Mintel has released its "Global Food & Drink Predictions: 2026 & Beyond," the research firm's annual forward-looking analysis of where food and beverage consumption, product development and consumer demand are headed over the next several years.

The report lands at a moment when restaurant operators and food manufacturers are already working through tight margins, elevated cost of goods and labor percentages that have yet to return to pre-pandemic norms. Forecast documents of this kind function as planning inputs across the industry: chains and their suppliers use them to time menu engineering decisions, guide sourcing commitments and price new items years before those items reach a menu board.

Mintel's prediction series typically frames its outlook around a small number of overarching themes rather than a long list of discrete trends. In past editions, the firm has pointed operators toward shifts in health positioning, sustainability claims, value perception and the role of technology in how consumers discover and buy food and drink. Each theme tends to carry direct operational implications — a move toward simpler ingredient statements changes sourcing specifications; a value-driven consumer changes pricing architecture and portion strategy.

For restaurant groups specifically, the value of a multi-year forecast lies less in any single prediction than in the sequencing. Development pipelines for new menu items, packaging and supplier agreements commonly run 12 to 24 months, so a 2026-and-beyond horizon maps cleanly onto decisions that operators must commit to now. Franchised systems face an added layer: any ingredient or positioning shift has to be executable across hundreds or thousands of franchisee-owned units with different local supply chains and cost structures, not just in company-operated test kitchens.

The full report is available through Mintel's platform, where the firm distributes its subscription research to foodservice, manufacturing and retail clients.

Operators and suppliers will now weigh which of the forecast's themes justify near-term investment — and which can wait until consumer behavior and input costs confirm the direction Mintel is pointing.