Food is no longer fashion’s side dish; it’s becoming one of its most effective cultural vehicles. And as luxury brands seek relevance beyond product in an era of tighter spending and audience fatigue, food offers a medium that feels more accessible and emotionally resonant to a broader consumer.
Crucially, fashion brands are using food as sensory marketing people can relate to and to create shareable moments at brand events. That strategy was on full display at Rhode’s summer pop-up in Mallorca, where a Magnum beach club collaboration serving ‘Lemontini’ ice creams quickly flooded social feeds. From Saint Laurent’s An Ordinary Day campaign, staged as a picnic, with close-ups of soft-boiled eggs, toast and fruitcake styled alongside brooches, bags and shoes, to Neiman Marcus’s Spring 2025 campaign, which brought chef influencers and fashion insiders together around a white-tablecloth dinner.
.jpg)
Fashion is also inspiring a new generation of food creators. Creator Brianna Hollingsworth has built a fast-growing Instagram following by translating runway looks into edible form, from a sweet-pickled ginger dish inspired by Betsey Johnson’s Fall 1999 collection to a blueberry and coconut whipped ice cream dessert inspired by Dior’s 1998 Fall runway show. Seoul-based culinary artist Min Kyung Jin offers a more literal interpretation, recreating some of the most covetable looks from the Spring 2026 collections in pasta form — from Louise Trotter’s recycled fiberglass sweater for Bottega Veneta to Jonathan Anderson’s satin ribbon dress for Dior, reimagined using tagliatelle.
Instagram content
As fashion looks toward 2026, these are the six food trends the industry needs to know.
Mini everything
Mini food and drink formats are emerging as a dominant trend for 2026, as consumers seek enjoyment without excess, according to WGSN. For some consumers, minis function as low-commitment self-rewards: a one-bite dessert, a small sip of something special, or an “unserious” treat designed to spark joy and shareability. Brands like Ladurée, Milk Bar and Magnolia Bakery have all leaned into mini formats, offering scaled-down versions that feel playful yet premium.
Instagram content
Minis are also increasingly about value. With budgets still under pressure, smaller portions allow consumers to indulge without overspending and enable brands to offer premium experiences at accessible price points. This logic extends to drinks, where mini cocktails and tasting formats encourage experimentation and reposition alcohol as an accessory rather than the main event. A notable example is 818 Tequila, which introduced a miniature bottle designed as a bag charm, says Jennifer Creevy, director of food and drink at WGSN.
Health is another powerful driver. As the use of GLP-1 medications becomes more widespread, demand for smaller dishes and drinks is reshaping menus across the spectrum. Creevy notes that this will influence not just restaurant offerings but also how consumers cook and portion meals at home. Tiny cocktails, snack-sized plates and scaled-down desserts are becoming the norm rather than the exception. At the high end, chefs are already responding. Heston Blumenthal’s Mindful Experience menu offers a glimpse into this future, delivering flavor, texture and mouthfeel in reduced portions ideal for diners on GLP-1s.
Instagram content
Texture as the new flavor
As flavor innovation plateaus, texture is becoming food’s most powerful source of novelty. From chewy mochi and popping boba to crunchy chilli crisp, consumers are increasingly seeking foods that deliver sensory contrast and physical engagement. According to Creevy, global textures are travelling faster and landing in unexpected markets. One emerging example is Q, which is a springy, elastic chew inspired by kueh desserts from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, reflecting growing interest in tactile eating experiences rooted in regional food cultures.
This textural focus is also reshaping beverages. Creevy points to the rise of “ready-to-eat cocktails” and drinks designed to be chewed as much as sipped, incorporating foams, gels and gelatin-based elements that burst or stretch in the mouth. The appeal is emotional as much as sensory. Pinterest’s Gimme Gummy trend shows how playful, nostalgic textures offer comfort and escapism in uncertain times. “Beyond taste and convenience, these textures create immersive offline moments,” says Sydney Stanback, global head of trends and insights at Pinterest. They’re inspiring fashion trends, too. She adds that searches for “gummy bears aesthetic” on Pinterest are up 50%, “yokan” up 60% and “jelly candy aesthetic” has doubled year-on-year.
Edible rituals
In 2026, comfort eating is less about indulgence and more about ritualized emotional regulation. As economic volatility, climate anxiety and digital fatigue intensify, consumers are becoming more selective about where they expend emotional energy, replacing reactive snacking with repeatable rituals such as structured morning routines, evening wind-down teas and mid-afternoon “reset” drinks like matcha or bone broth. “[It] turns food into a low-risk, everyday way to regain comfort, sensory pleasure and a sense of control,” says Rose Coffey, senior foresight analyst at trend forecasting firm The Future Laboratory.
Rather than one-off treats, brands are increasingly experimenting with food as a daily practice. Earlier this year, The Frankie Shop sent customers a New Year tea box created with French tea brand L’Infuseur. Numbered for each day, the teas were designed around specific functions such as “calme” or “digestif”, reframing food as a guided ritual for the start of the year rather than an indulgent Christmas gift. Elsewhere, collaborations such as Starbucks x Farm Rio extend fashion into everyday coffee culture through drinkware and merchandise designed for repeated use. By embedding themselves in morning or afternoon routines, these objects turn consumption into habit by reinforcing food and drink as recurring touchpoints within daily life.
.jpg)
“Beyond taste and convenience, food in 2026 is expected to deliver emotional comfort, connection and a sense of belonging, especially through cooking and hosting,” agrees Stanback. “It points to gatherings becoming more immersive and theatrical, with people leaning into mood, styling and storytelling to make meals feel elevated, she says. “In other words, food is not just fuel, it is becoming a creative outlet and an experience people can plan, curate and share.”
Soft drink pairings become mainstream
As Gen Z reshapes social culture, alcohol is losing its default status. Younger consumers are drinking less, moderating more and questioning the role alcohol plays in their health, productivity and identity. Multiple global studies have shown that Gen Z is the most sober-curious generation to date, with a majority actively trying to reduce alcohol consumption or opting for non-alcoholic alternatives when socialising.
This behavioral shift is transforming what people expect when they go out, and non-alcoholic options are becoming central to the experience. Restaurants beyond the fine-dining tier are increasingly offering curated soft drink and non-alcoholic pairings, designed with the same care as wine lists.
“People are taking care of themselves. Alcohol damages your body,” says Sessions Art Club chef and culinary artist Nil Mutluer. “Restaurants — not just Michelin ones — are doing non-alcoholic pairings now.” For Mutluer, the appeal lies in craftsmanship and ritual. Fermented drinks made from parsley stems or Thai basil deliver herbaceous depth and gut benefits, while being served in elegant glassware that preserves the sense of occasion. “Sometimes I just want to hold a beautiful glass,” she adds. Crucially, the value is as emotional as it is physical. “Half the time, it’s not about drinking alcohol — it’s the ritual. Feeling special without the crash,” Mutluer says.
Ancient food, modern comfort
As uncertainty persists, foods rooted in heritage ingredients and time-tested practices are regaining authority. According to Mintel, brands anchored in ancient medicines and practical food traditions are increasingly seen as cultural custodians: trusted not just for flavor, but for long-standing functional benefits. It ties into The Future Laboratory’s Rhythmic Health forecast, which predicts a move away from hyper-optimisation and biohacking language in favour of wellness that honors the body’s natural cycles — positioning food and health as slow, sustaining practices rather than performance-driven fixes.
This shift extends beyond ingredients to behavior. “We’ve seen consumers turning to traditional food preparation methods like pickling and fermenting,” says Melanie Bartelme, associate director, Mintel Food and Drink, pointing to the sourdough boom during Covid as an early signal. Today, this mindset is renovating overlooked categories, from tinned fish to canned beans, with brands like Fishwife and Heyday Canning driving renewed interest. While creator Grandad Joe has built a following of over nine million on TikTok for his wartime meal recreations, like bread pudding with jam and old-fashioned roast potatoes cooked in lard.
Together, these shifts reframe wellness as nourishment rather than supplementation. Bone broths, medicinal mushrooms and fermented stocks are moving into the mainstream as everyday sustenance, while brands such as Brodo, Four Sigmatic and Dirtea build modern rituals around ancient ingredients like functional mushrooms and adaptogenic botanicals. In this landscape, gut health – not protein – is emerging as a new luxury lexicon.
For Mutluer, the appeal is deeply human. “Feeding yourself, caring for ingredients one at a time – that’s an art form,” she says.
.jpg)
Everyday ingredients reimagined
In the spirit of food nostalgia, as food costs remain top of mind, consumers are turning to familiar, affordable ingredients but treating them with renewed creativity. Rather than chasing rare or premium inputs, everyday staples like potatoes, pasta, eggs and tinned fish are being transformed into dishes that feel playful, comforting and inventive. “Consumer attitudes towards everyday foods are evolving, with affordability and creativity at the forefront,” says Pinterest’s Stanback.
Ingredients once associated with frugality are now being elevated through fusion cooking and experimental formats. Cabbage, in particular, is emerging as a breakout ingredient, reimagined across cuisines and occasions, from savory comfort food to unexpected drinks. Pinterest searches reflect this shift, with interest in “sautéed bok choy” up 35%, “cabbage dumplings” up 110%, “golumpki soup” up 95% and “cabbage Alfredo” rising 45%.
Instagram content
This return to simplicity is also influencing how fashion and lifestyle brands approach food. Labels such as Arket have embedded pared-back, ingredient-led cooking into their cafés and cookbooks, championing seasonal, accessible produce prepared with restraint rather than complexity. Dishes such as flatbread with yellow pea hummus, baked white asparagus, nettle soup, and simple grain bowls foreground everyday ingredients elevated through technique and care.
“I’ve been catering fashion brand parties, and they’re trying to reach broader audiences, not just wealthy people,” says Mutluer. “Food becomes the medium for that. Everyone eats.” Increasingly, for fashion events, that means replacing rarefied tasting menus with familiar, communal dishes served in informal settings, that audiences at home can relate to when the event is shared on social media, she says — food that invites participation and feels culturally open, even within traditionally exclusive fashion spaces.
As fashion searches for meaning beyond product, food is proving to be its most grounding — and human — language, offering a shared way to connect with audiences outside the transactional cycle of consumption. As brands continue to grasp their influence, we can expect many of these trends to show up in 2026.
