TikTok Gastro: Despite Bizarre Recipes and a Sea of Nonsense, It Is the Address of New Culinary Trends

TikTok has destroyed the food industry – with these words, influencer, model, and chef Chrissy Teigen commented on the TikTokization of culinary arts, or the penetration of food trends from TikTok into the homes of users around the world.

– People there do everything just to provoke. I see a girl saying: ‘Hey, team, let’s make carbonara!‘, and then she starts throwing crap on the table just to get people typing: ‘What the hell is this?!’ That annoys me – said Teigen in her new culinary show ‘Chrissy & Dave Dine Out’, which she hosts with renowned chef David Chang and comedian Joel Booster. And yes, some TikTokers provoke anger and outrage with their bizarre recipes and often scandalous approach to gastronomy, but one should not underestimate the user engagement and power of that platform in forming some more serious trends.

In the end, Teigen owes much of her fame to social platforms, specifically Instagram, which brought her culinary skills closer to a million-strong audience. Although many viral dishes and trends can be pushed into oblivion, TikTok is the first address to visit if you want to find out what is currently in in the culinary world and what will soon become so. Last year, user feeds were filled with nostalgic dishes, Spritz drinks, non-alcoholic cocktails, plant-based pasta, exotic spices, recipes with fresh cheese or CBD, butter boards, or fruit rolls.

Players from the food industry and restaurant scene have been peeking at the platform and drawing inspiration for crafting offers and customer acquisition strategies. Recently, the Food&Wine portal wrote about what industry experts predict for 2024, which trends will dominate, and what players from the industry will pick up from the world of social media.

Less is More

For example, they noted that consumers have mastered terms that have appeared on product packaging in recent years. They love to buy groceries described with words like ‘cold-pressed’ or ‘fermented’ and raise their eyebrows at food that is ‘junk’. According to Mintel’s report ‘Global Food and Drink Trends Report’, in two to five years, brands will gladly highlight these, let’s call them virtues, on packaging that will be produced in an environmentally friendly manner (also marked on the packaging).

However, according to Craft Media’s report, Generation Z will prefer such groceries but will also be more skeptical of trendy claims. Brands are therefore advised not to throw around popular terminology like ‘adaptogenic’ or ‘nootropics’ because, in this case, less is indeed more.

It would also be good to remind customers that food is and should be healthy, but that it should also be enjoyed, finding joy and pleasure in eating. The often-ignored Generation X (born before 1980) also pays attention to health, trying trendy things like nutrient-rich wing meat (a type of crab), which is excellent for the heart, sleep drinks, superfoods for perimenopause, or calcium-rich milk powders to improve bone density.

In addition to increasingly following healthy eating trends, more than any other generation, they enjoy luxury (as much as they can afford, of course). According to Datassential’s food trend report, this generation seeks exclusive experiences, often travels, and enjoys alcoholic beverages.

Spending on Luxury, Mindful of Price

Luxury food brands are fortunate that in recent years, and this will continue in the coming years, food has become a status symbol. This is why the popular exclusive smoothie brand Erewhon recorded a growth of 178 percent last year. Even those who are not particularly wealthy will sometimes want to treat themselves to an exclusive brand, and if they are younger, they will want to report it to their followers on social media, especially TikTok. But here, it seems, the key word is ‘sometimes’. Namely, in the coming year, luxury food, restaurant, or snack brands (premium street food has great forecasts) will flourish, but at the same time, customers will be mindful of their money.

In a survey conducted by Datassential, half of the respondents said they are very bothered by food delivery costs, and 39 percent have abandoned an order after seeing the final price of the dish they wanted to order (with added fees). They, of course, vent their frustrations on TikTok. The Food&Wine portal therefore states that restaurants and delivery platforms like Wolt or Glovo will have to go a step further in motivating customers to spend their money with them.

For example, they should offer more generous portions and pay greater attention to special requests and adapt as much as possible to the desires of individual customers. Craft Media, in its report, notes that there is a growing demand for frozen food, specifically dishes that could be ordered in a restaurant. However, customers are not loyal to brands but ‘jump’ from store to store looking for the best deal, or the best value for money. When it comes to specific trends, pasta will continue to be one of the favorite dishes (thanks to TikTok), with creste di gallo (rooster comb) being the most popular shape.

Versions from Youth

The trend of nostalgia, or better said, newstalgia, will continue. In other words, dishes and ingredients from youth will return to everyday menus, only in more modern, refined versions. The latter treatment will also be given to some well-known but not so attractive dishes like Caesar salad, into which skilled chefs, and even TikTokers, will add other vegetables (asparagus, kale) and dressings. Interestingly, the brand McCormick’s in its ‘Flavor Forecast’ predicted that the flavor of the year will be – tamarind.

Tamarind or Indian date is a sour and sticky fruit that grows in pods and is added to savory (Asian) dishes, as well as desserts. The same report predicts a bright future for Peruvian marinade (leche de tigre), calamansi (a hybrid of mandarin and kumquat), but also plums, pickled, and of course, fermented vegetables.

When it comes to drinks, 2024 will be the year of herbal liqueurs, which are full, as modern consumers like, of alcohol and medicinal herbs. The mentioned trends are just part of what awaits us in the gastro world in the coming months. We will follow the others, much to Chrissy Teigen’s horror, on TikTok, which, whether we like it or not, has a huge influence on what will be on menus.