Trillion-dollar new opportunities in the restaurant industry! Unilever Food Planning's "2026 Future 'Food' Trends Report" highlights four major new directions

AI Inquiry · How Unilever’s Report Empowers Innovation in the Catering Industry?

Issue No. 4544

Author | Catering Boss Insights, Insight Master

5.8 Trillion Yuan Catering Market

From Stock Competition to Innovation Dominance

Innovation is becoming the core competitiveness of the catering industry under stock competition.

By 2025, the national catering revenue is expected to reach 5.8 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%, with catering revenue from above-designated size units at 1.63 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.0%. The market scale continues to expand, but the growth rate is slowing, and cost pressures such as food materials, labor, and rent are continuously squeezing profits, forcing catering enterprises to accelerate refined management. The industry is bidding farewell to extensive scale expansion and entering a rational development stage focused on efficiency and quality.

Currently, China’s catering industry has entered a deep-water zone of stock competition. Whether for leading brands or small and medium-sized catering businesses, achieving sustained growth requires finding new growth points. Some choose to expand overseas to broaden their business landscape and enhance brand international influence; others upgrade business models and innovate product categories to impress consumers; some bind deeply with customers through renewing scenes and improving service experiences…

At the same time, the comprehensive upgrade of consumer demand means that people are no longer limited to the basic need for hunger; instead, they pursue diversified, high-quality, and distinctive dining experiences, raising higher demands for taste innovation, health attributes, scene atmosphere, and even cultural connotations. Emotional value and high cost-performance ratios have become core consumer demands, which is a challenge faced by all catering brands.

In the past year, we have seen a surge in innovation in the Chinese catering market across multiple dimensions such as products, models, and scenes.

In terms of product innovation, the popularity of subcategories such as Jiangxi stir-fry, fresh barbecue, and Shanghai-style noodles, as well as creative and visually appealing items like butter rice cakes and milk skin candied hawthorn, has sparked a trend among young people.

In the innovation of models and scenes, catering businesses like “Pretty Meals” that incorporate social attributes, Yunnan-Guizhou bistro, and Mountain Wild Dining have gained attention through their scene and emotional value; self-service models remain a hot choice in the catering industry; front-counter models further strengthen social and emotional experiences…

Clearly, the industry has entered a long-term competition stage focused on innovation strength and core competitiveness. Understanding market changes, keeping up with or even predicting consumer demands, deeply cultivating product research and development, and emphasizing experience are essential to find the right track and gain a foothold in competition.

Four Major Consumption Trends

Exploring New Trends in Quality Dining

Once the innovation direction is clear, understanding and mastering consumption trends is key for brands to develop precise future strategies.

On March 24, Unilever Food Solutions released the 2026 Future Menus report, unveiling four global consumption trends: “Street Food,” “Fusion Cuisine,” “Regional Flavors,” and “Dining Experience.”

◎ Unilever Food Solutions 2026 Future Menus Global Release Ceremony现场

The four food trends for 2026 further refine consumption demand and scene details, shifting from “trend concepts” to “experience cultivation,” focusing more on the demand upgrade for high-quality experiences in diverse scenarios.

Moreover, the report surveyed 1,100 chefs across 20 countries, integrating the practical experience of 250 professional culinary consultants from Unilever Food Solutions. To accurately capture young consumers’ demands, over 200 Gen Z diners were specially invited for in-depth discussions.

Street food moves beyond simple “cost-performance ratio,” with the dining experience evolving into “freshly prepared + the ritual of cooking.” In the era of rational consumption, the public dining sector is being reshaped, as brands upgrade their stores, create open kitchens, and focus on “freshly made and cooked on-site,” using genuine cooking processes and rich street food experiences to bring them closer to customers, restoring the authentic charm of dining.

“The soul of Hunan cuisine is the wok aroma, the fragrance that bursts forth when hot oil is poured over dry chilies; diners can tell, ‘this restaurant has street food charm,’” says renowned Chinese culinary master Luo Jixiang.

Jiang Jun, president of the Dalian Catering Industry Association, pointed out that wok aroma relies on the chef’s touch and experience, making it difficult to replicate and scale. High labor costs, significant inventory loss, and restricted cooking speed are challenges. “By collaborating with Unilever Food Solutions, we use SOPs and core seasoning solutions to ensure the aroma and taste of ‘high-heat stir-frying’ are consistently presented across different stores by different chefs; techniques for enhancing freshness and removing odors utilize established complex seasonings like Jia Le’s Hai Huang stir-fry sauce to evoke stable wok aroma and sauce fragrance.”

Regional flavors go beyond just tasting dishes; they provide an immersive cultural experience that satisfies both taste and spirit.

Consumers’ pursuit of regional flavors has long surpassed merely enjoying a dish. They expect to immerse themselves in local culture and native characteristics through the dining experience, restaurant ambiance, folk narratives, and regional elements.

Beijing roast duck has strict standards at every stage, from selecting the duck to hanging it in the oven to slicing it. Centuries-old craftsmanship has established Beijing roast duck as a classic dish. At the ceremony, the Chinese culinary team demonstrated the preparation process of Beijing roast duck and brought dishes like tea-scented chicken, fermented pork, beef salad, and spicy chicken, showcasing the rich diversity of Chinese culinary culture.

◎ Unilever Food Solutions senior culinary consultant Zhong Lei explains Beijing roast duck on site

Dining experience: In the experience economy, the focus of catering operations has shifted from simply being “tasty” to “tasty + high quality + good experience.”

Over the past year, “having a visually appealing and ceremonial meal” has become a popular pursuit among young people. For example, “Pretty Meals” have swept the national catering market, with local cuisines from Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan bistros, Jingdezhen Hunan cuisine, to Guangxi dishes and Wuhan’s pretty meals all following suit, creating dishes that combine both beauty and taste. From flavor, ingredients, plating, to store layout, everything has been meticulously planned.

“First, there’s menu design, followed by participation; for instance, a dish of Gongjiao pigeon involves a three-part series of ‘smelling, disassembling, and dipping,’ enriching the customer experience and forming an interactive connection with the dish. Third, ingredient innovation: while maintaining the essence of ‘fish-flavored,’ we replace the shredded meat in fish-flavored shredded pork with sea cucumber, providing a differentiated taste and quality experience.”

“In this innovation process, Unilever Food Solutions’ global perspective and cutting-edge insights provide creative inspiration and trend support; their deep exploration of flavor science and stable solutions ensure the precise and stable presentation of our classic flavors,” said Wang Zhengjin, an inheritor representative of Sichuan cuisine’s intangible cultural heritage, in an interview.

Fusion cuisine moves away from blind mixing towards mutual learning between Chinese and Western cuisines and local innovations, creating multi-layered flavor products rich in cultural connotations.

Young consumers pursue novelty and individuality, with a high acceptance of diverse flavor profiles. In this era where “appearance is justice,” fusion cuisine meets the needs for photography and sharing with its colorful and uniquely shaped characteristics. The universal appeal of flavors has made many excellent fusion cuisine restaurants popular among customers, as they adapt foreign flavors to better suit Chinese tastes, balancing tradition and innovation.

As the master of Haipai creative cuisine, Shen Wei, said, “Haipai dining gradually forms an ‘East-West combination and inclusive innovation’ personality through fusion. Diners are increasingly discerning; they’re no longer satisfied with superficial stimulation or novelty but seek flavors that are layered, profound, and worth savoring. This requires chefs to deeply understand the essence of traditional cuisines. Cuisine fusion is an inevitable trend, but fusion is not a mishmash. Successful fusion must ‘retain one’s own foundation.’”

From Trendy Dish Innovation

Insight into AI Empowering Catering

As products are the core competitiveness of catering brands, the homogenization of dishes and the increasing demands from consumers regarding taste, health, experience, and innovation compel catering enterprises to achieve comprehensive iterations from product to operation to service.

AI technology might be the key breakthrough for breaking product homogenization and accelerating innovation.

In 2026, Unilever’s planning takes the lead, officially launching the “Global Future Menus Digital Platform” at this ceremony. The application of artificial intelligence is also a core theme of the 2026 Future Menus.

This digital platform focuses on the culinary industry, integrating the professional skills of 250 culinary consultants worldwide and a vast array of industry resources, gathering 35,000 original chef recipes to provide customized services for brands to learn and innovate trendy dishes.

Moreover, the platform combines information from restaurant websites, online menus, and customer reviews, enabling operators to generate customized practical solutions one-on-one to meet customer demands, resolve operational challenges, and provide precise inspiration for menu optimization.

“By leveraging artificial intelligence, we tailor a highly personalized digital experience that aligns with chefs’ operational needs, providing practical insights customized for catering professionals to help them create trend-aligned dishes and seize growth opportunities in the competitive catering market,” said Nuria Hernandez, Global Executive President of Unilever Food Solutions.

◎ Nuria Hernandez, Global Executive President of Unilever Food Solutions

Summary

As one of the core strategic markets globally, China has always been a key area of long-term investment and deep cultivation for Unilever Food Solutions.

“The Chinese catering industry is currently in a critical upgrade period characterized by chain operations, standardization, health, and globalization. The market is resilient and has vast innovation potential, and we hold long-term and firm confidence in the Chinese market. In the future, Unilever Food Solutions will continue to focus on innovative products and professional insights, deepen the chef empowerment system centered around chefs’ professional needs, and assist catering clients in China and globally in seizing growth opportunities in the competitive catering market,” said Zhou Yingjie, General Manager of Unilever Food Solutions for North Asia.

Empowering through professional seasonings and ingredients, Unilever Food Solutions continues to focus on the professional catering sector, enhancing the influence of its “Jia Le” brand and shaping the brand image of “Chef’s Choice, Fresh Flavor Expert” with a rich product line to solidify the quality foundation for Chinese cooking.

◎ Zhou Yingjie, General Manager of Unilever Food Solutions for North Asia

By providing comprehensive catering solutions, including regular professional training and technical support, we help clients improve cooking skills and service levels, offering all-around professional support and tailored multi-source service experiences for various catering channels. In 2025, a Jia Le butter-flavored spicy sauce was specifically created for the catering channel, featuring standardized Sichuan-style compound seasoning with core advantages of “one step to flavor, efficient output,” helping restaurants quickly present authentic Sichuan taste, simplifying back-end operations, and enhancing output stability and efficiency.

Furthermore, the “Future Menus Report” serves as a core insight tool for Unilever Food Solutions, revealing four major global consumption trends to help Chinese catering enterprises provide “visible and applicable” solutions.

Now, the implementation of the “Global Future Menus Digital Platform” aims to create a unique digital experience for catering professionals in the 2026 future menu. Unilever Food Solutions consistently leverages its leading advantages in the global catering field with the motto “Professional Collaboration for Flavor.”

Guest Editor | Xiao Feng

Visuals, Illustrations | Zhang Jinying

Operations | Ice Cream