2025 CPG Market Predictions: Insights from PR Veteran Ricardo Baca

If you’re part of the broader CPG industry—which includes beauty and personal care, supplements and nutraceuticals, natural foods, functional beverages and wellness products—and you’re feeling especially anticipatory ahead of 2025, you’re not alone. 

After a significant election year marked by widespread economic anxiety and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are more attuned to wellness than ever before, right when the industry could be poised for major regulatory and supply chain shifts. 

While it’s true that 2025 is still very much up in the air, we have a few insights from our work in the wellness CPG and natural products space into how the industry might change in the months to come—and trends that will influence both what products end up on the shelves and how companies approach their wellness PR and marketing strategies. 

So what might 2025 hold in store for the ever-evolving CPG industry? Here are five predictions for what could play out over the next twelve months (and beyond):

1) Food Supply Chains Could Face Historic Disruption—Boosting Local Food Movements

If President-elect Donald Trump keeps his Day One promises, including large-scale deportations, trade renegotiations and import tariffs, disruptions in the U.S. food supply chain are almost inevitable. Currently, 44% of farmworkers—over a million people—are undocumented immigrants, according to the National Agricultural Workers Survey (2019-2020). 

Even a modest reduction in this workforce would exacerbate the existing labor shortage in agriculture. The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates over 2.4 million farm jobs currently need to be filled, even with the current numbers of undocumented farmworkers still in fields, on the ranches and in the dairies.

President-elect Trump’s trade policies could also have significant repercussions. While initial tariffs may target cars, electronics and luxury goods, retaliatory tariffs from other countries would likely hit U.S. agriculture the hardest. The U.S. exports around 20% of its agricultural output—including a forecasted $29.2 billion to Mexico and $24 billion to China—key markets that Trump targeted with tariffs the last time he was in office. 

During Trump’s first term, agricultural exports to China fell by 63%, highlighting potential risks for American farmers if similar policies are pursued. Despite this history, Big Ag rallied behind Trump in 2024—no doubt recalling his administration’s $23 billion in federal aid to farmers. 

However, a combination of workforce reductions and declining international demand could create a serious crisis for U.S. agriculture. With added challenges from climate change, extreme weather and possible deregulation, local food supply chains may assume new importance as Americans turn to more stable, community-centered food sources and local foodways.

2) More Niche Condiments Will Be Entering the Pre-Packaged Space

Back in 2017, I never would have predicted that the brief frenzy Rick and Morty fans created around McDonald’s Szechuan dipping sauce—by then discontinued for around a decade—would hint at consumers’ hunger for niche condiments. Specifically global, spicy condiments first introduced in restaurants but ultimately enjoyed at home. 

Fast forward to 2025, however, and it's clear that one of the biggest trends in food CPG will be restaurant-branded condiments, sauces and other products that were first developed by professional chefs for their dining rooms, not the proverbial kitchen table. 

It makes sense that today’s consumers would be hungry for CPG products from their favorite restaurant brands. In the decade before COVID-19, foodie culture hit new heights thanks to television networks, celebrity chefs, the rise of cheap international travel and the influence of social media. When the global pandemic slowed both international travel and in-person dining five years ago, however, consumers didn’t adjust their tastes as much as their means of consumption. 

Inflation and economic anxiety have only heightened the demand for “luxury lite” and “little treat culture.” Consumers who might have to delay their bucket-list trips to Vietnam or Thailand, or who might have made a pilgrimage to big-city eateries like Momofuku or Milk Bar in years past, are now scratching the itch for novelty from their pantries.

From the chili oil you used to only be able to find at your neighborhood noodle bar to the proliferation of kimchi, gochujang and elevated instant ramen that previously only lived at ethnic restos and groceries, we will continue to see a rush of niche condiments, sauces and pantry staples go to market—particularly those that offer consumers global flavors and plenty of spice.

3) We Might See the CPG / Natural Products Industries Work With the New Trump Administration to Place an Insider Into a High-Level Federal (FDA / USDA) Position

During his first term in office, Trump’s administration operated on the principle that industries are most efficiently regulated by experts with direct knowledge and experience from within those industries. According to the Trump camp, that specialized knowledge could be used to shape regulations without placing undue burdens on business operators. 

After Trump selected his cabinet—including RFK Jr. for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services—it seems likely his second administration will follow the same line of thinking. That’s why I predict that the wellness CPG or natural products sectors may work with the new Trump administration to place an industry leader and expert into a high-level federal position at an agency like the FDA or USDA.

Consider, for example, the age of the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). At over 30 years old, it could be argued that a review of DSHEA is long overdue. A strategic alignment with the new Trump administration could be part of a long play to revise Clinton-era wellness regulatory policies concerning supplements, natural products, wellness marketing and related health claims.

4) Personalization Will Become Even Bigger in CPG, Especially With the Help of AI

Personalization isn’t exactly new in CPG—Coca-Cola reinvigorated its sales with the “Share a Coke” campaign back in 2011. But personalization has taken on new significance in an era of segmented digital marketing with brands like Prose, Function of Beauty, Ritual and Persona offering custom vitamins, supplements, haircare and skincare products created in exchange for consumer data. 

Now artificial intelligence can take personalization even further. Rather than simply relying on online quizzes and self-reportage, brands can use AI technology to enhance virtual product try-ons, color analysis, skin and hair type diagnostics and even automated product refills initiated by the Internet of Things (IoT), aka connected household appliances.

Plenty of consumers can already rattle off complex coffee orders that reflect their preferences—a half-caf, no-sugar, oat milk with an extra shot, for example. Now they’ll be able to extend that behavior beyond the drive-through. AI will help make personalization table stakes in CPG, offering consumers custom meal kits, diet plans, nutrition bars, shakes and supplements and smarter health-tracking, all based on more granular criteria than ever.

5) Anti-Aging Continues to Mature

America is aging—and as a result, anti-aging products are being marketed to a more diverse set of consumers and a larger total addressable market than ever. The median age of the country is 38 years old, and the number of American centenarians is projected to quadruple through 2054. Millennials and Gen X spend the most on beauty e-commerce, and Millennials lead the pack on overall spending per shopper both online and off. 

The so-called sandwich generation that is managing both parenting and caretaking for elderly parents has a close-up view of the effects of aging—and is willing to spend to affect the outcome. The children raised by those Millennial parents, however, are also spending big on anti-aging products usually targeted to customers who are old enough to have acquired a few wrinkles or sunspots. 

Men are also spending more on anti-aging products than in the past, although they may be touted under terms like “biohacking,” “cellular health support,” “lifespan” or “healthspan.” There is a wider and greater demand for anti-aging beauty products than ever before, with ingredients like retinol, retinoids, tretinoin, squalene, ceramides niacinamides—not to mention broad-spectrum SPFs and technology like LED light therapy. But the skincare and cosmetics industry doesn’t have a monopoly on anti-aging. 

Haircare brands are also offering solutions for changes to hair texture or volume that can be brought on by post-partum or menopausal hormone shifts or other effects of aging. Supplements, nutraceuticals and functional foods and beverages brands are also betting big on anti-aging, with a variety of products touting ingredients like collagen, antioxidants, Omega-3s, colostrum, probiotics, adaptogens, resveratrol and astaxanthin. 

Not only are consumers across generations willing to invest in anti-aging products, the category itself is maturing. Scientific advancements and clinical validation have improved our understanding of how aging occurs and how popular ingredients like peptides and antioxidants can promote cellular health, reduce oxidative stress and rejuvenate the skin. 

Brands have also developed more sophisticated delivery systems like microencapsulation and liposomal delivery that improve product efficacy. And researchers have achieved a greater understanding of physiological networks and processes like the gut-skin axis, the microbiome, the endocannabinoid system and the female reproductive system, as well as how genetics affect the way we age. 

Throughout 2025, those advancements will help brands meet consumer demand even as they continue to invest in smart technology like wearable devices, AI and data-driven personalization that will drive further maturation of anti-aging CPG and the healthy aging segment. 

Whatever happens in the year to come, the natural products and wellness CPG industry is poised for transformative growth driven by a shifting political and regulatory environment, scientific and technological innovation, and evolving consumer demands. For brands navigating this dynamic landscape, staying ahead of trends and effectively communicating your value proposition is paramount. 

If you’re ready to work with a partner in wellness PR and better-for-you CPG marketing to connect your brand with today’s conscious consumers, let’s work together to elevate your message and drive meaningful growth in 2025 and beyond. We’re ready when you are to start the conversation. 

Want to read more about our past predictions and see how they stack up? Check out:

• 2025 Cannabis Industry Predictions: Key Insights from Grasslands Founder Ricardo Baca
• 3 Key Cannabis Industry Predictions for 2024
• 5 Predictions for Cannabis Marketing Trends and Industry Evolution in 2023
• Ricardo Baca’s Summer 2023 Predictions
• 2022 Cannabis Industry Predictions
• 2022 Cannabis Industry Forecast Roundup