July 8, 2025 – My name is Hanna Ninya and I’m the Senior Marketing Manager at Rubix Foods. I eat, sleep and breathe all things insights (keyword here being “eat”) and keep a constant pulse on the trends shaping the food and beverage industry. Yeah, it’s a pretty cool job. 😎
Last month, I joined fellow market research and consumer insight professionals at Datassential’s Elevate Experience, an immersive event that brings together the Elevate community to give members an opportunity to learn about early trends and experience them first-hand.
I walked away from the conference with a head full of ideas, a stomach full of food, and these key takeaways that I shared with the Rubix team when I got back home. Since we’re all friends here, I’ll share them with you, too.
If you aren’t tapping into social media to guide your menu development strategy, why not? Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are breeding grounds for pre-approved, traffic-driving concepts. This is especially true if Gen Z is your target market since 55% claim they’ve purchased a food or beverage item that’s gone viral on social media.
As a marketer by day and a doom scroller by night, I was thrilled to see a “Social Media Sensations” station during one of the trend tasting portions of Elevate where I got to try:
🟧 Pasta Chips: Projected to grow 21.8% on U.S. restaurant menus in the next 4 years.
🟧 Dubai Chocolate: 43% of consumers say they are interested in trying it.
🟧 Whipped Feta: Social mentions have increased 12.9% in the past 12 months.
To all you brave trend adopters out there, what are you waiting for? All three of these items have cultivated networks of loyalists and are fail-safe concepts to add to any menu.
You don’t need a passport to experience other cultures. Cuisines from around the world are influencing innovation here in the states. Whether from growing up in a multicultural home or gaining exposure to other cultures through social media, American consumers are not only more aware of but are interested by the flavors that other cuisines bring to the table. And for those that did grow up around it (maybe even you!), certain cuisines may incite nostalgia adding an emotional layer to their purchasing decision. At the “Go Global” tasting station, I sampled these items that aren’t yet readily available on menus or shelves today, but I anticipate they will be in the not-so-far-away future.
🟧 Salsa Negra: This thick, dark, smoky salsa is a popular Mexican condiment and often paired with seafood.
🟧 Rooh Afza: A bright red drink concentrate and summertime treat in South Asian cultures.
🟧 Salted Plum: Prolific in Asian cuisines but introduced to the U.S. in approachable formats like cookie butter.
All this 👆tracks with some of the research my team and I conducted through The NEXT Flavor Network, where we worked directly with food influencers and their social media communities to identify the flavors and foods Gen Zers *actually* want to see more of on menus. You can read the full report here.
Consumers of the post-pandemic world are very mindful of what they’re putting into their bodies and are demanding healthier products from their favorite food and beverage companies. Healthier doesn’t necessarily mean lower in fat, calories, carbs and sugar though. Consumers want cleaner labels rid of artificial ingredients and for the spotlight to shine on natural, whole foods that they can pronounce.
In addition, they want for their food to have functional benefits that serve a purpose beyond flavor. One of the top label claims that consumers want to see more of is high protein.
While products like Vuum Sparkling Protein Water and Legendary Protein Toaster Pastries (both of which I tried at the conference 😋) exist in today’s market already, there’s an opportunity here for restaurants to rise to the challenge, too. Year to date, Google searches for “high protein fast food options” has increased 50%.
Maybe you identify as a Millennial who posts boomerangs of “cheers” on your Instagram story, or perhaps you’re a Gen Z who has a bag with a labubu in one hand and a cute iced beverage in the other. Maybe you’re neither and have come to the realization that beverages are more than a menu item – they’re an accessory. Keep this in mind when ideating with your beverage team on your upcoming LTO calendar.
So what drinks can you develop that showcase unique flavors *and* deliver a vibey aesthetic worthy of holding a spot on the feed? A trend we’re following closely is the use of florals like lavender and hibiscus across beverage menus. Not only do these florals feature fresh and subtly sweet flavor profiles, they are vibrant in color (naturally!) and therefore extremely photogenic. But if florals aren’t a great fit for your menu, no problem. Cold foam is an easy and profitable addition. Cold foam is projected to grow 171% on U.S. restaurant menus over the next 4 years and 72% of consumers who have tried cold foam love/like it.
And those are the cliff notes, folks. 🫡 Click here to subscribe to our newsletter and stay up to date on the latest and greatest flavor findings. For more information about Datassential’s Elevate program, click here.
