The exciting new innovations launched onto the market in 2025 highlighted a number of key trends, including the rise of multifunctional nutrition products, cleaner label meat alternatives and global flavours.
Read on to discover the top 15 new innovations our readers engaged with most in 2025. We can't wait to see what 2026 will bring!
Wagamama's Firecracker Chick’n Ramen dish for Veganuary
Wagamama, a British restaurant chain that serves Japanese cuisine, teamed up with food personality Alfie Steiner (known as Alfie Cooks) to create a plant-based Firecracker Chick’n Ramen dish for Veganuary.
The limited-time dish featured a crispy vegan chicken alternative with smoky roasted aubergine and rice noodles, in a gochujang-spiced broth. Topped with sprouting broccoli, crispy chilli oil, spring onion, pickled red chillis, coriander and lime, the bowl was described by the chain as ‘bold yet comforting,’ designed to ‘set taste buds alight’.
Read more here.
Oatly's take on the matcha trend
Oatly launched a new Matcha Latte Oat Drink into UK retail this summer, responding to the increased popularity of the trendy green tea with British consumers.
Oatly said its flavour innovation has launched in response to changing behaviours surrounding cold drinks and coffee culture, tailored with the ‘matcha-curious’ in mind.
The drink features the signature green matcha colour, with a sweet green tea taste and a hint of vanilla. It is made using Oatly’s signature oat milk base and finely ground Tencha matcha.
Read more here.
Oatly's hot cocoa drink for the festive season
Oatly captured readers' attention yet again with the launch of a limited-edition hot cocoa oat milk product in the US ahead of the festive season.
According to the brand, the drink is ‘chocolatey and creamy,’ made from glyphosate-residue-free oats. It is certified gluten-free and non-GMO as well as plant-based, and contains vitamins A, D, B12 and beta-glucans (the soluble fibre in oats).
It launched into the chilled aisle, designed to be heated up and served warm at home.
Read more here.
This' first expansion into whole food-based products
UK plant-based brand This hit the headlines this spring when it unveiled its brand-new product line, This Is Super Superfood, made with fava bean protein, seeds and vegetables.
The brand is best-known for its range of hyper-realistic meat alternatives, such as This Isn’t Chicken. However, alongside shifting consumer preferences for natural, whole food-based products and cleaner labels, it has broadened its offering to include the new This Is Super Superfood range, described as its most ‘deliciously nutritious and versatile’ product line to date.
Among the range's first launches was ‘Super Block,’ a high-protein plant-based block claimed to contain 30% more protein than a typical tofu block of the same weight.
Read more here.
Violife's lentil-based coffee creamers
In January, Flora Food Group’s Violife brand expanded its line-up of dairy alternatives with a new lentil-based coffee creamer range.
Violife Supreme Coffee Creamers feature what the brand describes as a ‘breakthrough’ lentil protein formula, designed to deliver the smooth and rich texture offered by traditional dairy-based creamer products.
According to Violife, the new creamers stay perfectly blended with no separation or curdling. They are available in three flavours: Tempting Vanilla, Seductive Caramel and Boldy Original.
Read more here.
Minor Figures' entry into the functional drink space
Minor Figures launched Hyper Oat, a new range of oat drinks aimed at redefining consumer expectations within the functional beverage market, this spring.
The range features four unique flavours – Berry, Matcha, Turmeric and Mango – each crafted with ingredients such as adaptogens and nootropics. This emphasis on health aligns with current consumer trends, as many seek products that offer both enjoyment and wellness benefits.
Read more here.
Aldi Switzerland's mycoprotein chicken fillet alternative
Aldi Switzerland launched a new chicken fillet alternative made with naturally fermented mycoprotein from Libre Foods, the B2B food ingredient unit of Swiss food producer Planetary, in July.
The MyVay Gourmet Filet product is minimally processed, containing just four natural ingredients and offering a good source of protein and fibre while being low in saturated fats.
The fillet launched under Aldi’s MyVay brand, available in 242 stores across Switzerland since 7 July at recommended retail price parity with chicken fillet.
Read more here.
Eat Just's Just Meat plant-based chicken alternative
Eat Just, the maker of the mung bean-based Just Egg alternative product, recently announced the launch of its new chicken alternative in Texas, US.
Just Meat contains 18g of protein per serving – more protein per ounce than a conventional chicken thigh – and no cholesterol.
It aims to overcome the quality barrier to plant-based chicken adoption, with 2025’s Taste of the Industry report highlighting the need for improvement when it comes to taste and texture of plant-based meat alternative products.
Read more here.
Kraft Heinz Not Company's chipotle mayo and mac and cheese cups
This June, The Kraft Heinz Not Company – the plant-based joint venture of Kraft Heinz and NotCo – unveiled two new products, NotMayo Chipotle Squeeze and Kraft NotMac & Cheese Cups.
The NotMayo Chipotle Squeeze responds to the rise in popularity of spicy condiments, with data showing that spicy flavours are outpacing regular mayonnaise growth. The product is made with plant-based ingredients including soya bean oil and chickpea flour, with added chipotle pepper purée.
Meanwhile, the Kraft NotMac & Cheese Cups are a plant-based, microwaveable macaroni and cheese cup line created specifically for younger consumers seeking vegan convenience. The vegan alternative to cheese sauce contains coconut oil and fava bean protein, and is claimed to deliver the same creamy taste as classic and familiar Kraft Easy Mac while providing a dairy-free option.
Read more here.
Bosh's ready meal and pizza range
Plant-based food brand Bosh launched eight new ready meal products, including two pizzas, into Tesco stores across the UK this October.
The new range is designed to deliver flavour and nutrition to consumers, with each dish offering a good source of plant protein. It includes options such as Margherita Sourdough Pizza, Creamy No-Duja Pasta, Creamy Mac & Greens and more.
The products are inspired by recipes from the co-founders’ social media channels, where thousands of free recipes are already available to their 3.5 million followers.
Read more here.
Oatly and Nespresso's oat coffee capsules
At the beginning of the year, Swedish oat milk company Oatly teamed up with Nestlé-owned coffee giant Nespresso, to launch a limited-edition line of oat milk coffee capsules internationally.
The capsules, made exclusively for Nespresso Vertuo coffee machines, contain a ‘creamy, biscuity and indulgent’ blend of roasted and ground coffee beans crafted specifically for Oatly’s Barista Edition oat drink.
In a statement announcing the launch, the brands said the blend displays strong cereal and sweet aromatics, complemented by a smooth texture, low bitterness and light body.
Read more here.
Bio&Me's protein and fibre bars for women
UK gut-friendly food brand Bio&Me launched Daily Boost Fibre + Protein bars in October, specially developed to appeal to female consumers.
The brand said the bars address an unmet need for snacks that combine protein and fibre while offering a ‘less male-oriented alternative’ to many protein bars currently on the market.
Each of Bio&Me’s 40g bars provides 9g of protein and ten diverse plant-based ingredients, including wholegrain oats, dates, pumpkin seeds, carrots and extra virgin olive oil. They are launching in two varieties: blueberry and cocoa.
Read more here.
Impossible Foods' bite-sized steak alternative
This spring, Impossible Foods added a new innovation to its meat alternatives portfolio, Steak Bites – the brand’s first steak alternative product in the US.
The product offers a convenient pack of pre-seasoned, pre-cooked bite-sized steak alternative pieces, flavoured with a savoury blend of herbs and spices.
Impossible’s soya-based bites contain 21g of plant protein per serving, also offering a source of fibre, iron and B vitamins. They also contain zero cholesterol and 80% less saturated fat compared to animal-based steak, according to the brand.
Read more here.
Beyond Meat's 'blank canvas' offering
Beyond Meat generated a buzz this summer when it teased the launch of a new innovation, Beyond Ground.
Rather than imitating beef, pork or poultry specifically, the ambiguous offering is described as ‘Simply Beyond’ – with a neutral flavour serving as a ‘blank canvas’ for consumers to season as they see fit.
The product will also be available in three pre-seasoned varieties: Tuscan Tomato, Chipotle Pineapple and Korean BBQ.
It offers 27g of protein, 4g of fibre and 140 kcal per serving, and is made with just four ingredients, designed to address rising demand for alternative protein products with cleaner labels and enhanced nutritional profiles.
Read more here.
UnButter's shea-based butter alternative
UnButter, a Canadian vegan butter brand, aimed to provide a disruptive new innovation for the plant-based category with the launch of its shea-based, allergen-free product.
Brand founder Vivian Villa believes the product has potential to appeal to all consumers due to its taste, as well as being free from common allergens and high in healthy fats. It brings shea – a fat extracted from the nuts of the shea tree, commonly used in hair and skin care products due to its hydrating properties – to the dairy alternative category in what is claimed to be a market-first.
In September, it made its debut in Ontario, Canada, launching in three flavour varieties: Lighty Salted, Salted, and Herb + Garlic.
Read more here.
