2024 food and drink forecast: What restaurants need to know
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It’s the moment we’ve waited all year for: The 2024 food trend report! After studying search data from Yelp users, it’s become clear that little luxuries are the vibe for 2024, Hailey Bieber smoothies are in high demand, plant-based foods aren’t going anywhere, and you will hear more and more of “I saw it on TikTok” from your guests. You also might need to learn what girl dinner is. (Don’t worry, we’ve got you.)
Any restaurateur needs to be able to keep up with what’s popular. It’s not pandering—it’s simply keeping current with consumer preferences. Culinary experts have to remain adaptable as does the food and beverage industry in general to meet customer demand. And as demands become more complex, nuanced, and Gen-Z-driven, there’s a lot of ground to cover. We’ve done plenty of proprietary research to form our food trends predictions, so away we go.
Food trends for 2024
A lot is going on in the food industry as usual. After rising in popularity in 2022 and 2023, here’s what we expect to see take off in 2024.
Caviar
Searches up 31% for “caviar”
Fancy food is getting a low-brow makeover. Caviar began making a big comeback last year, and it’s slated to be a popular menu item throughout 2024. The most important trend is the way it’s served. While traditionally it’s served with blinis (Russian pancakes) or as a caviar bump, it’s also gaining popularity as a condiment for potato chips. If that concept is hilarious to you, you’re getting the point: It’s a great way to get the item noticed.
This falls squarely into the “little luxury” camp: Why not feel fancy with friends and grab some chips and caviar to go with your, uh, house wine?
In addition to caviar in its many presentation options growing in popularity at restaurants, it’s also seen an upsurge in grocery store sales. Searches via Yelp for caviar are up 31% in 2023 and in 2024, you can be sure caviar will continue to grow in popularity as stuffy old school meets new, casual opportunities.
Tsukemen or dipping ramen
Searches up 30% for “tsukemen”
There’s ramen—and then there’s dipping ramen, or tsukemen. In this version of ramen, cold noodles are served on the side and dipped in the hot broth. Ramen was always cool well beyond Asia, and tsukemen adds another level of fun to the dish. Searches for tsukemen were up 30% in 2023 and we fully expect the trend to grow into 2024.
Ramen specialists and Japanese restaurants would be smart to add this dish to the menu and play around with varieties that will explode onto the scene. It’ll give chefs an opportunity to explore their noodle skills throughout the next year.
Girl dinner
Searches up 140% for “noshing”
Girl dinner is a trend that blew up on TikTok in 2023, and has little to do with women’s health and more to do with the funny habits that unite women. In short, it’s a whole bunch of snacks consumed in such quantities that it kinda adds up to a full meal.
There’s no formula: one’s girl dinner of choice might be a candy bar, an ungodly amount of pickles, and salami while someone else’s is popcorn and a whole bag of mozzarella sticks with a green juice on the side. Girl dinner is unique to each person and typically a bit chaotic.
If you want to capitalize on this trend, think: a combination of apps with a little bit of dessert, an undone charcuterie board, or a messy mezze platter. Make sure it’s not too healthy or unhealthy but squarely in the middle. It’s a forager’s delight and it would make sense to eat standing up in your kitchen at 9 p.m.
So what constitutes a viable girl dinner? Think olives, something with cheese, fruit, crackers, cured meats like salami, deep-fried appetizers, veggies like carrots or celery with guacamole, half a sandwich, or some sweets. It goes great with drinks, too, so bars could have fun with adding a girl dinner option. And hey, it could just be the charcuterie platter you were already serving, just rebranded.
Vegan and plant-based foods
Searches up 12% for vegan food
Vegan food is here to stay. It’s been that way for years already and it’s not going away. With the wide variety of complex meat alternatives, plant-based milk, faux fish, and general increasing creativity in the vegan culinary scene, vegans have more options than ever. Searches for vegan food were up a solid 12% in 2023. Examples of vegan culinary success include Slutty Vegan, a plant-based burger chain that claimed a spot in Yelp’s top 100 burger spots, and plant-based restaurants like Newport, Rhode Island’s Root coming up hot in our top 100 places to eat in the US.
For restaurants looking to expand their vegan options, consider traditional protein-forward foods like buckwheat as a good option to keep diners full and keep costs down. While popular in places like Russia, buckwheat has yet to make a real impact on American cuisine. That’ll likely change considering its culinary versatility and health benefits.
Similarly, legumes like lentils and chickpeas have long dominated Indian vegetarian and vegan cuisine, and have claimed their place in vegan culinary history. It’s all about the spices. Since legumes are naturally gluten-free, restaurants can pick up on that marketing trend as well.
Cacao
Chocolate has always been popular, but cacao is finding its way into more and more dishes, according to Whole Foods Market’s Trends Council. From the complex heat and subtle flavors of a classic Oaxacan mole to chocolate candies, cacao is sure to be a hit. While whole cacao can be used to make a number of dishes, cacao pulp, a byproduct of chocolate production, can be used to make jam that works well as a condiment for all sorts of items. Sourcing your cacao and noting just where it came from can give you a leg up in marketing.
Beverage trends for 2024
There’s always room for creativity in the drink world. That’s a good thing. From new takes on classics to new drinks altogether, there’s a lot to cheers to. So what’s popping besides champagne?
Hugo Spritz
Searches up 408% for “Hugo Spritz”
The Hugo Spritz made a huge splash in the summer of 2023, and its popularity is slated to grow. The Hugo Spritz is a refreshing low-alcohol beverage made with elderflower liqueur like St. Germain topped with prosecco and sparkling water. Especially when warmer months come back and refreshment is in order, we expect the Hugo Spritz to continue its rise to fame. Searches for the Hugo Spritz were up a whopping 408% in 2023 and elderflower cocktails in general were up a similarly staggering 323%.
Martini multiverse
Searches up 1,323% for “matcha martini”
Martinis are about as classic as it gets, but the varieties of martinis bartenders are making are exploding. We’re talking parmesan martinis, green mango martinis, tomato-tinis, pickle martinis, and more. Matcha martinis saw a meteoric 1,323% increase in searches in 2023, truffle martinis were up 92%, and espresso martinis (always a good idea) were up 56%.
Coffee cocktails
Searches up 118% for “carajillo”
Speaking of espresso martinis, coffee cocktails are the original alcoholic energy drink, and they’ll keep customers at the bar chatting for a good long while. A good example of a new coffee cocktail that’s rising in fame is the carajillo, a simple two-ingredient cocktail that’s basically the Latin American version of an Irish coffee. In Colombia and Venezuela it’s coffee mixed with brandy, in the Mexican version it can be mixed with mezcal. Really, you can do whatever you want with it. It’s popular at brunch but also well-loved as a digestif after dinner. Searches jumped 118% in 2023 for the beverage.
Smoothie nation
Searches up 408% for “Hailey Bieber smoothie”
Smoothies have been in style for a while now and they’re not going away. Look to popular superfood add-ins like blueberries, baby spinach, probiotics like kefir or yogurt, and more. We saw searches for organic grocery store Erewhon’s smoothies spike by 178% and “Hailey Bieber smoothie” searches were up 408%.
Overall restaurant trends
In addition to food and drink trends, trends in dining and consumer preferences continue to shift. Restaurants would be wise to keep abreast of these trends and note them in both practice and marketing.
The DeuxMoi effect
Social media buzz can make a restaurant really blow up, like that found on the DeuxMoi Instagram page. Celebrity gossip and descriptions of restaurants can lead to a massive spike in restaurant attendance. For example, in Miami, David Grutman’s Gekko restaurant—in partnership with rapper Bad Bunny—saw searches jump 2,930% in 2023.
For that reason, it’s harder than ever for customers to get a table at restaurants with celebrity diners, partnerships, or simple Instagram/TikTok buzz. Earlier dining times and reservations have thus become more popular for social-media-darling restaurants.
Sustainability is sustainable
Sustainability is a trend that ain’t going anywhere, and we can comfortably say it’s been one of the top 10 food trends of the last decade. Things like relying on regenerative agriculture that focuses on soil health and promoting responsible water stewardship are important to diners, especially millennials and Gen Z. Surveys say those generations are anywhere from 30-60% more likely to visit restaurants that try to be sustainable.
Food retailers can expect the same effect. So if managing food waste responsibly, sourcing locally, watching your carbon footprint, and practicing water conservation is important to you, be sure to advertise that fact—you can attract new customers.
Top restaurant tech: Always in style
So you’re looking to keep up with the latest trends. Good idea! You’ll find that by following search trends, new product advancements, and customer demands you’ll likely get more diners in seats. That’s excellent. But what happens once they’re there?
You’ll want the best front-of-house service possible, of course. That means jumping into the future with the best restaurant management software like Yelp Guest Manager. Suddenly had a spike in popularity due to social media buzz? You’ll want customers to be able to find you and make a reservation or hop on a waitlist as easy as possible. Combine fully two-way customer interaction with further fully customizable software that makes your server’s lives easy and you’ve got a winner on your hands.
We love to see trends change and adapt. We also love to see restaurants thrive in a changing market. If you want to see how Yelp Guest Manager can help you explode in popularity, reach out to us for a free demo. You’ll be ahead of the curve when the trends hit.