Food Matters Live 2026 in London left us feeling inspired and excited about the future of food.
The last time we attended Food Matters Live was back in 2017, and it is fair to say the event has evolved considerably since then. What was once a more traditional exhibition now feels like something entirely different.
From the carefully curated mix of attendees to the innovative products on display and the thought-provoking talks taking place throughout the venue, the event was built around collaboration, learning, and innovation, three things we at Kudos Blends love.
After two days immersed in conversations with passionate food professionals, here are our key takeaways.
Showcasing Solutions in the NPD Discovery Zone
Food Matters Live provided the perfect opportunity to showcase a selection of our solutions, helping manufacturers respond to today’s biggest formulation challenges, all through baking powder innovation.
We enjoy showcasing not only the solutions available, but also how they can be achieved through an ingredient that is likely already present in the formulation. Baking powder is used in a wide range of baked goods, so rather than adding new ingredients and increasing back-of-pack declarations, why not optimise an ingredient already doing the job? By doing this, manufacturers can unlock additional benefits while keeping formulations as simple as possible.
Within the NPD Discovery Zone, we focused on three areas that continue to generate significant interest across the bakery sector both in the UK and globally:
These three topics sparked many valuable conversations with attendees looking to balance consumer expectations, ingredient costs, cleaner labels, and product performance. It was encouraging to see how many businesses are proactively exploring ways to future-proof their products while maintaining the quality consumers expect.
The Flavour and Colour Lab: Where Science Meets Practicality
One of the highlights of the event was our prime location overlooking the Flavour and Colour Lab stage.
Across the two days, we listened to a variety of engaging presentations and talks exploring the relationship between flavour, colour, psychology, and sensory perception. A particularly memorable session from Jozef Youssef and Charles Spence looked into how our senses work together to shape the eating experience, reminding us that flavour extends far beyond taste alone, and even the name of a product has a big impact on how it is perceived.
Alongside this, discussions around consumer psychology and purchasing behaviours offered fascinating insight into what drives consumers to buy products, and perhaps more importantly, what keeps them coming back for more.
These sessions reinforced something we often see in bakery development: successful products are rarely built on one attribute alone. Instead, they combine appearance, flavour, texture, expectation, and experience into something consumers genuinely enjoy.
What Else Is the Industry Talking About?
Several themes emerged throughout presentations and conversations across the show floor. Here are the ones that stood out.
1. Protein and Fibre Continue to Evolve
While protein remains an important focus for many manufacturers, there was growing discussion around fibre and how products can deliver broader nutritional benefits and maximise consumer appeal.
The challenge is no longer to simply add functionality. It is finding ways to incorporate these ingredients while maintaining the taste, texture, and eating experience consumers expect. This was also a key topic back in February at the American Society of Baking, so this is very much a global trend!
2. Cleaner Labels Remain a Priority
Clean-label formulation continues to be a major driver of innovation and strategy across the food industry.
Manufacturers are actively looking for opportunities to simplify ingredient declarations, improve ingredient transparency, and meet evolving consumer expectations around food labels. The conversations taking place at Food Matters Live suggest this trend is far from slowing down, and is in fact going at pace, with the industry trying to future-proof at every opportunity.
3. Making Cleaner Ingredients Work at Scale
Innovation is what drives our industry forward, but bringing those innovations to market successfully is where the real challenge begins.
Throughout the event, there was a strong focus on balancing cleaner, more consumer-friendly formulations with the realities of large-scale manufacturing.
Discussions centred around how manufacturers can embrace new ingredients and technologies while maintaining product consistency, operational efficiency, and commercial goals. It was a reminder that the best innovations are the ones that work just as well on the production line as they do in the development kitchen. Something that we have been passionate about since we began over 25 years ago.
An Industry Built by Passionate People
Beyond the technical talks and trend discussions, one of the most valuable aspects of Food Matters Live was the opportunity to connect with people from across the industry.
It was great to catch up with familiar faces, strengthen existing relationships, and meet new attendees. Whether speaking with product developers, ingredient suppliers, marketers, researchers, or founders, there was a shared enthusiasm.
Food Matters Live reminded us that while our industry continues to evolve, the passion behind it remains constant. Everyone we met cared deeply about creating better products, solving challenges, and helping food businesses succeed.
Events like Food Matters Live provide a valuable space for these conversations to happen. They allow ideas to be shared, challenges to be discussed openly, and new connections to be made, which often lead to collaborations that continue long after the event has finished.
Final Reflections
Food Matters Live 2026 demonstrated just how much innovation is taking place across the food and bakery sectors.
We look forward to continuing the conversations started at Food Matters Live and working alongside manufacturers and other ingredient companies to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead.
