TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — As younger consumers look for meals that are both flavorful and affordable, Filipino cuisine is drawing increased attention, according to the “Flavor Chase” trends report for 2025 from Tastewise. The consumer insights platform said recent artificial intelligence-supported research shows demand for Filipino foods has risen by nearly 50% in the past year.

“Two major factors are driving this change,” said Alon Chen, Tastewise co-founder and chief executive officer. “First, the cost-of-living crisis is pushing consumers to find affordable ways to enjoy high-quality meals — especially as 89% of US dining happens at home, fueling demand for budget-friendly but elevated dishes.

“Second, social media is sparking curiosity for new flavors. With just one click, people can explore food trends from around the globe, encouraging them to experiment with and embrace these exciting new cuisines.”

Other food and beverage trends the report identified as standing out in 2025 are Asian street food; Middle Eastern flavors, including black lime and hawaij (a spice blend from Yemen); hyper-personalized nutrition for hormone regulation and the post-GLP-1 era; and functional hydration and Celtic salt, which is marketed as boosting hydration, electrolytes and minerals.

“Hawaij is very popular where I’m from in the Middle East,” Chen told Food Business News. He added that the spice mix has been associated with alleviating some health issues.

“These flavors allow you to get new experiences, but they’re also healthy,” he said.

Hyper-personalized nutrition and GLP-1 drugs have created a “transformation time for the food and beverage space,” Chen said, when consumers are being more thoughtful about what they’re eating.

“GLP-1 drugs make you almost feel like you’re not hungry anymore,” he said. “But what you choose to eat sometimes is quality over quantity, which is a big thing that was missing. The volume of calories you need to consume changes daily, so what retailers are seeing is a shift to quality over quantity.”

Because GLP-1 drugs can be expensive without insurance coverage, a post-GLP-1 scenario offers consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers “an opportunity to step in and provide hyper-personalized nutritional support that fills the gap, ensuring long-term health and wellness solutions,” the report said.

Functional hydration is another trend the Tastewise report identified for its connections to hormonal health and overall wellness and fitness. Chen called it “a subset of gut health” that is growing quickly.

“You can look at pomegranate juice, for example,” he said. “It’s highly regarded for hydration and is growing in that context.”

There was more emphasis last year on menopause-supporting food and beverage choices, but now the trend is moving more into hormone balancing, Chen said. It reaches beyond women, according to the Tastewise report, because hormones affect everyone.

Celtic salt has grown in popularity as more consumers look for hydration solutions that include minerals and are naturally sourced, unrefined and lend a unique flavor to water or hydration-focused beverages, the report said.

“What we’re seeing now is crazy with Celtic salt,” Chen said. “The beauty of this is (it has) 80 or 90 of the vitamins and minerals we need, so people are switching from regular salt to Himalayan or Celtic salt.”

The 2024 trends predictions from Tastewise emphasized guajillo peppers, late-night snacking and indulgent but affordable foods.

The company uses AI to analyze social media content, recipes, menus and shopping patterns to arrive at the report findings. Tastewise said the latest trends report leveraged datasets of 7.14 million consumers, 45 million social media posts, 6.3 million recipes and 168 million dishes across 1.1 million restaurants to come up with its US-focused insights.