The Weekly Wrap: 5 Food & Beverage Trends to Watch This Week
Looking to stay ahead of the curve? Our food & beverage trends roundup highlights the most compelling shifts in consumer behavior and foodservice innovation. These weekly food trends, drawn from real-time data and our work with leading food and beverage brands, reveal what’s resonating, from trending ingredients to format innovation. Whether you’re building a new product, updating your menu, or refining brand positioning, these weekly food trends are designed to spark ideas and speed up execution.
Each edition explores the food and beverage trends driving momentum across menus, social channels, and consumer kitchens. From global fusions to wellness-focused swaps, we translate data into insights that power rapid, relevant innovation. These food and beverage trends aren’t just interesting, they’re actionable, helping brands execute confidently in a fast-changing landscape.
1. Malatang
+113.5% YoY on social | +47% on menus
Malatang, the spicy, customizable Chinese street soup, is booming both online and in restaurants. As regional Asian cuisines move beyond pho and ramen, this interactive comfort food is finding a broader audience.
For context on the popularity of global comfort foods (including beef tallow swaps), see our Q3 2025 Trends analysis.
2. Texas BBQ Fusion (Egyptian Style)
+57% YoY for Egyptian fusion
Classic Texas BBQ meets Egyptian spices in a compelling fusion—the kind of “old meets new” mash-up that resonates with modern diners. It signals that bold flavor crossovers are becoming mainstream.
Explore similar bold global mash-ups in Tastewise’s recent recap from NRA 2025.
3. Creatine – Framed for Women’s Health
+44.3% YoY | 9.2× benchmark engagement among women
Creatine is breaking free from its “gym-bro” image and embracing a wellness-first narrative, especially among women. This is a prime example of powerful category repositioning with real story potential.
4. Flights – Mini Tastings on Menus
+41.5% YoY on social | +22.7% on menus
Menu “flights”, sampler formats like mini cocktails or sauce trio tastings—are delivering variety and engagement, meeting consumer demand for exploration. They also offer operators smart upsell opportunities.
Learn more about how data-driven menu formats drive engagement.
5. Beef Tallow
+148% YoY on social | +18.2% on menus
Riding a clean-label wave, beef tallow is regaining star status as a preferred alternative to seed oils, especially in wellness and “anti-seed oil” conversations. That 417× benchmark lift speaks volumes.
Why These Trends Matter
These five trends reflect broader consumer desires: authenticity, variety, health transparency, and format innovation. Whether you’re refreshing a menu, conceptualizing a product, or shaping brand messaging, these insights can help you move from insight to execution quickly.
By digging into emerging food trends, we uncover where consumer curiosity meets market opportunity. Whether it’s a niche format gaining traction or a new nutritional hero entering the mainstream, these emerging food trends offer a snapshot of what’s next.
With a strong focus on menu innovation, we spotlight the formats and flavor pairings gaining popularity with diners and operators alike. These menu innovation insights can support everything from limited-time offers to full-scale brand refreshes.
Our goal is to give you sharp, data-driven consumer food insights that help transform strategy into action. These consumer food insights provide the “why” behind each trend, giving you confidence in your next move. Armed with these consumer food insights, your teams can move from idea to execution with speed and precision.