Webinar preview: KHNI’s predictions for food and wellness in 2025
What’s next for nutrition? Experts weigh in on the “future of food”
As scientific breakthroughs and evolving consumer demands reshape the global health and wellness landscape, 2025 is set to be a defining year for the food, beverage, supplement, and nutrition industries. From AI-driven personalized nutrition to the influence of GLP-1 weight management drugs, the sector faces exciting opportunities and complex challenges.
In an upcoming webinar titled, “What’s Shaping the Future of Food? Key Health and Nutrition Trends for 2025,” the Kerry Health and Nutrition Institute (KHNI) will convene a panel of leading experts. The webinar will explore what’s ahead for a world grappling with aging populations, shifting dietary habits, and increasing calls for functional, science-backed solutions on Tuesday, April 8 at 09:00 CEST or 17:00 CEST.
Nutrition Insight sits down with Dr. Aoife Marie Murphy, Kerry’s global sustainable nutrition manager, in advance of the webinar to learn more about what will be discussed, from the changing role of processed foods to the transformative potential of targeted nutrition.
What are some of the ways you see the food industry is evolving to meet the nutritional needs of the world’s aging population?
Murphy: Advances in nutrition, healthcare, and lifestyle are helping people live longer. By 2030, one in six people globally will be over the age of 60. However, as average life expectancies grow, so too does the number of age-related conditions. The emphasis now is less on longevity and prolonging life but on ensuring those years are lived to the fullest.
Dr. Aoife Marie Murphy, Kerry’s global sustainable nutrition manager.
Nutrition plays a critical role in supporting our bodies as we age. While protein and bone health are essential due to issues like osteoporosis and sarcopenia, another critical aspect often overlooked is cognitive decline. Preventative nutrition, starting from one’s 20s, 30s, and 40s, with adequate omega-3 intake, can help.
Even in the 60s and 70s, supplementing with these nutrients can prevent cognitive decline. While protein for muscle health and calcium and vitamin D for bone health remain vital, addressing cognitive health should also be a priority.
As longevity science progresses, will nutrition move from reactive to preventive strategies, and what other major shifts might follow?
Murphy: Absolutely, proactive nutrition is not a new concept. Some consumers already focus on long-term health, taking supplements in their 20s and 30s. However, many people wait until they face health issues before improving their diet or taking medication.
With the rise of wearable tech and increased data availability, the gap between proactive consumers and those who wait is closing. Technology, supplements, and fortified foods are making proactive health more accessible and educating a broader audience.
How might widespread adoption of treatments reshape consumer views on weight management and nutrition?
Murphy: This trend will continue to gain momentum over the next five years and beyond. As these treatments gain popularity, millions of people will benefit from GLP-1 receptor agonists. As this research advances, we will learn more about the nutritional needs of these patients and how to optimize long-term health and food intake.
GLP-1 is a big focus for food and beverage producers, as well as supplement makers. Some companies are developing ‘companion’ products specifically for GLP-1 users, considering their nutritional needs. Since these individuals consume smaller portions, the food must be nutrient-dense, high in protein to prevent muscle loss, and fortified with essential vitamins and minerals to prevent nutritional deficiencies.
The nutritional needs of GLP-1 users and consumers seeking weight management solutions will drive innovation.
This is crucial because when GLP-1 users lose weight, it’s often at the expense of muscle mass. Therefore, creating compact, nutrient-dense products, whether snacks, meal replacements, supplements, or beverages, is essential. There is an opportunity to innovate companion products for this market, focused on maximizing nutrient density within compact portions. Taste modulation can mask highly concentrated nutrients such as protein to ensure consumer acceptance of these products.
Additionally, as GLP-1 drugs become more common, ongoing research will uncover their full impact and efficacy, including side effects. The industry will need to continue to innovate to ensure convenient, nutrient-rich options for those managing their weight through these drugs while also finding solutions to address the side effects of these medications, such as gut issues, energy support, and muscle loss.
Might AI-driven food recommendations become the norm, or will human expertise remain essential in consumers’ nutrition choices?
Murphy: Personalized nutrition has been a topic of interest for the past decade, covering everything from diet and physical activity to genetic data. With the rise of targeted nutrition, personalized solutions are set to revolutionize how individuals meet their specific nutritional requirements.
AI technology is transforming the game. Companies are leveraging algorithms to analyze genetic, microbiome, nutrition, and lifestyle data, providing customized recommendations for individual profiles. Wearable health tech is allowing real-time data integration into supplement plans. Many companies now sync with these devices, dynamically adjusting recommendations based on ongoing health insights.
AI can now integrate these diverse data sets, such as food intake, sleep tracking, and physical activity, providing holistic recommendations. By analyzing past data and predicting future activities, AI offers more personalized advice, suggesting actions such as taking a walk if you haven’t been active. This predictive approach is not only about reviewing past habits but also about anticipating future behaviors to improve overall health.
With growing scrutiny on ultra-processed foods, is the future focused on reformulation or complete replacement?
Murphy: Debate on processed foods must consider the broader context of nutrient availability, food security, and safety, convenience, affordability, and sustainability. While it’s clear that foods high in salt, fat, and sugar contribute to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, most experts agree that the HFSS (high fat, salt, and sugar) nutrients, not the form of processing, are key causal factors.
While the industry will always continue to build its scientific understanding of all aspects of nutrition, including those related to forms of processing, we should focus on the established science when it comes to considering what we consume in our diets. Reformulation to optimize the content of salt, fat, and sugar is a priority for food manufacturers, offering an opportunity for innovation and new product creation.
Murphy notes manufacturers now leverage science to reformulate products supporting health, safety, nutrition, and sustainability goals.
Front-of-pack labeling systems help consumers identify processed foods high in these ingredients. Many countries are adopting regulations on such labels to enable consumers to make more informed dietary choices. Manufacturers are using scientific advancements to reformulate products, aligning public health with food safety, nutrition, and sustainability.
How will convenience-driven consumer demand align with the growing push for cleaner, more natural ingredients in the long term?
Murphy: The demand for more natural ingredients is very clear and well-established. That said, of course, convenience is also a key consideration for consumers. Indeed, it is often the same consumer who will seek both convenience and naturality of the product.
Producers need to overcome challenges to serve this demand and ensure that products are safe from a microbiological perspective, stable in their presentation, taste great, and have a reasonable shelf-life and cost. It is possible to formulate to meet these criteria, but it does take a lot of expertise to get those balances right and to satisfy consumer demands.
