Early into quarantine, a popular food trend arose in which patients suffering from COVID-19 ate burnt orange to regain their taste. In 2023, people went “fanatic” over Grimace Shakes sold at McDonald’s, after the drink’s popularity boomed across social platforms, and today, with the food trends continue to center on foods with heavy visual appeal (lots of cheese, lots of spice).

Today, popular food videos are continuing to pop up with a single swipe, capturing not only the attention of their audience, but their cravings.

Social media has made food trends a noticeable part of student life, shaping how students eat, talk, and post. From viral matcha lattes to Dubai chocolate, trends move quickly and can often go from online to on the menu, as business owners attempt to appeal to Gen Z’s interests.

“My dad, for instance, if he sees a video on Instagram, he’ll send it to me and be like ‘Okay, tell me what you need, I’ll go buy the stuff,’” junior Myles Jenkins said. “He made me recreate this entire custard cup he got from Cafe Zupas one time.”

Influencers and corporate ads on TikTok or Instagram Reels make certain foods look appealing, exciting, or otherwise worth trying. At the same time, students are affected by what their social circles are buying, the most liked photos, and what feels current or popularized.

“I feel like [food trends] begin off as visual attention,” sophomore Keilana Espinosa said. “A lot of people try food because they look appealing. But then again, on social media specifically, a lot of people advertise foods because of how they think it tastes and why they think it tastes good.”

FOOD TRENDS by Zhan Chang Zhao [/infographic]

Food trends are not always flashy, popular foods, but can also be tied to health and fitness. Meals such as low-calorie, high-protein, religious, or vegetarian meals have all grown in popularity since the rise of food trends on social media. These trends can also exist on the opposite end of the health spectrum; other food trends can be described as “over-the-limit,” with overflowing cheese or huge portions, or being used as a challenge, such as the “spicy chip challenge” or “sourest candy in the world challenge.”

“I think I’d be eating a lot healthier if social media weren’t a thing,” Espinosa said. “Because in reality, the food that are spread around social media oftentimes isn’t very healthy at all. Most of the time, I eat a lot of homemade meals, so I’m not going out and trying new things. But, since all of my family is on social media, we all know what’s trending and all know what we want to try. If social media didn’t exist, these unhealthy foods wouldn’t be as popular [and] spread out to the general public.”

However, food trends can severely raise the price of common ingredients. One example is Dubai chocolate, a chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream mixed into kataifi pastry that has grown in popularity in recent months. However, rising with its popularity is its ingredient costs.

“I do think [Dubai chocolates] are extremely overpriced,” Espinosa said. “For example, I know that in stores, they sell very small portions for very high prices, and they don’t have a lot of kataifi and pistachio, so you’re basically just buying chocolate.  And personally, I have made Dubai chocolate before out of ingredients I can literally get from the store, and the cost to make a couple of good-sized bars of Dubai chocolate does not cost as much as they sell it in stores.”

As certain foods go viral and the price for these ingredients are raised heavily, this leads to another culinary phenomenon: ingredient scarcity. Matcha is a great example, blowing up on TikTok in mid-2025, with the label of matcha falling under the trend of being a “performative male.” Prices of matcha leaves have also increased by 86%, as poor weather surrounding Japanese manufacturing companies leads to even less supply to keep up with the demand.

“I don’t know what popularized [Dubai Chocolate] in the beginning, because I try to keep up on the news as much, because I know when matcha became a big thing,” Jenkins said. “There was a massive shortage of matcha leaves, especially since they’re only harvested so often. .

As trends shift, so do the menus of physical businesses to keep up with the times. Cafes, restaurants, and businesses near schools may add trendy items to their menus or advertise heavily on social media to attract students.

“Social media trends were part of our inspiration. For example, popular items like boba drinks and mousse desserts influenced us,” Danna Wei, LA LUNA representative, said. “But we developed our own recipes to create something unique.”

Though food trends can be profitable, they also create gaps and create demands. Owners may feel pressure to serve food they don’t like, or wouldn’t normally sell, just for profit. Even more so, if a trend fades quickly, the business can lose money or be left with extra inventory that will rot in storage.

“I do think [Dubai chocolates] are extremely overpriced,” Espinosa said. “For example, I know that in stores, they sell very small portions for very high prices, and they don’t have a lot of kataifi and pistachio, so you’re basically just buying chocolate.  And personally, I have made Dubai chocolate before out of ingredients I can literally get from the store, and the cost to make a couple of good-sized bars of Dubai chocolate does not cost as much as they sell it in stores.”