Following the successful launch of Future Menus 2025 in Thailand, Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) officially kicked off the Philippine rollout of its 2025 edition in Metro Manila, with events held in Quezon City and Pasay.
Branded as “The Taste Kitchen,” the pocket events gathered local food entrepreneurs at Avire Tower in Quezon City and Okada Manila in Pasay. The sessions highlighted how Philippine food businesses can future-proof their operations amid the evolving challenges and opportunities in the industry.
Leading the discussions were UFS Country Executive Chef Kenneth Cacho together with Senior Sous Chefs Carlos Aluning, J. Brando Santos, and Paulo Sia. They conducted industry talks and live demonstrations that brought to life the four key global trends identified in the Future Menus 2025 report.
At the Quezon City leg, the team was joined by Chef Josh Boutwood of The Bistro Group, who shared valuable insights on culinary innovation and business strategies with the attendees.
“On its third year, Future Menus continues to evolve alongside the dynamic needs of the foodservice industry,” shares Sheala Ang, Operator Experience Manager at UFS Philippines. “We understand how challenging it is for chefs to keep menus fresh and relevant while adapting to ever-changing diner preferences. With insights from over 250 chefs globally, Unilever Food Solutions is committed to turning global trends into practical, profitable recipes that empower chefs to create future-ready dining experiences.”
An In-Depth Look at the Future of Food
The UFS Future Menus 2025 report is more than just a trend guide—it’s a roadmap to success in a fast-changing culinary landscape. Featuring four global trends backed by research, chef insights, and actionable tips, the report helps operators meet evolving diner expectations for creativity and innovation.
Street Food Couture
Traditional street foods are being elevated to gourmet offerings with chef expertise in every food service channel, including fine dining. Gen Z is a major driver of this trend, with 65% seeking value for money when it comes to food and dining experiences. With humble ingredients and cooking techniques like charcoal grilling, steaming, and wok hei, chefs are elevating favorites such as crepes, tacos, skewers, burritos, spring rolls, dumplings, bao buns, and Korean corn dogs.
Diner Designed
Diner Designed is all about putting personalization at the heart of the culinary experience, with growing demand for custom flavors and interactive dining. Emerging technologies like AI and AR are driving this trend forward by enabling immersive, multisensory meals. Diners now enjoy more control through techniques like table-side cooking, 3D printing, build-your-own dishes, and blowtorching. With 47% of people now preferring to spend money on experiences over material goods, UFS supports businesses with training, menu engineering, and the easy integration of menu trends.
Borderless Cuisine
Borderless Cuisine celebrates the fusion of global food traditions, driven by globalization, culinary tourism, and migration. This trend brings exciting new flavors and ingredients to the table while honoring authentic techniques and cultural roots. Dishes blend the old with the new, featuring standout ingredients like miso, kimchi, shiso, pomegranate, and calamansi to create fresh, yet respectful culinary experiences.
Culinary Roots
Culinary Roots highlights a return to indigenous ingredients and hyperlocal cuisines, as chefs delve into forgotten recipes and traditional techniques to honor the regions they cook in.
The Metro Manila “Taste Kitchen” event marked a significant step in UFS’s commitment to supporting food businesses in Luzon. Following the Manila launch, UFS rolled out Future Menus sampling events in key cities including Bacolod, Nueva Ecija, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Cebu.
Created for professional chefs, foodservice operators and even culinary students and home cooks, UFS Future Menus is an annual, data-driven global report and resource that identifies emerging food trends and provides chefs and foodservice operators with actionable insights, recipe ideas, and techniques to help chefs innovate menus and stay ahead in a competitive industry. The report combines extensive global data with direct input from Unilever’s network of professional chefs to offer guidance on emerging trends such as Street Food Couture, Diner Designed, Borderless Cuisine, and Culinary Roots.
1 Comment
Future-focused menu trends like the ones highlighted in UFS’s Future Menus 2025 really show how operators are moving toward fresher, more customizable dining experiences. It’s interesting to see this shift because guests increasingly look for simple, flavor-forward options that still feel comforting. I recently reviewed the Chicken Salad Chick menu for 2025, and it follows a similar direction with scratch-made, Southern-style choices that remain affordable and flexible. If anyone wants a quick look at their updated offerings. https://chickensaladschickmenu.com/