In this article, we will look at the 7 Best Future Food Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
A big shift is taking place in the global food industry. This shift is driven by increasing health awareness among consumers, leading to responsible food production. As such, there’s a strong demand seen in the organic food market where significant innovations are taking place.
The global organic food market, valued at $244.82 billion in 2023, is projected to reach $489.75 billion by 2028, driven by a CAGR of 15.1%. This growth projection reflects the growing consumer shift toward adopting organic products in their daily diet. The growth in the sector is highlighted by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and IFOAM-Organics International. According to these sources, the area under organic management surpassed 96.4 million by the end of 2022, while the number of organic farmers has risen by 26% to 4.5 million.
Meanwhile, technology is playing its part in the food industry as well. The innovations in the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, and supply chain technologies are driving technological adoption in the industry. The technology adoption helps reduce not only costs but also food waste. Thus, it is playing a significant role in helping companies overcome ongoing inflationary pressures. The ongoing inflationary impact is evident in the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) May 2025 Food Price Outlook, where food prices are projected to grow by 2.9% in 2025.
Thus, food companies are striving to strike a balance between driving innovation, aligning with consumer trends, and managing inflationary pressures.
With this backdrop, let’s now move on to our list of the 7 Best Future Food Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
A lab technician analyzing natural food protection ingredients to ensure quality products.
Methodology
To create our list of the 7 Best Future Food Stocks to Buy According to Analysts, we used the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of food companies that are striving to maintain a balance between driving innovation and aligning with consumer trends. From this list, we picked companies with the highest upside potential as per analysts. We also considered the hedge fund sentiment toward these stocks as of Q1 2025, which was extracted from the Insider Monkey database tracking over 1,000 hedge fund managers. Finally, we ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge funds with stakes in the respective stocks.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
7. United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26
Average Upside Potential: 22.25%
United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) is among the 7 best future food stocks to buy.
The company reported strong results for Q3 2025 with a 7.5% increase in sales and a 21% growth in adjusted EBITDA. Meanwhile, an IT breach was announced that disrupted the company’s operations. As a result, UNFI has withheld updated guidance until the company finalizes the full financial impact of the event. Due to the disruption outweighing the strong financial results, BMO Capital lowered its price target on UNFI from $32 to $25, maintaining a ‘Market Perform’ rating. This cautious stance highlights concerns over sluggish momentum due to the cyber incident.
Nevertheless, the company’s adjusted EBITDA guidance of $157 million, along with strong performance in the wholesale natural product segment, underscores its resilience, and the segment’s sales also rose 12% in the quarter, making it one of the best future food stocks.
United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI), operating through wholesale and retail segments, distributes natural, organic, and clean-label products, establishing itself in the health-conscious consumer market.
6. Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27
Average Upside Potential: 109.88%
Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) remains one of the 7 best future food stocks to buy according to analysts.
Wells Fargo has expressed its expectation that Sweetgreen, Inc.’s (NYSE:SG) fundamentals will improve in the second half of 2025. The analyst supports this expectation with faster throughput, operational improvements, high-teens unit growth, and over 40% cash-on-cash returns. As such, Wells Fargo has initiated coverage of Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) with an ‘Overweight’ rating and a $19 price target on June 17, 2025. Thus, the analyst thinks that the company is poised for strong expansion in the near future, making it one of the best future food stocks.
Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE:SG) runs several fast-food restaurants with a mission to build healthier communities by providing people with healthy food. It does so by developing a transparent supply chain, investing in local farmers and growers.
