Exploring mood-boosting in-store features remains firmly warranted, as half (48%) of adults and two thirds (64%) of under-35s say these make supermarkets more appealing, with strong potential to harness the…
UK
Food
Drinks
simple
UK Mood and Food/Drink: 2026
"Multi-sensory elements, delayed gratification and mood-enhancing in-store features can boost engagement by harnessing and elevating food/drink's emotional power."
Emma Clifford, Associate Director - Food and Drink
Exploring mood-boosting in-store features remains firmly warranted, as half (48%) of adults and two thirds (64%) of under-35s say these make supermarkets more appealing, with strong potential to harness the link between heightened emotions and impulse purchasing.
Healthy eating, indulgence, saving money on food/drink and sharing food/drink with loved ones lead on what consumers most see as boosting their mood, making these key areas for brands to align with to resonate. Products with mood-related claims lag far behind these for consumers, echoing the limited activity in this space. However, this area of functionality, and the trend for ingredients rooted in ancient wisdom, continues to offer opportunities.
Food/drink that engage multiple senses offers huge potential, widely seen by consumers to boost mood more effectively than those that engage only taste. Sensory touchpoints – sight, texture, aroma and sound – offer rich opportunities for brands to boost mood, deepen emotional connection and turn everyday consumption into a more immersive, memorable experience.
Tight constraints on the mood-related claims allowed for food/drink are the biggest barrier to NPD in this area. Consumer expectations for noticeable results from functional food also mean brands must tread carefully not to overpromise on implied mood benefits.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
How often consumers seek out different mood benefits from food/drink
The food/drink behaviours that have the most positive impact on consumers’ mood, mood-boosting ingredients playing a limited role
The ability for multi-sensory elements, delayed gratification and ‘mindful’ preparation and consumption to create more emotionally-rich eating/drinking experiences
The strong appeal of mood-enhancing in-store features, and ways supermarkets could implement these
Food/drink product launches linked to mood. This includes NPD featuring functional ingredients and those with benefits based on ‘ancient wisdom’, the gut health trend and the strong nostalgia theme
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
What you need to know
Opportunities
Explore multi-sensory elements
Explore mood-boosting in-store features
Mine the “looking good, feeling good” mentality
THE MARKET
Weak financial confidence supports demand for mood benefits
Graph 1: the financial wellbeing and confidence indices, 2019-25
Stress is rife, especially among under-35s and those with money troubles
Graph 2: experience of stress and fatigue in the last 12 months, by gender, age and financial situation, 2024
Balance and moderation approach to diets endures
Various health trends interlink with mood
Limited scope for mood claims from a regulatory perspective
THE CONSUMER
Mood benefits sought from food and drink
Mood benefits play an ingrained role in food/drink
Graph 3: how often consumers use food/drink for different mood benefits, 2025
Under-35s most driven by mood benefits
Graph 4: consumers using food/drink for different mood benefits very often or often, by age, 2025
Food/drink ingredients linked to mood play a limited role in mood management
Graph 5: food/drink behaviours seen to have the most positive impact* on mood, 2025
Multisensory experiences
Multisensory elements heighten food/drinks’ mood-boosting appeal
Visually/texturally exciting food/drink holds potential for at-home occasions
Playful and surprising textures attract innovation
Aroma can create a more immersive, exciting and mood-boosting experience
Global products heroing aroma
Sound is being used in new ways to connect with consumers
Delayed gratification
Lean into delayed gratification and mindfulness
Build up anticipation to enhance enjoyment
Drum up anticipation for new/returning products
Mood-boosting in-store features
Mood-boosting in-store features spark appeal
Mood enhancing in-store features can encourage footfall and prompt impulse buying
Explore mood-driven in-store layouts
Many routes to creating more mood-driven retail experiences
Explore other feelgood elements through POS materials
Mood-focused in-store concepts
Food/drink to make you look and feel good
‘Beauty from within’ trend drives a feelgood factor
The ‘beauty from within’ trend is still underexplored in food/drink
Collagen gains momentum
Link up with other benefits associated with ‘beauty from within’
Forge links to health and beauty routines
Health and fitness campaigns tap the link between wellness, physical appearance and mood
PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING
Functional mood-related claims are limited beyond energy provision…
The nostalgia trend goes from strength to strength
Launches link virtuous elements to the feelgood factor
Flavours and premium credentials being linked to mood enhancement
Emotions continue to feature at the heart of advertising campaigns
APPENDIX
Report scope
The consumer
Consumer research questions
Consumer research methodology
UK generation groups
Other data source methodologies
Mintel Spark
Abbreviations
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