Instagram Food Trends 2017
Pictures are louder than words—an idiom the 700 million users of Instagram wouldn’t dispute.1
And pictures related to food might just be as tasty as eating. There are over 230 million #food posts on Instagram and about 60 million posts each for the tag #yum and #delicious. Regardless how many posts there are, it’s clear that food is quite the topic on Instagram. Sharing what’s on one’s plate has become as much a part of the dining experience as ordering. We thought it would be fun to highlight what trends we are seeing through the Instagram lens.
Cloud Eggs – The name alone is catchy enough without needing a quippy header: cloud eggs. Literally overnight, these puffy eggs became a trend in May 2017 and today there are 9,000 posts for #cloudeggs. Cloud eggs are the result of whipping egg whites until fluffy, baking them, adding the white and baking again. The recipe was traced to 1651 by food historians.2 Loaded with protein, these “snow eggs” are loved by the Paleo set and health-conscious consumers looking to fill up with little caloric impact.
Buddha Bowls Balance Well – Chia bowls, protein bowls, acai bowls. Bowls have been on-trend for a while but Buddha Bowls are the new kid and present a more balanced approach. Part protein, fat, and fiber, Buddha Bowls call for approximately ½ cup of whole grains to around 4 cups of leafy green and cruciferous veggies with some protein. One of the top posts of the 126,000 posts for Buddha Bowls is from @veggininthecity. Check out her page for more bowl-spiration.
Feeling Frose’ – The drink darling of 2016 has shown no signs of stopping in 2017—if anything, it’s bigger. If you haven’t tried it, frosé is the love child of frozen rosé wine and fruit-based simple syrup blended together in icy bliss. Today, frosé has crossed over to frozen confections where we are seeing premium frosé flavored ice cream treats like Pops (UK) offers. And if you’re in Chicago this summer, check out The Hampton Social, a bar that helped launch frosé on Instagram for their version mixed with vodka, peach puree and, of course, rosé.
Sweets, Sugar and More – Summertime means more than barbecues. It is the key season for frozen desserts and celebratory sweets. Taking over Instagram are donuts like the rainbow version from The Sugar Factory, or Stuffed Ice Cream’s (NYC) cruff, a donut sandwich stuffed with, you guessed it, ice-cream like White Chocolate Lavender or Vietnamese Coffee ice cream. Where do we line up? And for something a little lighter but just as refreshing, do a search for #shavedice and get ready to get lost among the more than 425,000 posts from across the globe. If the images leave you jonesing for shaved ice (and you aren’t in Hawaii), check out these possibilities in Austin. Pick one and we’ll meet you there.
Green Tea Us Up – Tea continues to be hot but we like it just as much cold…really cold. And Instagram has us drooling over the green tea based treats at Spot Dessert Bar in NYC. The Chocolate Green Tea Lava cake looks insane as does the Green Tea-Ramisu that has us craving matcha toot suite. The Crème Brûlée Milk Buns don’t look too bad either (yes, we know they don’t have tea in them but we couldn’t resist sharing). Our 8770 Matcha Green Tea Powder would be a great place to start experimenting.
Please Sir, I Want S’more – Nothing bad can happen when chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallow meet and the 1.6 million posts around s’mores tell the truth. Consumers want s’more (we couldn’t resist) and they’re getting it. Whether it’s at The Baker in New Bedford (CT) for their special s’more donut or Blank Slate Coffee’s S’more Dip, consumers are getting more than enough s’mores.
If you haven’t spent a lot of time on Instagram, make sure to check it out. Use the search bar at the top and think of a food-related hashtag. Or just hit the explore button at the bottom of the page. We promise there are food trend posts that will help you see what your consumers are finding photo food-worthy. It’s worth a shot.
Source:
- http://blog.instagram.com/post/160011713372/170426-700million
- http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/05/21/529127751/cloud-eggs-the-latest-instagram-food-fad-is-actually-centuries-old