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Hey team,
Whole Foods just dropped their annual trend report, and honestly, it's got me thinking. Tallow is back. Fiber is finally getting some attention. Candy companies are trying to make "healthier" versions. Instant food that doesn't suck is showing up in freezers.
The wellness aisle and regular grocery aisle are basically merging at this point. I've seen a lot of trends come and go over the years. This one feels different, though. It's not just another fad. The whole food environment is shifting. And it's changing the conversations you need to have with clients.
Let me break down what's happening and why it matters.
Tallow and Animal Fats Are Making a Comeback
So animal fats are back. Tallow specifically. For years, we were told to avoid them. Then seed oils became the bad guy. Now we're seeing a complete reversal, cooking with beef fat is trendy again. It's showing up everywhere. Beauty products, freezer aisles, fast-casual restaurants advertising "seed oil-free" like it's a major selling point. And look, I think this is mostly good.
Not because tallow is magic or anything. But because it signals people are rejecting ultra-processed stuff and going back to foods that are just... simpler.We cooked with these fats for thousands of years. Then, food companies convinced everyone that vegetable oils were healthier because they're "plant-based." Which turned out to be pretty misleading since those oils are heavily processed.
Your clients are seeing this stuff. They're hearing about it on podcasts. Instagram. From friends. If your nutrition advice still sounds like it's from the low-fat era, you're gonna seem out of touch. You don't need to tell everyone to start cooking with tallow. But you should understand why it's happening. It's part of a bigger shift toward whole foods, less processing, and eating things that our grandparents would actually recognize as food.
Fiber Is Finally Getting Its Moment
Protein has dominated forever. Protein everything. Protein bars, snacks, ice cream, water, you name it. Now fiber's catching up.
Prebiotic snacks, fortified breads, gut-health drinks. Pepsi even made a prebiotic cola, which is... interesting. When Big Food starts adding fiber to everything, you know it's gone mainstream. This is actually great because most people's fiber intake is terrible. The average American eats like 15 grams a day. Should be getting 25-35 minimum. That gap causes digestive issues, blood sugar problems, inflammation, all kinds of stuff. But here's the thing, not all fiber is the same.
There's fiber from actual food. Vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains. That's the good stuff. Then there's added fiber. Companies are dumping inulin or chicory root into processed foods so they can put "high fiber" on the label. I see this pattern constantly: people who increase whole food fiber feel better, more satisfied, better digestion. People who rely heavily on added fiber? They often just get bloated and don't see the same benefits.
The Candy Thing Is... Complicated
87% of Americans eat candy regularly. That's not changing. So companies are reformulating it. Using fruit, honey, and maple syrup instead of corn syrup. Marketing it as "sweet enough" instead of super sweet.
My take: it's fine. Not amazing. Fine. Is date-sweetened candy healthier than corn syrup candy? Marginally. Sugar is sugar at the end of the day. Your body doesn't really care where it came from.
But if someone's eating candy anyway, which most people are. I'd rather they eat the version with fewer weird ingredients and no artificial dyes. The problem is when people think "healthy candy" means they can eat it all the time. It's still candy. It's still a treat. The "better-for-you" marketing makes people forget that.If you want candy, eat candy. Real candy that actually tastes good. Not some weird guilt-free version that disappoints you. Just don't eat it every day.
Companies selling "mindful sweets" are still selling candy. Don't let marketing trick you into thinking it's health food. But also don't stress about it too much. If someone's hitting their protein, eating vegetables, managing calories reasonably well, and they want some candy sometimes? That's fine. Life's short.
Instant Food Is Actually Getting Better
For decades, "instant" meant Cup Noodles and frozen dinners with a million mg of sodium. Now we're seeing adaptogenic ramen, single-serve matcha, and premium frozen meals with actual nutrients and real ingredients. Convenience is getting healthier. This is huge . Because here's reality, people are busy. They're not cooking three meals from scratch every day. They don't have time for elaborate cooking. People are gonna buy convenience food. For years, the only options were garbage. Now there are actually decent choices .
The number one nutrition struggle isn't knowledge. It's time. People know they should eat better. They just don't have hours every day to make it happen. When the food industry makes convenient options that aren't terrible, that removes a real barrier. Frozen meals aren't ideal. But if it's between a decent frozen meal with vegetables and protein, or skipping dinner and eating chips at 10 pm, choose the frozen meal. Perfect is the enemy of good enough. Use convenience foods strategically. Just pick better versions when you can.
This trend makes it easier.
The Baseline Is Rising
The key line from the report: "Better-for-you is now the baseline, not a bonus."This is the real shift. Ten years ago, healthy food was niche. Whole Foods was for rich people. Wellness products were specialty items you had to hunt for. Now regular grocery stores carry organic options, grass-fed meat, high-protein stuff, products marketed on what they don't have (no seed oils, no artificial whatever). The food environment is improving. The barrier to eating well is lower. This makes coaching easier in some ways. You're not fighting a system that only offers crap. Better options exist now.
But it creates new challenges too. Because "healthy" is mainstream, there's way more nutrition noise than ever. Carnivore, vegan, keto, seed oil-free, high fiber, high protein, gut health, hormone optimization... your clients are seeing contradictory messages everywhere, and they don't know what to believe. They're overwhelmed. Paralyzed by all the options and conflicting advice. That's where you come in. Not to add more noise. To cut through it . People desperately want someone they trust to help them filter all this information and just tell them what actually matters for their specific situation
.The Real Opportunity
The food landscape is shifting toward wellness. That's genuinely good. Better options are accessible. Quality is becoming expected. Convenience and health aren't mutually exclusive anymore. But clients still need guidance. More options mean more decisions. More trends mean more confusion. Your value isn't having all the answers. It's helping people focus on what matters, ignore what doesn't, and build sustainable habits despite all the noise. The fundamentals haven't changed. Protein, vegetables, appropriate calories, consistency. What's changed is that these fundamentals are easier to execute now because the food environment is better. Use that. Help clients leverage better options without getting lost in details that don't matter yet. Simple and sustainable still wins. The improving food culture just removes some barriers that used to make simple harder. That's progress.
What You Should Actually Do
Now that you understand what's happening, here's how to apply this to your coaching:
