INSIDE SIAL INSIGHTS: THE TRENDS SHAPING TOMORROW’S MARKET
In food innovation, the next big idea rarely appears in isolation. It usually takes shape through thousands of small signals: a new claim on a pack, a reformulated recipe, a different portion size, a promise of energy, gut health, reduced carbon impact or simply greater pleasure. For Xavier Terlet, Senior Advisor for Innovation at ProtéinesXTC, these signals form a language. Through the World Food Innovation Barometer, based on the NewFoodData database, ProtéinesXTC analyses several thousand product launches each year to understand where the global food sector is really moving.
This expertise is one of the pillars of the latest SIAL Insights white paper, produced with SIAL Paris’ expert partners ahead of the next edition of the show, which will take place from 17 to 21 October 2026 at Paris Nord Villepinte. As the international food community prepares to gather in Paris, the report offers a timely reading of the forces shaping markets, shelves and consumer expectations. It does not simply list trends. It examines the rise of hyper-functional health claims, the return of pleasure as a more conscious and sensory experience, the search for accessible added value, the evolution of plant-based food beyond meat alternatives, and the way environmental commitment is becoming more concrete, closer to everyday purchasing decisions. It also points to a market that is increasingly fragmented, individualised and demanding, where consumers still want enjoyment, but expect it to come with reassurance, usefulness and the right price.
For Xavier Terlet, the challenge for manufacturers lies in making innovation meaningful, not just new. In a difficult economic context, consumers are making sharper choices, but they are not lowering their expectations. Pleasure remains the first driver of food choice, yet it is now surrounded by demands for health, convenience, safety and ethics. In this interview, Xavier Terlet explains how ProtéinesXTC contributed to SIAL Insights, what innovation means today, and why SIAL Paris continues to act as a global compass for the food industry.
Interview with Xavier Terlet, Senior Advisor for Innovation at ProtéinesXTC
How did you support SIAL in building and analysing the trends presented in the latest SIAL Insights report?
Every year, ProtéinesXTC produces the World Food Innovation Barometer, or BIAM. This annual study is built using NewFoodData, our database that tracks and analyses food innovations launched around the world. It allows us to identify how the new product offer is evolving, what trends are gaining ground and which new innovation levers are emerging. This work is what enables us to highlight the major directions shaping food innovation today.
How would you define food innovation today?
Innovation is, first and foremost, about offering consumers a new benefit. And the first thing consumers expect from a food product is pleasure. After that come guarantees around safety, health and well-being, convenience and ethics. Without these guarantees, there is less pleasure.
What are the main trends or shifts you are currently seeing in food innovation?
That is precisely the work we carry out as part of SIAL Insights, so it is difficult to sum it up in just a few lines. What we can say, however, is that pleasure remains dominant, particularly in a challenging economic context for consumers. In health, we are seeing a move towards hyper-functional new products, with promises aimed at very specific targets, sometimes close to the nutraceutical or medical worlds. At the same time, there is also a simpler, more accessible added-value offer around health, ecology and other benefits, designed to remain affordable.
Do you have any key figures that illustrate the importance or dynamics of this sector?
There are many. But if I had to choose one, I would say that one in two new products launched on the market fails and disappears from shelves within a year. The central challenge remains the same: meeting expectations with the right benefit at the right price.
Which food categories seem most promising for innovation in the coming years?
All categories have potential, provided the product is able to deliver pleasure, together with guarantees of safety, health, convenience and ethics.
Does pleasure remain the leading driver of food innovation?
Yes, and this is true everywhere in the world. Of course, pleasure does not mean exactly the same thing in every market or culture, but it remains the core driver.
What role does a trade show such as SIAL Paris play in discovering and accelerating food innovation?
When we created SIAL Innovation in Paris 30 years ago, and then expanded it around the world, we contributed to making SIAL Paris a global food innovation show. Today, SIAL Paris sets the tone for food trends for professionals across the world. I am very proud of that.