'Plant-Based Aquatic Ingredients' Tipped To Be 2025 Food Trend

Oct 19, 2024

Aquatic plants such as sea moss and duckweed are going to make a splash in the plant-based food sector in 2025, according to a new market trend analysis.

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Whole Foods Market’s Trends Council has revealed the top 10 food trends it expects to see in 2025. Sea and freshwater plant ingredients are among them as food producers search for more sustainable sources of protein and nutrients.

Aquatic plants are packed with nutrients and have a much lower environmental footprint than some terrestrial crops because they don’t take up land.

While seaweed has been popular for a while, some lesser-known plants are gaining attention, according to Whole Foods. Sea moss, also known as Irish moss or red seaweed, has become a favored ingredient in the wellness industry. It’s usually harvested to extract carrageenan, which is used as a thickener in many food products. But increasingly it’s being used in drinks and gummies due to its content of iron, iodine, and magnesium.

Read more: The Wondrous Benefits Of Seaweed

Products made with sea moss sold by Whole Foods include Umaro Applewood Smoke Sea Moss Bacon and Kamuni Creek Mango Seamoss drink.

For functional ingredients, agar-agar is becoming more popular. It’s a plant-based gelatin-like substance derived from red algae.

Duckweed is another ingredient that may become more common in food products. These little green “lentils” are 20 to 35 percent protein and contain heart-healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids. Research is still being done into how it can be used more widely in human food products, but the leading option at the moment is as an egg replacer.

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