Not K-food — Japanese Western cuisine tipped as 2027's big food trend

Whole Foods Market, the US organic grocery retailer, has named "yoshoku" — Japanese-style Western cuisine — among its top food trends for 2027. Yoshoku refers to Western dishes reimagined through a Japanese lens, including tonkatsu and Japanese-style curry.

Whole Foods Market's annual food trend report is closely watched by retail and food media around the world as a key industry outlook. It draws on the firsthand experience of the company's buyers and food specialists to identify shifts in consumer behavior.

The retailer's "Eight Food Trends for 2027" covers everything from a growing emphasis on ingredient origins and the rediscovery of bitter flavors to Japanese-style Western cooking. The report also highlights skin-health foods, expanded use of legumes, and zero-waste approaches that repurpose food byproducts.

Whole Foods said American interest in yoshoku is rising, pointing to dishes such as tonkatsu, omurice, Japanese curry, hamburger steak and Napolitan spaghetti as prime examples.

Content about Japanese bakery items is also spreading on social media, including shio pan (salt bread), egg sandwiches, katsu sando (tonkatsu sandwiches) and curry bread. Whole Foods said the yoshoku trend is expected to move beyond restaurants and into grocery purchases — driving demand for sandwich bread, sauces, seasonings and ready-to-eat meals.

The report also underscores the growing importance of ingredient origins. Whole Foods said the concept of "terroir" — long associated with wine — is set to spread to other food categories, with the distinct character imparted by soil, climate and geography drawing greater attention. Examples cited include region-specific honey, single-farm chocolate and olive oil, and grains with clearly traceable origins. In seafood, the report also flagged "merroir," a term for the way ocean environments shape flavor.

"Beauty meets nutrition" was another trend identified — a consumer shift toward foods and supplements eaten for skin health. The category spans collagen jellies and drinks, olive oil shots, and skin-friendly foods such as sardines and oysters. Whole Foods said the lines between snacks, supplements and skincare are blurring, positioning collagen and omega-3 products for growth.

On the flavor front, the report predicts a rise in bitter tastes. Consumers are moving away from sweetness toward more complex profiles featuring bitterness and herbal notes. Bitter greens such as radicchio and endive were cited alongside non-alcoholic cocktails and amaro-style drinks — beverages inspired by the Italian herbal liqueur amaro, which carries a bittersweet, herbaceous character.

Legumes are also expected to see wider use, with the report pointing to lentil balls, chickpea and edamame snacks, and bean salads as examples of how pulses are expanding into main dishes, convenience foods and snacks.

In terms of cooking techniques, the report highlighted a trend of blending familiar recipes with other foods — combinations that deliver both comfort and novelty. Examples include transforming a cinnamon roll into focaccia, or turning mango sticky rice into ice cream.

Ingredients are also expected to get simpler. The report noted that consumers seeking to avoid additives and ultra-processed foods are increasingly treating a short ingredient list as a marker of quality.

The report also spotlighted zero-waste cooking, citing pasta made from leftover bread, baking ingredients derived from oat pulp and soy pulp, and cooking oil made from olive pomace.

Cathy Strange, a member of Whole Foods Market's trend committee, said 2027 will bring "a growing curiosity about where food comes from, a willingness to try unexpected flavors like bitterness, and a move back toward simple, minimally processed ingredients."