Unilever Food Solutions Unveils the Key Future Menus 2025 Trends in Canada

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TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 12, 2025--

Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) proudly brought to life its third annual thought leadership whitepaper, Future Menus, at an exclusive Canadian launch event hosted at Prime Seafood Palace in Toronto. The evening brought together top customers and media to experience firsthand the four food service trends shaping 2025, brought to life through interactive and immersive elements.

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This Canadian debut comes as part of UFS’s global rollout of Future Menus 2025, highlighting four key trends identified through in-depth research. Findings show Asian flavours are overtaking traditional European culinary strongholds like France and Italy. Chinese and Japanese cuisines now rank in the top five global favourites across all age groups, while Korean and Mexican flavours are also surging in demand. 1

The big culinary shift from West to East and North to South is influencing this year’s four distinct global menu trends:

1. 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 Canadians are deeply price-conscious; nearly half report borrowing money or using savings to buy food, and they prioritize value for money when dining out. They spend the most on restaurant meals and food delivery compared to other generations, further driving demand for affordable gourmet street food options. Filipino, Mexican, Indian, and Korean street foods are gaining ground, with Filipino cuisine thriving in cities like Toronto through night markets and venues such as Lamesa and Tita Flips. Popular Canadian street food twists include Indian-style pizza and butter chicken roti. 2

2. Borderless Cuisine – Globalisation and migration are blending diverse food traditions as chefs honour their multicultural origins. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Canadians enjoy experiencing other cultures through food, and over half (57%) are more open to ethnic foods now than before. 3 Canadian cuisine is evolving with influences from Southeast Asian, South Asian, Latin American, and African dishes, reflecting Canada’s multicultural landscape. Chefs blend Eastern flavours into Canadian classics, Toronto’s Vietnamese-inspired pizza and fusion approaches like Kamayan-style Filipino feasts are popular examples.

3. Culinary Roots – Canadian chefs are celebrating local heritage and uncovering lesser-known recipes, notably Indigenous ingredients and preservation techniques like smoking and open-fire cooking. Canada’s multicultural identity means chefs are empowered to promote authentic traditions with creative, locally sourced recipes, contributing to a food scene rooted in both innovation and heritage.

4. Diner Designed – Growing demand for personalised and immersive dining experiences is driving this trend, with 47% of people now preferring to spend money on experiences over material goods. 4 UFS supports businesses with training, menu engineering, and the easy integration of menu trends.

Each of the four trends was unveiled through interactive experiences that transformed the research into unforgettable moments. Guests entered through a purple-carpet catwalk for Street Food Couture, greeted by models showcasing the elevated “couture” side of street food. Borderless Cuisine featured a conveyor belt of flavour mashups paired with a vibrant Bollywood fusion dance, symbolizing cultural and culinary crossovers. Culinary Roots paid homage to the steakhouse heritage of Prime Seafood Palace with a live jazz band, evoking authenticity and tradition. For Diner Designed, guests participated in an AI-powered personalized dessert experience, after filling out a short survey, AI recommended a custom dessert, which guests then brought to life themselves by selecting their cake base and toppings.

Adding to the excitement, Matty Matheson – Chef, Owner of Prime Seafood Palace, Best Selling Author, Award-Winning Executive Producer and Television Personality was in attendance, hosting the convergence of culinary creativity and global food trends.

About Unilever Food Solutions

Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) is a business of chefs for chefs, operating in over 75 countries and accounting for 20% of Unilever’s Foods Business Group. With a team of 250+ in-house chefs, UFS provides high-quality products, industry inspiration, and expert support to the food service industry. Our portfolio includes power brands like Knorr Professional and Hellmann’s, which deliver top performance in professional kitchens. Through innovative recipes, culinary training, and the Positive Kitchens initiative, we help chefs enhance creativity, profitability, and well-being. Learn more at www.ufs.com.

About Future Menus Research

The Future Menus 2025 trends book by Unilever Food Solutions was compiled using robust global data and extensive chef inputs, including industry reports, social media analytics using 237,000 keywords representing 312 million searches across 21 countries, perspectives from UFS’ 250 professional chefs and in-depth feedback from more than 1,100 chef professionals in 20 markets worldwide via UFS e-panels. These insights have been translated into practical, action-driven solutions for foodservice operators globally, including recipe ideas, techniques, and ingredient solutions.

Editor’s Note: Interviews with UFS experts, as well as an array of visual assets from the Future Menus trends book and the launch event, are available by contacting [email protected]

1 GlobalData Industry Insights: Condiment and Seasoning Opportunities in Foodservice, 2025

2 Retail Insider. (2025, May 21). Canada’s 2025 dining trends: Restaurants Canada/Circana report.https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2025/05/canadas-2025-dining-trends-restaurants-canada-circana-report/

3 Mintel. (2023, January 9). Three quarters of Canadians like to experience other cultures through food.https://www.mintel.com/press-centre/three-quarters-of-canadians-like-to-experience-other-cultures-through-food/

4 Euromonitor: Premiumisation 2024

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250912133536/en/

CONTACT: Danielle Sippley

[email protected]

KEYWORD: NORTH AMERICA CANADA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: RESTAURANT/BAR FOOD/BEVERAGE RETAIL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOURCE: Unilever Food Solutions

Copyright Business Wire 2025.

PUB: 09/12/2025 11:07 AM/DISC: 09/12/2025 11:06 AM

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