2025 Food & Beverage Trends We’re Ready For
With 2025 on our doorstep, the food and beverage industry has been busy readying itself for another year of rapid evolution. One trend is undeniable: manufacturers will need to continue to adapt to consumer demands, technological advancements, and sustainability pressures at a regularly accelerating pace. For food manufacturers, staying ahead of trends isn’t just about keeping up—it’s about innovating processes well ahead of emerging market demands. Doing this requires partnerships with forward-thinking experts and we hope DC Norris North America is one of those partners for you.
Here are three key trends we predict will shape the food and beverage industry in 2025, along with our solutions to keep manufacturers, like you, ahead of them.
2025 Food Trend #1: Elevated Plant-Based Offerings
The demand for plant-based ready meals is accelerating in North America as consumers increasingly seek healthier, more sustainable, and convenient meal options. The plant-based meals market in the region was valued at approximately USD 17.74 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow significantly as food brands expand offerings to meet evolving tastes.
The Challenge:
Scaling production of plant-based ready meals without sacrificing texture, taste, or nutritional value.
One Solution – DC Norris’s Jet Cook™ System:
The DCN Jet Cook™ is ideal for plant-based food and beverage processing. The DCN Jet Cook™ system uses steam injection technology ensuring even heating and mixing at remarkable speeds while preserving delicate flavors and textures. Whether it’s creating a creamy vegan cheese sauce, barista-style oat milk, or other protein-packed plant alternatives, Jet Cook™ makes processing efficient and scalable by combining the heating and mixing of pumpable consistency foods into one easy step with no burn on contamination. The DCN Jet Cook™ can be built as a standalone system or retrofitted to your existing kettles 80 Gallons or larger.
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2025 Food Trend #2: It’s Teas Time to Shine (Again)
The North American tea market is experiencing significant growth thanks to an increasing consumer interest in health benefits and diverse tea varieties. The tea market in North America is projected to grow by 13.42% between 2024 and 2029, resulting in a market volume of USD 1.22 billion by 2029.
Brands are introducing new flavors, tea-infused products, and even new steeping formats like tea strips and powders.
The Challenge:
Maintain delicate flavor profiles and health benefits at scale.
One Solution – Leverage DC Norris North America’s Systems Design Expertise:
Food producers aiming to lead the tea trend can rely on DC Norris North America for tailored equipment solutions. With decades of expertise in designing, sourcing, and equipment manufacturing for innovative food and beverage products, DC Norris North America ensures your production capabilities align with the demands of the market and your business.
From maintaining delicate flavor profiles to preserving key nutrients, every system and piece of equipment is engineered to meet your unique production goals. This includes the design of systems optimized for incorporating tea extracts into baked goods, beverages, or snacks.
We’ve worked with one of the world’s largest providers of high-quality tea extracts to do just this. You can read more about our work with Finlays here: https://www.dcnorrisna.com/case_study/finlays/
And let’s not forget that our global headquarters is in the UK. We know tea. We love tea. We’re the partner you need to develop tea-forward products and manufacturing solutions.
2025 Food Trend #3: Pack In the Protein
Consumers are expected to continue their quest for products with high protein levels, clean ingredients, and functional benefits. Interests in sports nutrition, weight management, and general health and wellness drive this consumption trend that is predicted to span various food categories, from snacks and beverages to ready meals and baked goods.
The Challenge:
Meeting consumer expectations for freshness, flavor complexity, minimal processing, and protein-forward nutrition profiles.
One Solution – Sous Vide for Health, Flavor, and Protein:
Our expertise in sous vide cooking and automated cook tanks enables manufacturers to produce precisely cooked, flavorful products with enhanced nutritional value, fewer ingredients, and optimal protein levels. Sous vide allows for precise temperature control, preserving delicate flavors and nutrients while minimizing the need for added fats and sodium. This aligns perfectly with the health and wellness and protein-forward trends.
DC Norris North America offers a robust portfolio of fully automated sous vide cook tanks that can meet the scale requirements of both commercial and industrial manufacturers.
- CT-5 & CT-5E 551 Lb Capacity Sous Vide Cook Tank
- CT-10 & CT-10E 950 Lb Capacity Sous Vide Cook Tank
- CT-20 Steam & CT-20 Thermal Oil 1,900 Lb Capacity Sous Vide Cook Tank
Take Center Stage in 2025
As these trends, and countless others, take center stage in 2025 and beyond, we’re here to help manufacturers adapt quickly and effectively to seize new opportunities. Whether you’re scaling plant-based offerings, packing in protein, reinventing ready meals, or tapping into the delicate flavors and functions of tea we offer the equipment and expertise to help you succeed.
Connect with us today to learn how our innovative solutions can support your manufacturing goals for the year ahead. Our services and systems are designed to tackle the challenges of modern food production with efficiency and precision.
Request a custom quote or consultation today and let’s get started.
