2025 arrives with a great deal of change in tow, and the food and beverage world is no exception: new trends keep surfacing, each of them reflecting consumers' lifestyles, interests and growing attention to their own health. Today we will walk you through the "food trends of 2025" that track how quickly consumer behaviour is shifting. Here is what they are.
1. Plant-based food
Plant-based food is enjoying enormous popularity, thanks to a range of health benefits — reducing the risk of chronic disease among them. Producing it also puts less strain on the environment than producing food from animals, and there is the ethical argument on top: less harm done to animals.
Popular plant-based examples : plant-based beef, which delivers a convincingly beef-like texture but is made from plant protein; or plant-based dairy such as soy milk, almond milk, hazelnut milk and oat milk. Production has become efficient enough that several oat milk brands have cut their prices
2. Solo dining culture
Another 2025 food trend worth talking about is solo dining — eating out alone, no friends required. It comes from a Japanese custom called "Ohitorisama おひとりさま", meaning "celebrating on your own", and it suits a younger generation that increasingly lives alone, values its privacy, and likes being able to scroll on a smartphone or watch something while eating in peace. Plenty of restaurants are now adjusting their atmosphere and service to suit solo diners, shabu and grill buffet restaurants above all.
Restaurants set up for dining alone: Suki Teenoi, Suki Jinda, HITORI SHABU, Ebisu Shabu and Yakiniku Like
3. Spicy food
Fiercely spicy food is something diners everywhere want to try, which is why the 2024 food trends inevitably had to include the hot, spice-scented end of the menu. Country after country is putting its boldest dishes forward for the people who seek this style of eating out: Thai food with its chilli heat, mala dishes from China, gochujang sauce from Korea, and so on.
Popular spicy Thai dishes: tom yum goong, som tam, mala soup, kimchi curry, green curry and panang curry
4. Noodle dishes
If there is one more 2024 food trend that Thais and foreigners alike are fond of, it has to be noodles, and this year they have made the list again. The sheer variety of noodle dishes, each delicious in its own particular way, keeps their popularity from ever fading — and every dish has a different texture to it, which keeps the eating from becoming repetitive.
Noodle dishes to try: instant noodles, ramen, soba, udon, spaghetti and pasta
5. Slushies
In weather this hot, a cold drink to take the edge off is no small relief — a slushy above all, the kind Thais know well. It is now a staple on the menu at cafés and cocktail bars alike, and the recipe can go in almost any direction: made from fresh fruit, or by turning any drink you like into a slushy.
Slushies people are ordering: the Thai tea slushy at Dairy Queen, the milk tea slushy at Chan Ja Kin Cha Yen Took Wan, and the cocoa slushy at Inthanin
6. Cocoa
Cocoa is one of those ingredients that has won people over worldwide as a drink, thanks to its distinctive aroma and bitterness. It works hot or iced, and stirred into other drinks it softens the flavour nicely. It can also go into a smoothie to build a new flavour entirely. In the 2024 food trends we are seeing cocoa turn up as an ingredient far more widely — in desserts, jams, powders dusted over food, or coated cocoa nibs — adding another dimension to the taste and lifting the value of the product along with it.
Cocoa items to try: cocoa mint, cocoa powder for dusting over fruit or food, and desserts of every other kind such as cakes, cookies and brownies
7. Health drinks
Everyone, clearly, is paying more attention to health, and drinks most of all — because they can be made from natural ingredients with no added chemicals or flavourings while still doing the body good, supplying vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates that cover a day's energy needs. Some drinks also carry antioxidants and plant extracts that are good for you. Protein drinks belong here too: the gym crowd keeps coming back to them, simply because they are so convenient to drink.
Health drinks to try: prebiotic green tea, soft drinks rich in L-theanine, and cold-pressed fruit juice
Keeping up with shifting food trends is one thing; improving how the shop itself is run matters just as much. A tool such as the POS for restaurants and drink businesses from Qashier acts as the engine behind it all, letting you manage the whole operation end to end. It comes fully featured and is easy to use, so every part of running your shop is handled at your fingertips, and you can check what is happening in the shop from anywhere, at any time — exactly what a modern operator needs. If you are interested, ask us for more information on LINE Official: @qashier.th or call 02-544-0267