How will food and drink brands remain relevant as consumer needs, sources of influence and social identities continue to shift? Join Mintel’s food and drink experts for a live discussion of Products to Systems, Authority Shifts and The Segmentation Reset. Drawing on the thinking behind each prediction, the session will explore the opportunities and challenges these changes create for innovation, brand building and long-term growth, before opening the discussion to your questions.

In this session, you’ll discover how these three Predictions will shape consumer expectations, influence brand strategy and create new opportunities for growth in 2027 and beyond.

Products to Systems

Consumers are shifting from buying products to building systems. As people become more deliberate about achieving specific outcomes, food and drink brands will need to think beyond occasions and categories, carving out a clear role within the personal ecosystems consumers assemble around health, convenience and wellbeing.

Authority Shifts

Trust, expertise and proof points are being renegotiated across food and drink, as a broader ecosystem of creators, communities, algorithms, AI tools and third-party validators emerge. Within this new environment, brands will need to prove value, rather than simply communicate it.

The Segmentation Reset

Rather than anchoring innovation around chasing the novelty of viral fads, long-term growth will come from acknowledging the new consumer identities that are emerging around new lifestyle behaviours and living arrangements.

Meet the Presenters
Alex Beckett
Alex Beckett
Principal Strategist
Alex is a global analyst at Mintel and a regular speaker at international conferences. Specialising in beverages, he combines a deep understanding of consumers and innovation to deliver insights that blend reality checks with creative thinking
Alice Pilkington
Associate Principal
Alice combines a flair for uncovering exciting, data-driven consumer insights with a passion for food that stems from her previous career as a cookery school teacher for Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay. She regularly provides enthusiastic and thought-provoking presentations to both clients and trade shows. This year she led the Global Food and Drink Predictions team.

  • EMEA
  • Food and Drink
On-demand(October 29th, 2026)
Webinar

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