News / 20.01.2026

The Future of Healthcare Dining: Trends to Watch

Bruce Toon, Culinary Director for Healthcare, gives his predictions for some of the key trends we are likely to see over the next 12 months.

Importance of reflecting health trends

The impact of health trends on dining habits can’t be ignored and we’re currently seeing unprecedented shifts. In terms of patient feeding our customers cover a wide range of demographics, with diverse wants and needs when it comes to food and nutrition. Our menus are developed in collaboration with our dieticians to ensure we cater for a variety of tastes, with different cuisines, lighter options and dishes suitable for specific dietary and medical requirements.

While a proportion of customers have always selected dishes in line with wellbeing objectives, there is now greater awareness and action – whether that’s choosing high protein or high fibre options or simply dishes with more vegetables. The rising use of GLP-1 agonists will undoubtedly impact food decisions into 2026, and this is something the hospitality industry needs to quickly adapt to. Adding value without compromise into our menu portfolio is imperative in a healthcare setting and by being abreast of trends and legislation we will continue to lead on this.

Popular flavours and food formats

Flavours and food formats go in and out of fashion and it’s important that we innovate and evolve to stay relevant. We’re seeing a rise in the popularity of big, bold flavours, often coupled with holiday vibes as people seek cuisines that evoke happy memories – whether from the Caribbean, Thailand or Turkey.

Our menu development process dials into the latest trends in both flavour and format, with our chefs taking inspiration from industry insights, market research, social media, food influencers, national food tours and our global business. Working closely with our dietetic team we craft menus that add value without compromise - balancing innovation and quality to meet expectations whether you are a patient, visitor or employee.

Authenticity of ingredients and dishes

Customers are increasingly interested in where their food is coming from. Local sourcing has always been a priority for some, but more and more people want to know the story behind the dishes they are choosing – where the ingredients originated and what inspired the recipe.  

For us, that means drawing on the broad range of expertise we have available when creating our menus. Whether we’re leveraging the knowledge and experience within our own teams, working collaboratively with our suppliers or gathering insight from our global business, we have an array of resources available to help us enhance the authenticity of our food. 

Social spaces

Our restaurants need to appeal to both visitors and staff and needs to offer spaces to unwind.

We recognise the importance of attractive dining spaces for staff to support socialisation, offering relaxation and boosting employee morale. The facilities we operate lend themselves to this style of eating, and our culinary team work hard to incorporate options to meet a variety of tastes in our menus.

For visitors, food is often the activity in a hospital that offers a chance to take a moment away.  Individual tastes and requirements are becoming ever more diverse – some stay traditional in their food choices, but others will be more adventurous and there may be varying preferences over portion size or budget. Social dining spaces like food halls are fast increasing in popularity.

Leveraging the power of data and AI

High-quality data is key to meeting consumer demand, increasing footfall and minimising waste. With AI enabling much deeper interrogation of information on all aspects of foodservice, the role of data in driving culinary strategy and shaping offer creation is only set to increase.

Across our business, we’re collecting and analysing more data than ever before. At the simplest level, it’s showing us what is popular and what isn’t and we make decisions accordingly. It’s also giving us more granular insights, such as the popularity of food types in varying locations and at different times of the day, all of which will be woven into our future menu development.