LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 10, 2025--
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), in collaboration with its internal strategy agency Collider Lab, today released its first-ever trends report. The 2026 Food Trends Report: What’s Next in Dining uncovers the cultural and consumer shifts shaping how and what people will eat in 2026, offering insights on the evolving expectations of modern diners. With more than 62,000 restaurants worldwide, Yum! has an unmatched view into what’s happening across global food culture, making this an unprecedented inside industry look.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251210690450/en/
Drawing on research, behavioral insights, and learnings from Yum!’s four iconic global brands – KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill – The 2026 Food Trends Report shows how consumers are increasingly using food to reclaim a sense of agency in a fast-changing world. People are turning to food not just for convenience, but for experiences that give a sense of control by reflecting individual tastes and moods through personalization and hands-on engagement.
“Our global footprint gives us unique visibility into the ever-changing ways people order and experience food,” said Ken Muench, Chief Marketing Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc. and Co-Founder of Collider Lab. “ The 2026 Food Trends Report helps us see where culture is headed and gives our brands a clearer path to creating more moments of joyful, flavorful ownership for our customers.”
Below is a snapshot of three trends highlighted in the report. To view the full report, click here.
The Me-Me-Me Economy
Consumers are reshaping dining around personal expression and autonomy. Foods once meant for social gatherings are being redesigned for one, reflecting a shift toward food that matches individual identity and mood:
Choice Therapy
In a world that can feel chaotic, consumers are gravitating toward small, sensory decisions that create moments of emotional grounding:
Vibe-Mathing
As consumers navigate rising costs and endless choices, they are now approaching food through emotional value rather than just logic. Items that feel uplifting or aesthetically satisfying increasingly impact decisions as much as the price tag, reflecting a shift toward what feels good in the moment:
Together, these three trends capture the shifting dynamics of choice, value and experience across the food landscape. The 2026 Food Trends Report puts Yum! Brands, Inc. at the forefront of this evolution. Through its global scale and Collider Lab’s cultural foresight, the company brings clarity to the forces shaping consumer behavior and the innovations that will guide dining's next chapter.
About Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, and its subsidiaries franchise or operate a system of over 62,000 restaurants in more than 155 countries and territories under the Company’s concepts – KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill. The Company's KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut brands are global leaders of the chicken, Mexican-inspired food and pizza categories, respectively. Habit Burger & Grill is a fast casual restaurant concept specializing in made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches and more. In 2024, Yum! was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America, Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies, USA Today’s America’s Climate Leaders and 3BL’s list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens. In 2025, the Company was recognized among TIME magazine’s list of Best Companies for Future Leaders. In addition, KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut led Entrepreneur's Top Global Franchises 2024 list and were ranked in the first 25 of Entrepreneur’s 2025 Franchise 500, with Taco Bell securing the No. 1 spot in North America for the fifth consecutive year.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), in collaboration with its internal strategy agency Collider Lab, today released its first-ever trends report. The 2026 Food Trends Report: What’s Next in Dining uncovers the cultural and consumer shifts shaping how and what people will eat in 2026, offering insights on the evolving expectations of modern diners.
GOMA, Congo (AP) — In a maternity ward in eastern Congo, Irene Nabudeba rested her hands on her bulging midsection, worried about giving birth in a city under rebel control.
The conflict that flared this year has left many medical supplies stranded beyond the front line. Infrastructure like running water has collapsed, along with the economy in Goma, the region's humanitarian and commercial hub.
And now the one glimmer of hope for mothers — a free maternity care program offered by Congo's government — has ended after it was not renewed in June. It was not clear why, and Congolese and M23 officials did not respond to questions.
Nabudeba has five children and wonders whether the sixth will survive.
“At the hospital, they ask us for money that we don’t have. I’m pushing myself to come to the consultations, but for the delivery ... I don’t know where I’ll find the money,” she said at the Afia Himbi health center.
Several women told The Associated Press they cannot afford maternal care after Congo's program that was aimed at reducing some of the world's highest maternal and neonatal death rates ended earlier this year. The program launched in 2023 offered free consultations and treatment for illnesses and at-risk pregnancies at selected health facilities across the country.
Congo ranked second in maternal deaths globally with 19,000 in 2023, behind Nigeria's 75,000 deaths, according to U.N. statistics.
Health workers said more women in Goma are now giving birth at home without skilled help, sometimes in unsanitary conditions, leaving them vulnerable to hemorrhage, infection or death.
Clinics and hospitals were already struggling after the M23 rebels, backed by neighboring Rwanda, seized Goma in an escalation of fighting in January.
Although clashes have subsided amid U.S.- and Qatar-led peace efforts, fighting continues and the conflict has collapsed public institutions, disrupted essential services and displaced more than 700,000 people, according to the U.N. humanitarian office.
In Goma, the armed rebels are seen everywhere, making a pregnant woman's walk to clinics another source of anxiety.
Freddy Kaniki, deputy coordinator of M23, asserted to the AP that the free maternal care “was not renewed because it was a failure.” Congolese officials did not respond to questions.
Rwanda denies supporting the M23 despite U.N. experts saying they have evidence of it. Rwanda prides itself on health care and recently signed a five-year deal with the U.S. for investment of up to $158 million in its own healthcare sector.
The collapse of essential services in rebel-held areas, combined with mass displacement and insecurity, has left civilians struggling to access even basic care.
An International Committee of the Red Cross assessment in September found that at least 85% of health facilities were experiencing medicine shortages, and nearly 40% have seen an exodus of staff after the conflict surged in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu.
The ICRC in October said 200 health facilities in eastern Congo had run out of medicines because of looting and supply disruptions. Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, has reported hospitals attacked, ambulances blocked and medical staff threatened or killed.
Childbirth at a clinic in Goma now costs $5 to $10, out of reach for many families in a region where over 70% of the population lives on less than $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank.
Franck Ndachetere Kandonyi, chief nurse at the Afia Himbi health center, said the number of births there under the free program had jumped from around five a month to more than 20. But the program ended in June.
Facing a table of statistics in his office, Kandonyi said the number of births per month is now down to nine.
“When a parent cannot even pay 10,000 Congolese francs ($4.50) for their wife’s or child’s care, it’s a real problem,” the nurse said.
Meanwhile, banks have closed in Goma, prices have soared and the dollar has depreciated.
Nabudeba's husband, a driver, has been unemployed since January. She said her family is barely surviving.
“When the war broke out, we lost all our resources,” she said. “Lately, the situation has not been favorable, and we are suffering greatly.”
Across town at the Rehema Health Center, Ernestine Baleke waited for help with her ninth pregnancy, with concern on her face. She said she doesn't know where she will get money for the delivery.
Her husband lost a factory job when the place was looted earlier in the conflict, she said. Then their house burned.
“I don’t even have 100 francs (45 cents) in my pocket,” Baleke said.
She walks more than half a mile to the hospital because she cannot afford transportation. Three months remain before her delivery.
“The authorities must restore free healthcare," Baleke said. “We risk dying in our homes while giving birth.”
For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse
The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Ernestine Baleke walks to the Rehema Health Center to receive pre-natal care that used to be free at the Rehema Health Center in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Ernestine Baleke rests on a wall after receiving pre-natal care that used to be free at the Rehema Health Center in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Ernestine Baleke receives pre-natal care that used to be free at the Rehema Health Center in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Irene Nabudeba, pregnant, mother of 5, waits for a consultation that used to be free at the Afia Himbi Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Irene Nabudeba, pregnant, mother of 5, waits for a consultation that used to be free at the Afia Himbi Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
