Creed’s expert insights team, led by insights manager Anna Clapson, has streamlined their 2025 trends around one core macro trend. The core macro trend – Adapt to Survive – is reflective of the current climate.
Although consumer confidence is increasing and growth within the Eating Out Market is set to accelerate at around 2.4% from 2024-2027, uncertainty remains and operators are branching out from their norm and adapting to survive. Price sensitivity around energy and food, staffing, Government policies and industrial action are all factors inhibiting foodservice.
There are six trends dovetailing out of it including consistent quality, personalised experience, reshaping value, future planet, choose health and harnessing digital.
Clapson commented: “It’s an interesting period, as we’re seeing glimmers of hope as consumer confidence slowly starts to return, but equally operators are still facing economic and operational challenges. That’s why we have anchored around the core macro trend of Adapt to Survive as everything stems from this.
“We’ve also taken a slightly different approach with linking back to the generations. We’re aware those working within the care sector are catering for a very different audience as those in schools. Equally, pubs and restaurants are also facing their own unique challenges, and so we wanted to help operators understand how important the different trends are to their own consumers.
“We’ve spent weeks researching and working on our 2025 Trends. Every year, we always challenge ourselves to find ways to make our Trends as interesting and useful to operators as possible, as we understand how important it is that these can actually be utilised in their everyday settings and help them prepare.”
Creed’s six trends include:
- Consistent Quality: Nearly three quarters (73%) of consumers are quality-led and a further 86% think quality has a price, with consumers increasingly happy to pay more for higher quality.
- Personalised Experience: Nearly two thirds (62%) of consumers are experience-led and this is a high priority for the younger generations (Alpha and Z), driven largely by them seeking experiences they see on social media.
- Reshaping Value: Meal deal offers like pizza and a drink for students to encourage footfall on quieter days is commonplace, and within care homes and schools the hospitality areas are being revamped to show value through the surroundings.
- Future Planet: 63% of consumers are very sustainability-conscious and nearly half of grocery and foodservice professionals are prioritising sustainability initiatives in their businesses.
- Choose Health: A key consideration for operators will be bringing solutions that deliver not only on taste and value but also nutrition, with 42% of consumers very health conscious.
- Harnessing Digital: Over a third of businesses (37%) are prioritising digitalisation in the next 12 months, and with AI systems and robotic equipment on the rise, digital is a key trend next year.
To view Creed’s 2025 Trends please click here: Insights, Reports and Trends.