May 22, 2025 – Consumers are craving more from their favorite restaurants and Gen Z is the driving force behind the movement. Gen Z isn’t just looking for a standard meal from restaurants anymore. They want boundary-pushing flavors, multi-sensory dining experiences, a taste of other cultures, and viral moments worth sharing. A word of advice to all the menu makers and flavor creators out there – listen to what Gen Zers are saying on social media to get ahead of the next big flavor trend, inspire innovation on your menu, and differentiate yourself from the competition.
Gen Z is the spark this tired industry’s been waiting for. They’re flavor curious, led by cravings, and are willing and able to pay for new food experiences. With 25% of this generation planning to eat out frequently in the future1 (yep, even with inflation!) restaurants would be doing themselves a disservice by refusing to innovate around Gen Z’s unmet needs and desires.
👏 49% of Gen Zers are excited by food.1
💰 54% of Gen Zers don’t budget for food.2
🚗 37% of Gen Z’s meals are purchased away from home.2
🍔 43% of Gen Zers consider themselves foodies.2
🤔 48% of Gen Zers would try a new food just because it sounds interesting.2
Social media isn’t a side dish, it’s the main course of cultural discovery. Gen Z’s top sources when searching for food-related information are YouTube (41%), Instagram (37%) and TikTok (33%)2. It’s through these channels that Gen Zers discover new cuisines, fuel flavor trends, and form opinions. Innovation has to move at the speed of the scroll, and if it’s not camera-ready, relevant and craveable, it’s probably forgettable.
🛍️ 85% of Gen Zers admit that social media influences their purchasing decisions. 1
💸 55% of Gen Zers have purchased food or beverages that have gone viral on social. 1
🤳 77% of Gen Zers turn to TikTok for product discovery. 1
🤩 32% of Gen Zers have chosen a restaurant based on influencer recommendations. 1
🗣️ 41% of Gen Z consumers are more likely to share feedback with influencers vs. brands. 1
Sometimes, brands can learn more by reading the comments section of an influencer’s viral video than they can with traditional methods of market research. That’s why we created The NEXT Flavor Network – an insights generator comprised of an exclusive group of social influencers dedicated to bringing Gen Z-approved concepts to restaurant menus. Through this network, we’ve gained unfiltered, unbiased access to the unmet needs, wants, and preferences of consumers – data that we use to better inform our ideation process and identify flavor trends. You can read the full recap of our findings in The NEXT Flavor Report.
Gen Z’s diversity is reshaping the American plate, and the flavor game is better for it. With 22% having at least one immigrant parent3, many Gen Zers have grown up in multicultural households with firsthand exposure to global influences. They’re bringing global flavors into the mainstream, smashing old boundaries, and turning “ethnic” into everyday. For the rest, social media has granted them a front-row seat to the cultural magnetism of diverse food experiences, thereby creating one of the most flavor-curious generations of all time.
🍜 64% of Gen Zers want global + ethnic food items as its made in its home country.2
🇮🇳 YouTube searches for “Indian street food” have increased 190% since May 2024.4
🌯 Burrito bowls were the most ordered item on Uber Eats in 2024.5
🍚 45% of Gen Zers love/like Korean food – 15% more than the general population. 6
🍣 63% of Gen Zers love/like Japanese food – 8% more than the general population. 6
Gen Z is shaping the future of food with curiosity, culture and extra sauce on the side. To stay relevant with this key demographic and stand out in a sea of sameness, brands have to meet Gen Z where they are – and that’s social media. Get inspired by the hundreds of flavor ideas conceptualized by Gen Z in The NEXT Flavor Report and collaborate with us to turn these insights into traffic-driving menu items.
