What’s Trending for Food Festivals in 2025.

The popularity and interest in food festivals continues to grow driven by the increasing popularity of sustainable and organic cuisine. Food consumption habits are changing, and people want to know more about options available which is prompting an increased interest in food festival attendance and culinary tourism.

Many western countries are currently being faced with a population health crisis resulting in increases in obesity and diabetes and government organisations have been promoting healthy options for food and drinks. The move away from processed foods and a reduction in chemical additives has spawned a general interest in healthy cuisine as consumers seek out new varieties and recipes to enhance the tastes. Food and drink festivals are taking advantage of this rising interest with more events and an expected increase in attendees. 

The Food Festival Market. 
Although there is a lack of specific data relating to festivals there are indicators that the culinary tourism market, which includes food festivals, is projected to grow significantly, with a CAGR of 22.8% and a projected market value of USD 253 billion by 2029. (Source: Research and Markets). The interest in foods from different regions and cultures is partly driving consumers to travel around the globe to sample new flavours and food. Festival organisers are bringing these new flavours from around the world into to a local event so those attendees can sample what's new without the need to travel. 

Local Sustainable Cuisine. 
As part of their sustainability objectives festival organisers will preference vendors who are embracing locally produced food with a focus on nearly farms or food producers. A complete absence of plastic packaging and use of sustainable containers is a priority along with the ability to demonstrate their low waste credentials. Food waste should be compostable further reducing unnecessary wastage. 

Chef Influencers. 
To create interest and increase ticket sales festival organisers are utilising celebrity chefs and cuisine influencers to enhance the experience for festival-goers. Live demonstrations on a central stage showing cooking masterclasses and discussing the merits of various ingredients can be a great draw for audiences. Interactive cooking shows and exclusive tasting events with key influencers enable audiences to get real hands-on experiences with key cuisine celebrities. 

New Global Flavours and Wellness. 
Organisers prefer to get a mix of cuisine vendors to participate in their events and they like to have a wide variety of food vendors from around the world. Vendors who can provide authentic foods and tastes from around the world are popular with Thai street food, African food, Vietnamese food and Filipino foods rising in popularity with festival-goers. New alternatives like plant-based meats and edible insect protein foods are currently trending and can fit well with any wellness theme. Other trending wellness foods include those with gut-friendly, and adaptogenic ingredients along with alcohol-free cocktails and mushroom-infused drinks for example. 

Festival Logistics. 
As with music festivals, food festival organisers are now utilising the latest technology to improve attendee experience and maximise efficiency. A festival App can include food ordering and queue tracking along with RFID wristbands for cashless payments. Organisers are collecting data on attendee footfall, spending patterns and vendor popularity, this information can be used to help the planning for future food and drink festivals. In addition, the data may help identify the food types that draw the greatest numbers indicating the types for vendors to focus on for future events. 

For festival organisers planning their next event using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

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