The 'yōshoku effect': Whole Foods names Japanese comfort food a 2027 trend

Omurice, hambagu, katsu curry and soft milk bread are everyday comfort food in Japan. Now a large North American grocer says they are going mainstream. Whole Foods Market's annual trend report for 2027 names Japanese comfort food as one of its eight predictions, under the heading "The Yōshoku Effect."

This explainer covers what yōshoku is and what the report actually says. It also covers what we could and could not confirm for readers in Canada.

What Whole Foods actually said

Whole Foods announced its 2027 predictions on October 14, 2026. It named terroir, Japanese comfort food, food as skincare and bitter flavours as the big themes. On the original trend page, "The Yōshoku Effect" is trend No. 3 of 8.

The report says Japanese comfort food is "gaining momentum in the U.S." It describes yōshoku as rooted in adapting European and American dishes to Japanese tastes. Its examples are tonkatsu, spaghetti Napolitan, Japanese curry rice, omurice and Wagyu hamburger steak (hambagu).

According to the report, social media is driving a lot of the interest. It points to viral omurice and shio pan videos and to konbini content featuring katsu and tamago sandwiches and kare pan (curry bread). It also says yōshoku, once mostly a restaurant food, is moving into grocery aisles through pantry staples, condiments, bakery items and dairy products.

As evidence, Whole Foods points to its own Japanese-style milk bread. The report says the bread went viral after it launched in late 2025.

The products on the "Try the Trend" list

The report lists products as examples. Several are marked "available in select stores."

The list also includes Point Reyes TomaRashi cheese and Alaskan Leader Miso Marinated Wild Alaska Black Cod.

We could not confirm whether any of these products are sold in Canada. The report is about U.S. shoppers. Its "select stores" labels suggest availability varies even there.

What yōshoku is, in brief

According to Forbes' summary of the report, yōshoku took shape in the 19th century. European dishes were adapted to Japanese tastes and made with the ingredients available locally. A Japanese Food Index guide says these dishes have been adapted over more than 150 years. It calls yōshoku one of the most commonly eaten kinds of Japanese food today.

The same guide lists some core dishes:

• Omurice: ketchup-seasoned chicken fried rice wrapped in a thin omelette, often topped with ketchup or demi-glace
• Hambagu: a pan-fried ground-meat patty served with sauce, similar to Salisbury steak
• Korokke: mashed potato mixed with meat or vegetables, breaded and deep-fried
• Kare raisu: thick Japanese curry over rice, often with tonkatsu on top

The byFood guide adds hayashi rice, which is beef, onions and mushrooms braised in a savoury-sweet roux. It also mentions omuhayashi, which combines omurice with hayashi sauce.

Yōshoku is not just Western food served in Japan. Wikipedia's entry notes that over time it produced dishes with no European original, such as chicken rice and omurice. Yokogao Magazine describes how ketchup and mayonnaise became common in Japanese cooking. It also describes how retort-pouch curry, frozen croquettes and hambagu reached family dinner tables.

Our view: why this matters in Canada

This section is DOJI's opinion, not part of the report.

The Whole Foods report is a forecast for the U.S. market. It is not a measure of what Canadians are eating. Still, the trends it names, such as konbini sandwiches, milk bread and omurice videos, spread through the same social feeds people use on both sides of the border. Many Japanese speakers in Canada will know these dishes as home cooking rather than a trend.

The practical gap is in finding the food.

If you cook at home, retort-pouch curry is part of the yōshoku story. A Japanese-style mayo is the kind of condiment the report highlights. Where to buy these in your city is a good question to put to people who already shop for them.

Share your local tips

Do you know a café in Vancouver making proper hambagu, or a bakery near you selling shio pan? Post your tips and questions on the DOJI community board. To meet others who love Japanese home cooking, see what's on in DOJI events.