Fancy water, matcha & Made in USA: FreshDirect spots food & drink trends to watch in 2026
The New Year is around the corner, which means it’s time to leave old trends and habits behind and embrace new ones in how we live, entertain, travel, dress, and of course, eat.
Charlotte Myer, head of merchandising with online grocery delivery company FreshDirect (which primarily serves the greater New York City Tri-state area)already has a window into foods, flavors and drinks set to dominate our palate in 2026.
In its food trends predictions for next year, the online grocer expects shoppers to be fascinated with fancy water, matcha and Made in USA products, among other findings, although Myer did note one beverage drinking behavior that caught her by surprise - the comeback of high ABV ready-to-drink cocktails.
“That one surprised me just because low ABV and the trend of younger consumers abstaining from drinking alcohol or drinking a little bit less, is also a huge trend,” Myer said in an interview with Bagable.com.
How did FreshDirect, which sources food products directly from farmers, ranchers, fishermen and small local producers, arrive at these finding?
“We use a lot of different factors to trendspot. One of them is going to trade shows, tasting products, meeting new brands and founders that are starting up in our market or elsewhere in the country,” she said.
“We also go into grocery stores in addition to analyzing our own data and understanding what’s driving growth within categories,” Myer said. “The better we understand that, the better we can lean into those trends.”
That’s vital for the business given that FreshDirect offers about 12,000 unique items online and delivers to 250,000 customers over the course of a year.
“Having newness with our products is very important because we typically turn over about 20% of our selection each year, meaning for about 20% of the selection, we’re removing slower moving items and bringing in something fresh to offer customers,” Myer said. “In this era of social media, being on top of moments of virality with products and flavors is important. It’s also challenging because these moments come and go quickly.”
Rolling into the New Year, here are FreshDirect’s predictions:
We’re still craving sweet heat: “Maybe ‘swicy’ is the cooler way to say it, but the mix of sweet and spicy is still going strong,” said Myer. “We’re seeing huge growth in ingredients like the ‘We Love You (Sweet & Spicy) Gochujang Sauce’ and a bunch of other exciting items.”
Artisanal water: Carrying a bottle of fancy water, sourced from mineral springs in an exotic part of the world, has become a flex.
“There’s a growing understanding and specificity around the salinity, bubble size and minerality in certain waters, and how they pair well with certain foods, similar to what you find with wine,” said Myer. “Hydration has become top of mind for a lot of people. Fancy water is also like an affordable luxury.”
Matcha Movement - Matcha has officially taken over coffee shops, but in 2026, FreshDirect expects matcha to become a mainstream ingredient and make its way onto plates, with matcha-flavored desserts, snacks, drinks and supplements.
“There’s a kind of Umaminess to matcha that works well in a snack format,” said Myer.
Made in the USA: - Households are paying close attention to where their food is sourced. Home-grown and locally-sourced brands are benefiting from this trend, said Myer.
“There is an element of the tariff impact of this year that has driven prices up in imported goods and made US-made products look more attractive from a pricing standpoint. But I do think that consumers have been interested in shopping locally and supporting farmers, fishermen and food producers for a while now,” Myer said.
Ready-to-drink High ABV cocktails: FreshDirect has noted an uptick in consumers purchasing high ABV ready-to-drink beverages as a convenient way to enjoy craft cocktails at home.
“Some of it is related to cost of living. People are eating out a little bit less, going out to bars a little bit less,” Myer said. “The prices when you do go out have gotten so high that we’re finding ways to do those things at home. Being able to buy a high- quality, well-balanced, well-mixed cocktail that’s ready-to-drink and enjoyed at home makes sense. I was surprised by this because low ABV and abstaining from drinking has also been a trend.”
Chefs take their brands into grocery stores: - High-profile chefs are expanding into grocery stores.
“The OGs of this are like RAO’s with their pasta sauce, and Roberta’s Pizza has been around in the market for a long time,” said Myer. “It seems like more and more chefs are looking to diversify their business streams and get their name out there and build their brand through a CPG product.”