Four food trends influencing workplace restaurant menus in 2025

Eating is an essential part of the working day wherever you are in the world.

Whether it’s a snack or a main meal, taking a moment to re-fuel, relax and reflect during the working day is really important, it helps us to be more productive, creative and happier!

Understanding what and how the world’s workforce likes to eat helps us to develop delicious dishes for our consumers all around the globe.

Here are the big food trends which are shaping our menus in 2025:

This trend may not be a surprise, but sustainable food isn’t as straightforward as it sounds as it means different things to different people.

In fact, the second edition of our sustainable food barometer, which is based on over 7,000 interviews, identified three distinct personas in terms of the way people feel about sustainable food; committed, undecided and distant.

Despite their differences, the three groups had a few things in common; one was that all these groups still eat meat regularly. This belief that sustainable equals being meat free is far from the truth. Reducing consumption of animal products is more common, likely and sustainable than widespread veganism. Our food tracker report revealed that 30% of consumers self-identify as flexitarian whilst just 3% identify as vegan.

This research also showed that the factors that people feel makes something sustainable vary hugely but the most common included being made with fresh ingredients, having clear labeling or certification, containing seasonal products, being fair trade and respecting animal welfare.

Another shared sentiment between the three personas identified in the sustainable food barometer was that access to recipe ideas and nutritional information would enable more people to follow a more sustainable diet.

Furthermore, this trend of eating sustainable is fundamentally linked with the next trend around health as our food tracker survey results show that the health benefits are the main motivation for eating sustainably for well over 50% of respondents.

When these same industries were asked what the main factors were which made a food healthy the common responses were: fresh ingredients, including fruits and vegetables, minimal processing, absence of additives or preservatives as well as being varied and balanced.

It’s clear from the wide range of objectives a person could have when looking for a ‘healthy’ meal that one dish would not be able to satisfy this criterion. A wide range of options should be available to address a various health needs.

And food from home

Bringing food from home, or ‘brown bagging’ is the most common way for workers all over the world to eat during their working day.

Our food tracker research revealed that the reasons why people choose to bring food from home vary a great deal. While 65% of people choose to do this because it’s less expensive, 48% also stated they choose food from home because they feel it’s healthier and 45% say it’s more convenient.

These figures indicate that workplace restaurants need to enhance their offerings in ensuring convenient, sustainable and healthy food is offered throughout the working day. All in an environment which welcomes socializing and connecting with colleagues over food.