IFT FIRST 2025 in Chicago wasn't just another food technology conference – it was a preview of how the entire food and beverage industry is being disrupted. From groundbreaking natural sweeteners to the return of traditional fats, the trends emerging from this year's show signal fundamental shifts in how consumers think about food and what manufacturers need to deliver.
After walking the floors, sampling innovations, and talking with exhibitors, five major trends stood out as the forces reshaping food technology. Leading the charge? NNB Nutrition's bold declaration that "Sugar is Dead" -- and they have both the science and the product to back it up.
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Trend #1: The "Sugar is Dead" Revolution - Natural Sweeteners That Actually Work
IFT FIRST 2025 revealed the future of food tech. NNB Nutrition's "Sugar is Dead" campaign features SweetVantage with 2.5x stevia potency, no bitterness. Also trending: precision fermentation, functional foods over supplements, and traditional fats making a comeback.
The biggest buzz at IFT FIRST centered around NNB Nutrition's "Sugar is Dead" campaign, showcasing their SweetVantage technology that's finally solving stevia's bitter aftertaste problem. This isn't just another incremental improvement, it's a true breakthrough in natural sweetening. And it recently just got even better:
SweetVantage + Allulose: The Game-Changing Combination
NNB's booth drew massive crowds with their SweetVantage + Allulose packets delivering 2.5x the potency of traditional stevia without the characteristic bitterness that has limited stevia adoption for years. The precise formulation (120mg SweetVantage combined with 880mg allulose) creates what attendees described as genuine "sugar-like taste and texture", only one that would come without the blood sugar spikes.
The implications for food manufacturers are enormous. As one formulator put it, "You're using less sweetener, which means you're leaving more room for the good stuff like aminos, electrolytes, protein, and still keeping that taste on point."
Why This Matters for Every Food Manufacturer
For any company currently using stevia or sucralose, SweetVantage represents a competitive advantage that can't be ignored. The packets at IFT FIRST served as proof-of-concept for brands to experience the difference firsthand before incorporating the technology into their actual products.
The "Sugar is Dead" campaign isn't hyperbole – it's a recognition that consumers are demanding natural alternatives that don't compromise on taste. SweetVantage finally delivers both.
You can read more about SweetVantage in our article titled "SweetVantage - NNB Nutrition's Natural Sweetener Solution" and see the teaser to this release at "Try the Future of Natural Sweetening: NNB Nutrition Debuts SweetVantage + Allulose Packets at IFT FIRST 2025".
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Trend #2: Concepts and Experiential Products Are the New Standard
One of the most significant shifts at IFT FIRST was the prevalence of experiential products: finished foods and beverages that let attendees actually taste and feel innovations rather than just seeing ingredient powders.
Learning from XPO NRG's Success
This trend builds directly on the success of collaborative projects like XPO NRG, the industry-first energy drink that showcased multiple ingredient suppliers working together to create a tangible, relatable product that people could try and enjoy. The impact was obvious at IFT FIRST: brands everywhere were creating finished concepts rather than just displaying raw materials.
Why Concepts Work
Powdered ingredients, no matter how innovative, aren't relatable to most consumers or even food industry professionals. But when you can taste the difference SweetVantage makes in an actual beverage, or experience how precision-fermented actives work in real formulations, the value proposition becomes immediately clear.
This experiential approach is becoming essential for ingredient suppliers looking to break through the noise and demonstrate real-world applications of their innovations.
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Trend #3: Precision Fermentation Enables Smaller Doses, Bigger Impact
Precision fermentation technology is revolutionizing functional ingredients by producing pure actives at dramatically lower doses than traditional botanical extracts. This trend was perfectly exemplified by NNB Nutrition's SalidroPure.
From 300mg to 20mg: The SalidroPure Example
Traditional rhodiola extracts required 300mg doses to deliver meaningful amounts of the active compound salidroside (typically just 1-3% of the extract). With precision fermentation, SalidroPure delivers pure salidroside at just 20mg doses... a 15:1 improvement in efficiency.
Wild Rhodiola now protected by CITES - NNB Nutrition launches SalidroPURE as sustainable alternative, delivering pure salidroside through precision fermentation. The future of adaptogenic supplementation has arrived.
Multiple Benefits for Manufacturers
This dosage reduction creates cascading benefits:
- Better taste profiles without botanical flavors
- Easier formulation in beverages, gummies, and foods
- Improved sustainability by reducing pressure on wild plant populations
- Allergen elimination by avoiding source plant materials
- Space efficiency for more functional ingredients per serving
Opening New Applications
These smaller doses enable functional ingredients in applications that were previously impossible: energy drinks, ready-to-drink beverages, gummies, and functional foods that couldn't accommodate large botanical doses.
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Trend #4: Functional Foods/Drinks Triumph Over Powder Supplements
The shift from supplement powders to functional foods and beverages was unmistakable at IFT FIRST. Consumers want their nutrition integrated into products they actually enjoy eating and drinking, not as separate supplement rituals.
Why This Shift Is Happening
Modern and younger consumers are sophisticated about nutrition but prefer convenience and taste over taking multiple supplements. They want an increasing amount of their protein, adaptogens, and metabolic support built into their coffee, snacks, and meals.
NNB Nutrition brings SweetVantage + Allulose packets to IFT FIRST 2025 (Booth S1750). Natural sweetness 2.5x stronger than stevia WITHOUT the bitter aftertaste.
Enabling Technologies
This trend is only possible because of innovations like:
- Stable, beverage-ready ingredients that don't clump or settle
- Natural sweetening solutions that don't compromise taste
- Concentrated actives that fit into food matrices without overwhelming other ingredients
Manufacturing Implications
Food manufacturers who can successfully integrate functional benefits while maintaining taste, texture, and shelf stability will capture disproportionate market share in the growing functional food space.
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Trend #5: The Seed Oil Abolition – Traditional Fats Make a Comeback
The final major trend at IFT FIRST was the consumer interest in eliminating seed oils from food products. This was perfectly (and very ironically) demonstrated by Columbus Vegetable Oils, whose booth drew constant crowds sampling french fries cooked in beef tallow.
Why Consumers Are Rejecting Seed Oils
The shift away from vegetable oils is driven by growing awareness of:
- Inflammatory metabolites produced by omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids
- Unpleasant sensory characteristics including off-odors and flavors
- Traditional fat benefits like better satiety and taste
The Tallow Revolution
The beef tallow french fries at Columbus Vegetable Oils' booth weren't just a novelty, they were incredibly delicious and represent a fundamental shift in how consumers think about cooking fats. Attendees couldn't stop talking about the superior taste and mouthfeel compared to vegetable oil alternatives.
Manufacturing Opportunities
Food manufacturers who can successfully reformulate away from seed oils while maintaining cost-effectiveness and shelf stability will tap into a growing consumer demand for "ancestral" food ingredients that feel both healthier and more satisfying.
The Bigger Picture: Consumer Education Drives Innovation
All five trends share a common thread: educated consumers driving industry innovation. Just as we've seen in the supplement industry with the rise of clinically-dosed, research-backed ingredients, the broader food industry is being pushed toward transparency, efficacy, and genuine health benefits.
Why NNB Nutrition Leads Multiple Trends
NNB Nutrition's presence across several of these trends, from the "Sugar is Dead" campaign to precision fermentation advances, and this demonstrates their unique position as an innovation driver. Their approach of combining serious science with practical applications creates solutions that work for both manufacturers and consumers.
What This Means for Food Manufacturers
The companies that will thrive in this new landscape are those that:
- Embrace natural alternatives that actually perform better than synthetic options
- Create experiential products that let consumers taste the difference
- Leverage precision technologies for more efficient formulas
- Integrate function with flavor instead of treating them as competing priorities
- Respond to consumer health concerns about ultra-processed ingredients
Looking Forward: IFT FIRST as a Crystal Ball
IFT FIRST 2025 offered a glimpse into a food industry where consumer health consciousness and technological innovation are driving unprecedented change. From NNB Nutrition's sweetener revolution to the return of traditional cooking fats, the trends emerging from Chicago represent fundamental shifts that will reshape how we think about food.
For manufacturers still relying on outdated ingredients like bitter stevia extracts, highly processed omega-6 laden oils, and low-bioavailability botanicals, the writing is on the wall. The future belongs to companies that can deliver both health benefits and sensory satisfaction... and the technologies to make that possible are here now.
The question isn't whether these trends will reshape the food industry. It's whether your company will lead the change or be forced to follow.
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