Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlkay Gök, Head of the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts at Istanbul Okan University, says that the future of pasta will be shaped not only by production technologies, but also by changing consumer expectations, functional ingredients, sustainability and effective communication strategies. According to Gök, communicating scientific facts accurately to consumers could position pasta as one of the most powerful functional foods of the future.

Prof. Dr. İlkay Gök

The food industry is not only creating new products, but also new consumer habits. A consumption culture increasingly focused on health, sustainability, functionality and experience is reshaping the pasta and bakery industries. According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlkay Gök, Head of the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts at Istanbul Okan University, success in the coming period will depend not only on producing high-quality products, but also on understanding consumers’ changing lifestyles and developing products that respond to their needs.

Speaking at the session titled “Changing Consumer Demands and Technologies in Pasta and Bakery,” held as part of the IDMA Global Grain & Milling Forum, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlkay Gök emphasized that the food industry can no longer be evaluated solely in terms of taste. She said the products of the future will need to be designed to respond to consumers’ lifestyles, health expectations and environmental concerns.

The new generation of consumers is looking for more than taste

Gök, who works in both food engineering and gastronomy and is also the founder of a company conducting R&D activities on the foods of the future, said the transformation in consumer behavior is directly influencing product development processes.

According to Gök, taste, price and accessibility were once the main factors determining the success of a product. Today, however, these have been joined by a wide range of new criteria, including health, functionality, sustainability and the overall consumption experience.

Consumers no longer simply want to satisfy their hunger. They expect the products they buy to support their lifestyles, contribute to their nutrition, be produced in an environmentally responsible way and offer them a distinctive experience. For this reason, the foods of the future will have to appeal not only to taste, but also to quality of life.

Functional foods are moving to the center of the new era

Gök noted that functional foods have become one of the most important topics on the food industry’s agenda in recent years and said this trend is expected to gain further momentum.

She explained that the concept of functional foods, which began to emerge in the 1980s, has now developed into a much broader field, with high-protein products, plant-based protein sources and alternative ingredients increasingly coming to the forefront.

Pointing out that sustainability targets are also accelerating this transformation, Gök stressed that plant-based proteins capable of offering alternatives to animal proteins will become increasingly important in the future.

Misconceptions about pasta remain one of the industry’s biggest challenges

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlkay Gök, although the pasta industry has reached a strong position technologically, it continues to face a significant challenge in terms of communication.

Gök said that claims circulating particularly on social media — such as pasta being merely a source of carbohydrates, causing rapid spikes in blood sugar or being unhealthy because of gluten — do not reflect scientific facts. As a result, a large proportion of consumers make their choices based on incomplete or misleading information.

She noted that scientific evidence paints a very different picture of pasta from the negative perception often created on social media. When cooked properly, pasta can fall within the medium or even low glycemic index range and can be an important component of a balanced diet.

Gök therefore emphasized that one of the industry’s most important responsibilities is to explain pasta to consumers in a new and more accurate way, adding that scientific facts need to be communicated to the public much more effectively.

Pasta is more than just a carbohydrate

Gök believes that the versatility of pasta has not been communicated sufficiently.

She pointed out that pasta has a remarkably broad range of gastronomic applications, extending from main courses and appetizers to desserts. When combined with the right sauces, vegetables and protein sources, it can form highly balanced and nutritious meals.

Its convenience as a semi-prepared food that can be cooked quickly also provides a major advantage in today’s fast-paced lifestyles.

Experience-driven products will gain prominence

Gök identified the “search for experience” as one of the most significant changes in consumer behavior, noting that younger generations are no longer simply buying a product; they are also buying a story and an experience.

She said younger consumers in particular are interested in different shapes, innovative presentations and unconventional products, predicting that pasta varieties that stand out visually and offer new experiences during consumption will attract greater attention in the future.

Gök added that research is already underway on pasta designs that transform into different shapes when placed in water or provide consumers with entertaining experiences. Innovation, she said, will therefore take place not only in nutritional value, but also in the overall product experience.

Sedentary lifestyles are changing approaches to nutrition

As artificial intelligence and digital technologies become an integral part of everyday life, people are becoming less physically active, Gök said, adding that this shift will also influence dietary preferences.

She expects issues such as glycemic index, balanced nutrition and metabolic health to receive much greater attention in the coming years and stressed that the pasta industry needs to prepare for this transformation.

Gök also noted that it is misleading to place pasta in the same glycemic index category as many popular food products, once again emphasizing the need to communicate scientific evidence more effectively to consumers.

Green transformation is no longer a choice, but a necessity

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlkay Gök, sustainability will be one of the key factors determining the future of the industry.

She said the European Green Deal and carbon emission regulations are becoming major determinants of global trade. In the near future, not only product quality but also the carbon footprint generated during production will become an increasingly important criterion in international markets.

Gök stressed that manufacturers need to calculate, report and reduce their carbon emissions, adding that carbon data could eventually become a kind of “identity card” for products.

Plant-based proteins offer new opportunities

Pointing to a strong shift from animal proteins toward plant-based protein sources, Gök said pasta could become one of the key product categories benefiting from this transformation.

She expects pasta varieties enriched with pulses, offering high protein content and a low carbon footprint, to attract greater demand in the years ahead. Products developed with plant-based proteins, she added, offer significant advantages from both health and sustainability perspectives.

Gök also stressed that pasta needs to be positioned more effectively in sports nutrition, noting that its protein-related nutritional advantages have not yet been communicated sufficiently.

What will the pasta of the future look like?

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlkay Gök, the successful pasta products of the future will combine four key characteristics.

Products with a low glycemic index, high protein content, a low-carbon production profile and the ability to offer consumers a distinctive experience will shape the future of the industry.

Gök concluded that manufacturers need to invest not only in technological advancements, but also in product development processes that accurately analyze consumer psychology, sustainability criteria and emerging lifestyles. If pasta is communicated to consumers in the right way, she believes it has the potential to become one of the most powerful functional foods of the future.