Food and Technology 2026: The Digital Food Culture Gap
Digital technologies now shape every part of consumers’ food lives, serving both as tools for consumers to build their food lives and as powerful influences on food culture, consumer aspirations and values. But as digital influence accelerates, new tensions are emerging that marketers must understand to stay relevant.
Food and Technology 2026 unlocks a deeper understanding of the cultural, emotional and behavioral dynamics shaping today’s digital food ecosystem, while identifying the strategic opportunities resulting from the tension between aspiration and everyday pragmatism.
A streamlined Executive Brief is also included with your purchase of the full report, highlighting the most critical insights for your C-suite.
Published January 2026 | Report length: 69 pages | U.S. market coverage
- Executive Brief with key insights (PDF)
- General report (PowerPoint and PDF)
- Demographic data tables (Excel)
Quantitative research: Online national survey fielded September 18-29, 2025, n=2,136 U.S. adults aged 18-79. Margin of Error (MOE) MOE ±2.1% at 95% confidence level.
Qualitative research: Digital ethnographies: n=14 participants. Five-day immersive engagement (journaling, prompts, photos and videos) via asynchronous virtual platform. Follow-up in-depth interviews: n=7 selected from digital ethnography participants for 60-minute one-on-one interviews.
- Methodology
- Executive summary
- Digital Food Life: The Culture Gap
- Paths of Digital Influence: Driving Aspirations
- Digital Toolkits: Asserting Agency
- Notes of the Future of Digital Food Life: Between Agency and Automation
- Recommendations: Strategies for a Digitally Curated World
- How technology is redefining how consumers discover, plan, cook, evaluate and shop—and why these shifts are now central to category growth, competitive strategy and brand relevance.
- How consumers toggle between wanting help and wanting control—and how brands can design experiences that respect both.
- How social media algorithms surface trends, frame “quality” and accelerate premiumization, presenting category-specific opportunities.
- Why AI is poised to reshape brand strategy and consumer engagement with food and beverage—and why consumers still have reservations.
- Where digital culture and the exploration of health, cuisine and dietary experimentation intersect.
- What tactics brands can use to design offerings that support everyday food decision-making.
