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Vegan and vegetarian orders balloon in 2019, Grubhub report says

Cauliflower pizza orders increase 650%, delivery company finds. Yelp trends note 156.2% increase in Japanese souffle pancake reviews.

Ron Ruggless, Senior Editor

December 4, 2019

3 Min Read
Cauliflower_Crust_Credit-_Joe_s_Pizza_(owned_by_LA-based_Playhouse_Group).jpg
Cauliflower crust pizza at Joe's Pizza.Joe's Pizza

Year-end trend lists from third-party delivery company Grubhub and online review platform Yelp indicate vegan and vegetarian options continue to grow in popularity.

Both companies on Wednesday released lists of culinary trends noted in 2019.

Chicago-based Grubhub’s “Year in Food” report, which analyzed “tens of millions of orders placed by more than 21 million diners on its platform,” found cauliflower pizza claimed the top spot, rising 650% in popularity throughout the year.

In 2018, cauliflower dishes had claimed the No. 7 and No. 10 spots in the Grubhub data. And vegan- and vegetarian-focused dishes claimed seven of the Top 10 spots, compared to three in 2018. Vegan orders rose 27% in popularity overall in 2019 as compared to 2018.

The remainder of the Top 10 ordering trends and the percentage increases included:

  • Spicy brussels sprouts: 622%

  • Portobello empanada: 601%

  • Black bean & sweet potato taco: 513%

  • Miso pork ramen: 413%

  • Chicken burger: 318%

  • Bone broth: 298%

  • Brown sugar milk [bubble] tea: 281%

  • Vegan pad thai: 280%

  • Impossible burger: 203%

Meanwhile, Yelp, the San Francisco-based review platform, issued its first trends forecast.

Yelp also found increased popularity for cauliflower, calling it a “healthy-swap comfort food.”

“If 2019 was the year of zucchini noodles, 2020 is the year of cauliflower,” Yelp said on its blog. “People are increasingly searching for healthy-swaps for their favorite comfort foods — cauliflower mashed potatoes and cauliflower pizza are just two of the creative dishes we’re seeing added to menus and searches.”

Food_Trends_-_Japanese_Souffle_Pancakes.jpg

Japanese souffle pancakes

Yelp created its list by reviewing data to find a list of words and phrases that were rising the fastest and most significantly between 2018 and 2019. Using three years of data mentions, the company forecast what trends were on the upswing.

Other Yelp trends included:

Souffle pancakes: The Japanese culinary trend was first mentioned on Yelp in the U.S. in September and mentions of the dish have been skyrocketed since.

Mocktails, non-alcoholic happy hours.

Floral-Infused drinks and dishes: Chrysanthemum and butterfly pea tea were two of the extracts popping up in cocktails and dishes.

Nashville hot chicken: You don’t have to head to Nashville for this spicy chicken anymore. Recently added to the Ruby Tuesday’s menu, we expect to see this fried chicken dish everywhere in 2020. Mentions of Nashville Hot Chicken popped up everywhere from Louisville, KY to Birmingham, AL to Champaign-Urbana, IL.

Ube as the new matcha: Ube, a purple yam that hails from the Philippines, has been a rising ice cream flavor and continues to take over the dessert scene.

Boozy kombucha: “Boozy, bubbly and somewhat healthy, hard kombucha has been spotted on bar menus along the coasts and at sports stadiums this year,” Yelp said. Review mentions were up 377% in the past 12 months.

Pineapple bun: The sweet Cantonese pastries were often served as a dim sum snack, breakfast bun or dessert pastry.

Korean cuisine: Yelp expects Korean cuisine and Korean BBQ to be a top cuisine of 2020.

Next-level desserts: “Stretchy” ice cream will make headway in 2020, Yelp said, as well as Taiyaki ice cream, a Japanese treat served in fish-shaped waffle cones, and brick toast (popular in Taiwanese eateries and bubble-tea cafes).

Dessert trends in Grubhub’s 2019 list and percentage of increased orders included:

  • Butter cake: 641%

  • Chocolate shake: 530%

  • Fruit crepe: 223%

  • Caramel churro: 206%

  • Vegan carrot cake: 144%

Grubhub works with more than 140,000 restaurant partners in more than 2,700 U.S. cities and London.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]

Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless

About the Author

Ron Ruggless

Senior Editor, Nation’s Restaurant News / Restaurant Hospitality

Ron Ruggless serves as a senior editor for Informa Connect’s Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN.com) and Restaurant Hospitality (Restaurant-Hospitality.com) online and print platforms. He joined NRN in 1992 after working 10 years in various roles at the Dallas Times Herald newspaper, including restaurant critic, assistant business editor, food editor and lifestyle editor. He also edited several printings of the Zagat Dining Guide for Dallas-Fort Worth, and his articles and photographs have appeared in Food & Wine, Food Network and Self magazines. 

Ron Ruggless’ areas of expertise include foodservice mergers, acquisitions, operations, supply chain, research and development and marketing. 

Ron Ruggless is a frequent moderator and panelist at industry events ranging from the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators (MUFSO) conference to RestaurantSpaces, the Council of Hospitality and Restaurant Trainers, the National Restaurant Association’s Marketing Executives Group, local restaurant associations and the Horeca Professional Expo in Madrid, Spain.

Ron Ruggless’ experience:

Regional and Senior Editor, Informa Connect’s Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality (1992 to present)

Features Editor – Dallas Times Herald (1989-1991)

Restaurant Critic and Food Editor – Dallas Times Herald (1987-1988)

Editing Roles – Dallas Times Herald (1982-1987)

Editing Roles – Charlotte (N.C.) Observer (1980-1982)

Editing Roles – Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald (1978-1980)

Email: [email protected]

Social media:

Twitter@RonRuggless

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ronruggless

Instagram: @RonRuggless

TikTok: @RonRuggless

 

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