Q3 2025 Summer Food And Beverage Trends Drop: Pickles, Pop Culture, And The Rise Labubu desserts

Consumer preferences are moving faster than ever, and in Q3 2025, that speed is showing up on shelves, menus, and social feeds. Backed by over 1 trillion data points and insights from 10.9 million consumers, the summer food and beverage trends are driven by purpose, personality, and a craving for the unexpected. From high-function drinks to the pickle flavor trend, and the rise of Labubu desserts in the booming world of collectible food culture, brands are using real-time intelligence to turn curiosity into commerce.

The top 3 summer trends shaping F&B in 2025

From collagen-packed lattes to jalapeño-glazed BBQ, the top summer food trends 2025 are all about functional indulgence and bold mashups. This season, flavor isn’t just craveable, it’s calculated.

BBQ fusion: where heat meets comfort

Grill season got smart. In 2025, fusion BBQ is dominating menus and backyards alike, spicy-glazed proteins served alongside creamy classics. We’re seeing jalapeño honey ribs with kimchi slaw, or brisket with miso mac-and-cheese. This is no longer trend forecasting; it’s execution. Demand for savory-sweet combos is up +19% YoY, driven by a consumer craving familiar formats with bold twists.

Collagen coffee and wellness iced teas

Collagen isn’t just for creams anymore. Gen Z is drinking it in iced matcha and Gen X is mixing it into cold brews. What unites them? Purposeful sipping. More than 77% of consumers now seek functional benefits in beverages. Brands are meeting that with wellness-forward drinks: think ashwagandha spritzers, reishi-root beer floats, and collagen-infused coconut lattes.

The summer of pickle everything

Few flavors define summer food trends 2025 like brine. From the pickle flavor trend in lemonades to dill-forward potato snacks and sour-heat sauces, this is the season of acid and tang. Pickle-flavored drinks are up +239% in conversation volume YoY, and “pickle” as a standalone flavor claim is climbing across LTOs and retail snacks.

Where did these trends start?

Social media isn’t just documenting consumer taste, it’s shaping it. TikTok doesn’t wait for test kitchens. Platforms like Xiaohongshu and Instagram are feeding the loop between food visuals, emotional drivers, and sales. If your product isn’t shareable, it’s likely invisible.

Social media’s role in flavor and visual trend validation

Take Labubu desserts, what began as a collectible toy is now appearing in macarons, ice cream cakes, and boba toppings. In China, themed drinks and desserts are driving traffic and UGC (User Generated Content) faster than any traditional campaign. One Luckin Coffee campaign alone generated millions of impressions via Labubu-branded cups.

Not everyone loves the hype, but that’s not stopping sales

Here’s the twist: while conversation volume may be exploding, consumer sentiment isn’t always glowing. One in three consumers say they avoid viral food trends because they see them as mostly hype, yet that hasn’t stopped these trends from generating millions in sales when brands tap into deeper emotional triggers.

According to our latest consumer survey, not everyone is on board with pickle soda or character-branded desserts, and that ambivalence is real. But smart brands aren’t relying on hype. They’re engineering emotional buy-in. They’re not just following the trend; they’re reframing it. By aligning flavors and formats with deeper consumer needs like fun, nostalgia, or functional benefit, products stay craveable even when the buzz gets polarizing.

From idea to launch: how AI helps brands execute summer trends

Trend tracking is table stakes. The differentiator is how fast you act. The brands winning Q3 are those moving from signal to SKU in weeks, not quarters. AI tools, like those in the Tastewise platform, help marketers, R&D teams, and retail buyers validate claims, test packaging, and even predict flavor performance up to 12 months out.

Instead of guessing what works, teams can use AI to compare menu growth, social conversation, and regional adoption in real-time, unlocking decisions about which concepts are worth moving forward now.

Real-world brands bringing summer trends to market

Poppi’s prebiotic soda is a case study in what functional nostalgia looks like. So are iced teas with magnesium, collagen, or mushroom adaptogens. These drinks aren’t being positioned as health solutions, they’re daily, craveable upgrades.

CPGs leaning into pickled heat and briny layers

What was once a one-off viral menu trend is now a full-blown pickle flavor trend movement. Expect CPG to drop more sour-heat snacks, fermented sauces, and even briny cocktail mixers aimed at millennial palates. Popeye’s “Pickle Menu” signaled the shift; the floodgates are open.

Collectible desserts as experience and status

This summer, collectible food culture means more than packaging. Edible IP is here. Brands are layering on Labubu figurines made from jelly, turning macarons into limited-edition characters, and tapping into the “little treat” ethos with dessert drops built for status posting. 

Want the full breakdown?

From functional floats to the new crunch economy, summer food and beverage trends dives deeper into the flavors, formats, and emotional triggers shaping summer eating habits. Discover what’s driving consumer choices and how your brand can stay ahead with data-backed strategy.

Trend spotlight: Labubu and the rise of edible collectibles

Labubu is a character from Pop Mart’s collectible toy line, now appearing in real food. From Labubu macarons in LA to jelly-topped teas in China, the figure has become an edible collectible, combining dessert culture with fandom energy. On TikTok, videos featuring Labubu food regularly pass 10M views.

According to Tastewise data, over the past 24 months, Labubu’s social share grew 5,625%—putting it on par with some of the fastest-growing flavor and format trends this year. That surge is backed by a current social share of 0.078%, which is high for a character-based trend in F&B.

Why this matters for food brands

This isn’t kid stuff, it’s marketing gold. Tapping into Labubu desserts gives brands access to audiences already emotionally invested in a visual universe. These desserts double as shareable content and impulse drivers, especially in Asia-Pacific markets where toy collabs have cultural cachet.

How AI can help build the next Labubu moment

You don’t need to guess what IP will hit next. With Tastewise, teams can track character and flavor mentions across regions, spot new collectible formats, and evaluate consumer needs like “cute,” “fun,” and “social” in context, backed by 1 trillion data points and counting.

What’s coming next month?

With consumer preferences shifting faster than product cycles, the brands that win are the ones that anticipate what’s next and move first. What’s on the horizon after the summer food and beverage trends? A few sharp signals already making noise.

Tropical meets floral: dragon fruit, lychee rose, calamansi citrus

As heatwaves continue, cooling and perfumed flavors are spiking. Expect soft drinks, jellies, and frozen treats to skew tropical and fragrant.

Gamer culture x snack trends: nootropics, energy pops, and tie-ins

Snacks are leveling up. From mushroom-infused crisps to caffeine-packed lollipops, F&B is speaking gamer fluently. Look out for direct-to-consumer drops targeting late-night cravings and focus-fueled munching.

More character collabs: expect new edible IP across desserts

Collectible food culture won’t slow down. Beyond Labubu, brands are looking to anime IPs, nostalgic mascots, and toy brands to build limited-edition desserts meant to be photographed, posted, and craved.