Continuing our preview of 2025 trends, Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) has turned to the new experts in trend categories—social media influencers. Positioned in the thick of saturated foodie audiences, these social media influences not only see what’s coming down the pipe, they certainly also are impacting 2025 trends.
“Restaurant operators have always tried to maintain a balancing act between staying one step ahead of consumer trends and reacting to what customers want in real time. But with the rise of social media marketing, the trend cycles have picked up speed and it’s become more challenging than ever to remain fresh and relevant in the eyes of the consumer,” writes Joanna Fantozzi, senior editor for NRN.
In partnership with Belle Communication and their new app, Brilli, which is an analytics tool allowing social media influencers to share their trend predictions via surveys, NRN sources opinions from three different food influencers about what they expect to see in the coming year. “Collectively, the three influencers surveyed have more than eight million followers across social channels, representing mostly GenZ and millennials,” explains Fantozzi.
Collectively, the influencers surveyed—Danny Kim from @DannyGrubs; Nate Llorin as @NateLo98; and Trinh Carreon, @Trinhdoesthings—came up with five main categories that will be trending this year: nostalgic comfort foods, snacks and small bites, globally-inspired flavors, dining pop-ups, and authentic brand messaging. This unique blend of trending topics demonstrates how target markets are focused on whole-experience dining, placing emphasis not just on the types of foods, but the aesthetic experience and business-to-customer communication.
““The key is to offer something that feels adventurous yet approachable — experiences that spark curiosity and encourage sharing on social media,” Kim told Fantozzi.
There are several key-crossovers between these influencer-predicted trends and the 2025 trends our restaurant consultants collected from featured NRN round-ups, including flights in the small bite categories and nods to nostalgia with a personal touch, like new menus and marketing popping up at large-scale QSRs.
For restaurant owner-operators planning for the year ahead, strategies should include an informed awareness of upcoming trends, with a commitment to what works for your establishment and guests. Richard Weil, owner and principal of National Restaurant Consultants (NRC), chimes in on the impacts that influencers have in the food service sector. “Influencers can be significantly more powerful than any independent social media review. While social media reviews can be negative, utilizing the positive ‘spins’ that influencers have that can be created, provides a strong alternative process for the benefit of the operators and consumers alike.”