Mid-year report examines top food trends, forecasts ahead, and how quarantine has impacted America's dining habits
We're officially in the second half of 2020, and it's time to turn the dial back to take a look at how we ate our way through the beginning of a year unlike any other we've seen before. Grubhub, an online and mobile food-ordering and delivery marketplace, launched its latest report, "State of the Plate", looking at trends across the more than half a million orders placed a day. Grubhub's mid-year report checks in on the popular food trends to date and what quarantined Americans ordered through contact-free delivery, and predicts what we can expect to see more of in the second half of the year.
From grabbing a chorizo burrito (270% more popular) for breakfast, a cheesy breadstick snack (412% more popular), a plant-based burger (291% more popular), or a fit-for-quarantine meal kit (orders of meal kits rose 55%), below are the trends we've loved so far this year.
Disclaimer: The top foods below have seen the fastest growth on the Grubhub platform during the first half of 2020.
TOP FOODS OF 2020 TO DATE
In 2019 we were introduced to the chicken sandwich war, and in 2020 it raged on as chain and independent restaurants added the sandwich to their menus for diners to enjoy. The spicy chicken sandwich saw a nearly 300% rise in popularity this year, with other top foods spanning a range of categories and plenty of newcomers.
• spicy chicken sandwich: 299% more popular
• plant-based burger: 291% more popular
• vanilla shake: 273% more popular
• iced latte: 261% more popular
• chili: 228% more popular
• cinnamon roll: 205% more popular
• chimichanga: 195% more popular
• beef burrito: 181% more popular
• potato taco: 169% more popular
• taro milk tea: 168% more popular
The Top Food in America's Most Populous Cities
• New York City: Mushroom burger: 150% more popular
• Los Angeles: California burrito: 286% more popular
• Chicago: Gyro: 299% more popular
• Philadelphia: Buffalo chicken pizza: 323% more popular
• Dallas-Fort Worth: Elote: 191% more popular
• Bay Area (SF, Oakland, San Jose): Saag paneer: 389% more popular
• Washington, DC: Drunken noodle: 166% more popular
• Houston: Fried mushrooms: 238% more popular
• Boston: Lettuce wrap: 268% more popular
• Atlanta: Plant-based burger: 147% more popular