Industry Insights: Should Foodservice Operators Make Health and Wellness a Strategic Priority?

Industry Insights: Should Foodservice Operators Make Health and Wellness a Strategic Priority?

Summary

This report is part of a series on key trends and issues that are currently affecting the consumer landscape in consumer goods, foodservice, and packaging. The report assesses how much of a priority health and wellness should take compared to other areas of strategic focus for foodservice operators.

While health and wellness has historically taken a back seat in foodservice, growing discussions about ultra-processed foods, breakthroughs in medicine such as GLP-1 drugs, and tightening public health regulation are pressuring operators to improve their menus. However, reactive trends such as clean label goods and personalized nutrition are not as easily translated into foodservice spaces as they are into retail.

Scope

• Health and wellness is a priority, but convenience and affordability remains top priorities for businesses and consumers. For foodservice, this is the moment to embrace health as a strategic priority—by balancing clean-label nutrition, affordability, and seamless accessibility.
• In the next few years, consumers will demand greater transparency, while governments enforce stricter labeling laws on nutrition, ingredient sourcing, and allergens. The foodservice industry will embrace automation in food prep, AI-driven menu personalization, and smart inventory management to enhance efficiency and freshness.
• In five or more years, GLP-1 medications and health awareness will become more mainstream, and regulations and transparency standards will tighten up. Clean-label innovation, clearer nutrition labeling, and responsible sourcing will become non-negotiable industry standards, reshaping the competitive landscape.

• Understand the challenges and opportunities for addressing health and wellness trends in foodservice
• Gain insight into how key foodservice channels are addressing health and wellness demands in unique ways
• Discover how competitors in the industry are already responding to health and wellness trends and what else needs to be done to fill the gaps in consumer demand