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Whole Foods spotlights top 10 food trends for 2023

From yaupon-infused beverages to reinvented retro foods

Russell Redman

October 21, 2022

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This year, Whole Foods has brought back the Trends Discovery Box, an assortment of products representing each of the 10 food trends.Whole Foods Market

Specialty grocer Whole Foods Market this week announced its top 10 projected food trends for next year.

The annual forecast is made by the Whole Foods Market Trend Council, a collective of more than 50 Whole Foods team members, who include local foragers, regional and global buyers, and culinary experts. The group compiles trend predictions based on its members’ decades of experience and expertise in product sourcing and study of consumer preferences. Trends also are gleaned from in-depth work-shopping with emerging and current brands, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods said.

“Our trends predictions are an exciting look at where we believe both product innovation and customer preferences are headed in the coming year,” according to Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, chief marketing officer at Whole Foods. “We anticipate seeing these trends in the food industry at large, on dinner tables, in lunch boxes and on our store shelves.”

The retailer’s eighth-annual food trend predictions include the following:

• Yaupon-infused beverages
• Repurposed pulp
• Produce-packed pastas
• Dates as sweetener
• Chicken/egg animal welfare
• Kelp in food products
• Climate-conscious callouts on labels
• Reinvented retro foods
• Wellness-focused pet food/supplements
• Avocado oil goes mainstream

Related:Shoppers fine-tune holiday grocery spending plans

Whole Foods said that it’s also bringing back the Trends Discovery Box, a curated assortment of 10 products to represent each of the 10 trends in the forecast. Available for $30, and carrying an estimated value at over $50, the product boxes are designed to enable customers to taste all the trends at once, the retailer said. The trend boxes went on sale this week and are available for a limited time at wholefoodsmarkettrendsbox.com.

“We’re thrilled to see things like baked goods with upcycled pulp from plant-based milks and ingredients like farmed kelp continue to gain popularity,” Oblisk added. “From product labels that include sustainability efforts to poultry and egg suppliers that are leading the way in animal welfare, many of this year’s trends predictions showcase brands on a mission to make a true impact. We look forward to watching these trends come to life in our aisles in 2023.”

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Do these trends line up with what you're planning for? What are you seeing at store-level? Let us know in the comments below. 

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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