of what they are putting in their bodies, whether milling their own flour or dining out.

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Strawberry milk and matcha

Coming out of Japan and Korea (see: last week’s (Seoul-Searching edition) an obsession with strawberry milk is slowly making its way to the States. Just opened in NYC’s West Village and getting a lot of attention for their strawberry milk and Japanese desserts, Post Card Bakery. Even US matcha pioneer Cha Cha Matcha has a strawberry-matcha combination that is getting good feed time. Food & beverage people, consider how you can play with this flavor profile.

Homesteading: the new girl-bossing.

The sourdough starter to homesteading gateway is real. First came Covid—and a renewed enthusiasm (and pride) for cooking from scratch. Then came a feminist reclaiming of homemaker duties—and a respect for the art of a well-oiled household. Now, running the home from scratch is the new the aspiration. Our feeds are flooded with lifestyle bloggers like Ballerina Farm, living off the land, raising chickens, making soap, sewing clothes, and, of course, baking sourdough. These are the new girl-bosses. They’re sustainable, they’re organic, and they’re coming for processed food, fast fashion, and the outsource economy.

Bean cuisine: the new tinned fish.

Everyone we know is suddenly smitten with Nat's Nourishments and her bean-centric cuisine. The food-fluencer is rising to the top of algorithms casting a luxurious halo around the hearty pantry staple. There’s a few things happening here. One, the sludge of winter and consumers' obsession with curating coziness raised the stock of savory and sloupy foods. Two, hard economic times have people getting creative with fewer, affordable ingredients, like canned goods. Three, beans are quietly rising in the alt-protein arms race as an easier behavior change than lab-grown or plant-based meat. A cheap, timeless classic, like taking the subway instead of buying an EV. Canned beans will likely see a new-age premiumization wave like tinned fish has in recent years, going organic, expanding in flavors, and dressing up in packaging, of course. Heyday Canning Co and Rancho Gordo are the early adopters to watch.

Eat: Stissing House

Stissing House is one of the oldest taverns in America, but it's got its finger on the pulse of consumer cravings in every way, from the contemporary-classics menu to the old-world ambiance to a charming event-space offering. Embodying an incoming design direction we’re calling Modern Colonial, this place will be all over Instagram and an it-destination for intimate New York weddings and celebrations, mark our words!

Provision: First Bloom and Stella's Fine Market

Cookbook author Alison Roman opened First Bloom in September, a contemporary corner store in Bloomville with grocery items and prepared food, filling a culinary gap in the rural area. Stella’s Fine Market is a foodie’s paradise and hero gifting destination. Founded by a former packaging designer, the store is packed with trendy and bespoke brands all worthy of display, plus kitchenware, books and magazine, and custom gift boxes. Both spots serve up merchandising magic.

Agriculture and food entrepreneurs find an economic, consumer-centric approach to sustainability.

Nobell Foods’ founder reminded the crowd that ultimately purchasing decisions are made based on cost and taste—as a brand, if you want to change consumer behavior, you have to meet them where they are. While consumers' sustainability demands are rising, it's a privilege to factor that into one's buying decisions. So, her focus is on making a price-conscious plant-based cheese that equally matches the melty deliciousness of dairy products people love. The cofounder of C16 Biosciences, a company creating a sustainable version of palm seed oil, seconded the sentiment, explaining how evolving to a more environmentally conscious business model will be essential for the longevity and profitability of food manufacturers. Simply put, if sustainable choices don’t make dollars, they don’t make sense.

Eating becomes satisfyingly organized.

With all eyes on back-to-school trends, we've noticed an influx of bento-style lunch boxes with clever compartments and decidedly modern design. All over our social feeds, the "Snacklebox" puts out-of-commission tackle boxes to good use­, a tactical charcuterie chest if you will. And we would be remiss not to mention “girl dinner,” which includes CD favorites like olives, pickles, and tinned fish–anything healthy, preserved, and bite-sized. This approach to eating feels timely as people shy away from fad-diets and embrace intuitive eating. Whether it’s offering variety or portion control, thoughtfully curated meals make eating-on-the-go easy and enjoyable.

Italy says no to synthetic food.

A macro-trend towards environmentally friendly food is supporting the research and development of synthetic and cultivated animal products. However, in July, Italy banned the production, import, and sale of lab-grown foods to protect national food heritage and consumers’ health, underscoring a broader resistance to “fake” food. While consumers are willing to change eating habits for the environment, they also want food to come from nature. This, coupled with a newfound appreciation for farmers and agriculture—note the rise of “farmfluencers”—creates a tension that is balancing out in the embrace of plant-forward diets that simply include less meat. New fast-casual restaurant Rooted nails the positioning, promising seven whole ingredients or less per bowl (mostly plants), including spices and oils. As humans crave what’s raw and real in an increasingly artificial world, the natural foods movement will go from elitist to mass in presentation and adoption.