Following its regional debut at the Future Menu 2025 SEA event in Bangkok this past May, Unilever Food Solutions (UFS)—the B2B arm of Unilever—officially launches “Future Menu 2025” in Indonesia. The initiative serves as a strategic guide for food industry players to better respond to shifting consumer preferences. Drawing from insights into four major global culinary trends, UFS Indonesia translates these findings into various tools and programs designed to offer relevant culinary inspiration to both professionals and consumers in the country.
Raditya Beer, Country Marketing Manager of Unilever Food Solutions Indonesia, said, “The food business must always remain creative, efficient, and adaptive to global dynamics. Culinary professionals must continuously innovate—not just in recipe development, but in offering holistic solutions to grow the industry, especially amid challenges such as rising operational costs, changing consumer preferences, and tighter competition.
To address this, UFS, as one of the world’s leading food service companies, aims to be a strategic partner to chefs and culinary entrepreneurs—not only through our innovative, high-quality products from brands like Knorr Professional, Bango, and Royco, but also by providing on-trend culinary inspiration through our annual ‘Future Menu’ initiative,” he continued.
This year’s “Future Menu 2025” is built on in-depth research combining industry reports, social media trend analysis, insights from 250 UFS professional chefs, and feedback from thousands of chefs around the world. The final result identifies four key trends, refined and updated on a global scale:
- Street Food Couture
According to Rakuten data, 79% of Indonesians prefer street food when dining out, indicating its enduring popularity. The Street Food Couture trend elevates the casual and explorative essence of street food through a more premium approach—using high-quality ingredients and refined cooking techniques. This trend encourages chefs and culinary businesses to reimagine traditional street dishes with elevated presentation and flavors. - Culinary Roots
Driven by growing consumer interest in culturally rich dining experiences, this trend highlights the vast potential of Indonesia’s traditional cuisine. Culinary Roots celebrates lesser-known regional dishes by spotlighting Indonesia’s spice heritage and traditional cooking methods. It’s a call for chefs and culinary entrepreneurs to preserve authentic flavors while innovating in ways that keep culinary heritage relevant for modern consumers. - Borderless Cuisine
As modern consumers increasingly explore new tastes through travel and cultural exchange, the popularity of global fusion dishes continues to rise. Borderless Cuisine invites chefs to create cross-cultural menus that stay true to their authentic roots. It’s not just about blending flavors—it’s about weaving together culinary traditions from different cultures into cohesive, delicious experiences. - Diner Designed
Personalization is now a key component of the dining experience, especially for Gen Z, who seek dishes that reflect their adventurous lifestyle and individual tastes. For chefs and culinary businesses, this trend goes beyond offering custom orders—it’s about crafting immersive, memorable dining moments that connect personally with guests.
These four trends are detailed in the “Future Menu 2025” e-book, adapted specifically for Indonesia’s culinary landscape and now available on the official UFS Indonesia website. Carrying the theme “Hadirkan Cita Rasa Juara” (“Bringing Champion Flavors”), the practical guide includes recipe ideas, cooking techniques, and ingredient recommendations aimed at helping local flavors thrive on the ever-evolving culinary stage.
During the launch event, Chef Ronald Tokilov of Balicooks commented, “I believe the four trends featured in ‘Future Menu 2025’ have the potential to transform Indonesia’s food industry. We can bring the romance of flavor to a new stage—so the world can enjoy it without losing our identity. Authentic Indonesian cuisine has enormous potential and appeal, especially with our diverse and proudly local spices. This is what we need to continue exploring so that our uniquely spiced dishes can represent Indonesia in a way that’s on-trend yet deeply rooted in culture.”
To help chefs and food entrepreneurs fully embrace and promote these trends, UFS Indonesia is launching an online cooking competition. Participants are challenged to create dishes inspired by the four Future Menu 2025 trends. Running from July through August 2025, the competition offers tens of millions of rupiah in prizes and will be judged by a panel including Chef Ronald Tokilov (Balicooks) and Chef Gun Gun Handayana (Executive Chef, UFS Indonesia).
In addition, UFS Indonesia invites food lovers to experience trend-inspired dishes firsthand. Starting with events in Jakarta, followed by Semarang and Bali, Future Menu 2025 will be introduced directly to top chefs and culinary entrepreneurs. UFS will also collaborate with prominent restaurants across major cities to create menus aligned with the four Future Menu 2025 trends—giving diners across the country a taste of what’s next.
“Our campaign to socialize the ‘Future Menu 2025’ will continue throughout the year. We hope this initiative will further strengthen UFS Indonesia’s role as a trendsetter committed to driving the local food industry forward,” Raditya concluded.
