The festival food and beverage trends for 2026 have revealed significant changes in what audiences are eating and spending at live events, with Greek cuisine emerging as the most popular overall and plant-based food recording a major increase in demand.
Event food and beverage specialist Togather analysed 933,789 transactions involving 1,738,477 individual items sold across its festival and event operations to compare consumer behaviour between 2025 and 2026. The analysis covers food and beverage activity across more than 100 live events during the summer season.
Togather, which curates food and beverage experiences at major events including Love Supreme, The Long Road Festival and GALA Festival, found that the average onsite spend per person increased significantly from £27 in 2025 to £32 in 2026, representing an 18% rise.
Greek Food Becomes the Most Popular Festival Cuisine
One of the biggest festival food trends in 2026 was the rapid rise of Greek cuisine. Greek food overtook barbecue to become the most popular cuisine overall, accounting for 8% of total food sales.
Within the Greek category, the chicken souvlaki wrap was the best-selling item, highlighting the growing demand for convenient, flavourful and portable meals at outdoor events.
The rise of Greek cuisine reflects changing consumer preferences at festivals, where attendees increasingly seek food that combines strong flavours with quick and convenient service.
Burgers Remain the Top-Selling Individual Food Item
Although Greek cuisine took the top position as a category, burgers remained the most popular individual food item sold at festivals.
Burgers accounted for 6.6% of all food items sold, despite recording a 16% decline in sales compared with the previous year. Hot dogs followed with a 5% share, while chicken souvlaki wraps also ranked among the leading individual food choices.
The results suggest that traditional festival favourites continue to have a strong customer base, even as consumers explore a wider range of international cuisines.
Indian Food Records the Fastest Growth
Indian food was identified as the fastest-growing cuisine of 2026, with year-on-year sales increasing by 16%.
The best-selling Indian dish was masala dosa, demonstrating continued consumer interest in regional and globally inspired food options at live events.
The growth of Indian cuisine adds to the broader diversification of festival food menus, as event organisers and food operators increasingly introduce international dishes to meet changing audience preferences.
Plant-Based Food Sales Double
One of the most notable findings from Togather’s analysis was the sharp increase in plant-based food consumption.
Vegan items accounted for 8.4% of total sales in 2026, compared with 4.2% in 2025. This means plant-based food sales effectively doubled year on year.
Importantly, Togather found that the growth was distributed relatively evenly across different cuisines rather than being concentrated in a single food category.
Togather Co-founder Hugo Campbell said the increase was encouraging, suggesting that the growth may reflect consumers’ appreciation of the quality of vegan food rather than being driven solely by veganism or environmental concerns.
Chips Dominate Late-Night Festival Food Sales
The analysis also identified clear differences in food preferences depending on the time of day.
After 10pm, chips became the biggest-selling food item, accounting for 25% of all sales during that period.
The finding highlights the importance of late-night food options at festivals and live events, where attendees often look for familiar, filling and easily accessible food after the main evening entertainment.
Ice Cream Remains the Dessert Favourite
While churros have traditionally been associated with festivals, Togather’s 2026 data showed that they were overtaken by both crêpes and waffles.
Ice cream remained the dominant dessert, accounting for 70% of dessert sales.
Crêpes represented 12.9% of dessert sales, followed by waffles at 6.9%. Churros dropped to fourth place with a 5.3% share.
The figures demonstrate the continued strength of classic festival desserts while also showing changing preferences within the wider dessert category.
6-7pm Is the Busiest Food and Beverage Period
Timing also played an important role in festival food and beverage sales.
The period between 6pm and 7pm was the busiest hour for orders, accounting for 12.4% of all orders.
Meanwhile, sales between 9pm and 10pm doubled year on year, reaching 3.1% of total sales.
These patterns provide useful insights for festival organisers and food operators planning staffing, stock levels and service capacity throughout the day.
Festival Food and Beverage Spend Rises 18%
Perhaps the most significant commercial finding was the increase in average onsite spending.
Average food and beverage spend per head rose to £32 in 2026, compared with £27 in 2025 and £21 in 2024.
This represents an 18% increase from 2025 and a substantial rise over the past two years. The figures point towards stronger onsite spending at live events, despite continued changes in consumer food preferences.
For festival organisers and food operators, the increase could create opportunities to improve menu development, premium food offerings and overall onsite experiences.
Biggest Festival Food Order Reaches £262
Togather’s data also revealed the largest individual food and beverage transaction recorded during the analysis period.
The highest single order was worth £262 and included eight margherita pizzas, eight pepperoni pizzas, four soft drinks and two bottles of water from Made of Dough.
The order demonstrates the scale of group purchasing at major live events, particularly when attendees are ordering food for families, friends or larger groups.
Iced Coffee Continues to Gain Popularity
Coffee consumption also changed significantly during the 2026 festival season.
Almost one in four coffees sold onsite was iced coffee, representing 23% of total coffee sales. This compares with approximately one in six coffees in 2025.
Iced coffee sales increased by 32%, while hot coffee sales declined by 20%.
The continued growth of iced coffee reflects a broader shift towards cold beverages and more contemporary coffee choices at outdoor events.
What the 2026 Festival Food Trends Mean for Event Organisers
The latest festival food and beverage trends offer several insights for event organisers and food operators.
International cuisines are gaining ground, with Greek and Indian food showing particularly strong performance. At the same time, established favourites such as burgers, hot dogs and ice cream continue to attract significant demand.
The doubling of plant-based food sales also suggests that festivals can benefit from offering more high-quality vegan choices across different cuisines rather than treating plant-based food as a niche category.
The rise in average spend per head is another important development. With onsite food and beverage spending reaching £32 per person, food and drink are becoming an increasingly important part of the overall live event experience and commercial model.
Togather Analyses More Than 1.7 Million Festival Food Items
Togather’s study analysed 1,738,477 individual food and beverage items across 933,789 transactions generated through its festival F+B operations.
The events included Love Supreme, The Long Road Festival, Rock Oyster Festival, Blenheim Palace Festival, Kew The Music, GALA Festival, Krankbrother, Maiden Voyage, Boiler Room & The Jazz Cafe, Country on the Common, Nocturne, Pride in London, Battersea Park in Concert, Bike Shed London, Rally Festival, Royal International Air Tattoo, The Game Fair, Windsor Great Park Illuminated, Great North Run, Affordable Art Fair, JCB LIV Golf and Canada Day London.
Togather provided food and beverage services at more than 100 live events during the summer, giving the company a substantial dataset for identifying changing consumer behaviour.
Togather to Release Full Annual Trend Report
The summer findings provide an early indication of how festival audiences are changing their food and beverage choices. Togather is expected to publish its full annual food and beverage trends report towards the end of 2026.
The latest data already points to several defining trends, including the rise of Greek and Indian cuisine, stronger demand for plant-based food, growing iced coffee consumption and increased onsite spending.
For event organisers, these insights could help shape future festival menus, food vendor selection, pricing strategies and audience experiences as the live events industry continues to evolve.
