9 Predictions for How We’ll Eat in 2024

Transparency in ingredients.

No one can predict with certainty what we will eat and drink in the new year, but multitudes try.

As my own end-of-the-year ritual, I sift through an avalanche of predictions from big food companies, PR firms, restaurant groups and market researchers. And then I get on the phone, interviewing the best prognosticators in the business.

I’m not interested in the next viral “chickle” or what will replace almond moms and girl dinners. Instead, I study small cultural, media and economic data points and watch the trend emerge.

So what’s up for 2024? “I’d call it hi-lo,” said Andrew Freeman, president of AF & Co., the San Francisco consulting firm that for 16 years has published a popular food and hospitality trend report in conjunction with the brand and marketing firm Carbonate. “There is this desire for boldness and maximalism and collaboration, but with this sense that whatever I spend, I need to feel real value for my money.”

People want high-quality ingredients, but they also want value — especially members of Generation Z, who are emerging as sensible and skeptical cooks and diners who want safe rewards wrapped in adventure.

Luxury will be found less in the cost or rarity of an ingredient but rather in the quality of a product that makes life easier, interesting and more fun.

“A lot of it is, ‘I just want this fantastic experience to take us away from what’s happening on the news,’” said Jennifer Zhou, who helps lead the flavor and color team at the global food processor ADM.

But there has to be a value proposition, said Sally Lyons Wyatt, who analyzes shopping and consumption trends for the market research firm Circana. “There are absolutely levers people will be pulling next year in order to manage the wallet,” she said.

The meatless hamburger at Superiority Burger, in New York, is made with quinoa, chickpeas and walnuts, and represents transparency and purity of ingredients that will be popular in 2024.  KARSTEN MORAN for The New York Times

Here is what to watch for.

Meals are so 2023. Next year will be all about snacks. Small, delicious bites are a low-stakes way to explore new cuisines. They’re a canvas for cultural hybrids