With an increase in media consumption, social media are shaping consumer behavior as never before. In the digital world, trends that arise on platforms like TikTok dictate what we eat, drink and buy.
The good news? You don’t have to spend hours scrolling through the For You looking for what recipe is popular now. Here you will find the latest TikTok trends in food this week! All data comes directly from the official TikTok API, so you know it’s fully reliable.
Each week, you’ll know what’s trendy in the food industry across the following categories:
- Food in general
- Cooking (recipe creators, have a look)
- Eating experiences (watch out if you run a restaurant or coffee shop)
- Food recommendations (a goldmine for e-commerce food stores and retailers)
I update this page each Sunday based on the past 7 days, so you always get the latest data. Use it to create viral recipes featuring your brand, run promotional campaigns, improve current offerings or develop new products if the trend persist.
Whether you own a restaurant or a coffee shop, sell healthy foods or have protein powder e-commerce store, or are simply a recipe content creator, this resource will level up your digital marketing strategy.
Importance of social media trends for food brands
Socials are the new media. From kids to the elderly, these platforms capture the attention of the modern consumer. Places like TikTok or YouTube are where people discover new foods, restaurants and coffee shops to try.
If you want to get the most out of your digital marketing, you must incorporate food trends in your strategy. You’ll get a much wider exposure, which means an increase in brand awareness and finally sales.
Recent industry summaries show that branded and user generated content on TikTok drives measurable increases in in-store searches and menu item demand when trends cross a popularity threshold.
How to leverage social media food trends
- Strategic content creation. Create short-form videos based on trending recipes, food challenges or eating experiences. By keeping your video short and catchy, using trending songs and a selection of niche hashtags, your brand will get more eyeballs.
- Targeted promotional campaigns. Launch short campaigns that center on a single theme, for example autumnal recipes, seasonal cocktails, or comfort plates. The likelihood for your product or restaurant to go viral is much higher.
- Product development for persisting trends. Use trend persistence as a signal for product experiments. When a recipe, flavor, or presentation maintains upward momentum across two to three weeks, test a limited time offer and measure sales, not just impressions.
Analysis methodology and metrics explained
I use the official TikTok Developer API to compile this weekly view. The metrics reported in the table below are standard hashtag performance indicators and should be understood as follows.
- Hashtag name. The raw text label used on TikTok to aggregate content.
- Hashtag rank position. The position of the hashtag within the given food and beverage category for the previous 7 days. A lower numerical rank indicates a higher position.
- Rank position change. Change versus the prior 7 day period. A positive change means an upward move in visibility. The label NEW denotes a hashtag that was not present in the prior period.
- Posts in the last 7 days. Number of new posts using the hashtag in the region of reference (US) over the past week.
- Views in the last 7 days. Total view count for posts using the hashtag in the region of reference (US) over the past week.
Regional trends
The region of reference is the United States, which matters because many global trends either originate in the US or are amplified there.
Contact me, if you’d like a custom analysis on a specific niche, region, or date range for your food marketing!
Actionable recommendations for food brands
- Monitor and prioritize trends that show persistence. One day of virality is noise. Two or three weeks of upward movement is a signal worth testing in operations and menu planning.
- Lean into user generated content. Encourage guests to capture and tag their experience. UGC provides social proof that converts better than brand-only posts. Nowadays images and videos on social have more influence on consumers’ decisions than text reviews.
- Use campaigns to convert trend into sales. Pair a campaign hashtag with a measurable offer, such as a limited time dish or product offering. But beware, instead of vanity metrics, focus on what actually matters: sales figures!
