Each December, Uber looks back at the past year – from where we traveled, to what we ate, and so much more. This year has looked much different than many, with many Americans staying home more often and ordering more food for delivery.
With that in mind, Uber noticed more than a few key food trends to emerge this year. The most popular day of the week for food delivery in 2020 was Friday, and the most popular time of the day to place an order was 6 pm. Customers also found new ways to show love and share meals, using the “Share my Delivery” feature to send treats over thousands of miles away.
Some other top trends in food ordering include:
- Comfort foods – 2020’s most searched and ordered foods include burgers and fries, burritos, pad Thai and mac and cheese. Other trending comfort foods include California rolls, chicken tikka masala, miso soup and mozzarella sticks.
- Family dinners – Families in Orange County, Las Vegas, Washington DC and Orlando ordered from Uber Eats’ ‘Family Style Meals’ menu most often.
- Morning buzz – Customers in San Juan, New York City and Miami had the most coffee orders on Uber Eats.
- Quarantine cravings – During quarantine, requests for “extra sauce,” “no onion,” and “no cucumber” increased the most while requests for “no bacon,” “extra crispy”, and “dressing on the side” decreased.
- A new way to explore – Uber Eats customers found ways to travel across the globe with cuisines. American, Italian, Mexican, Chinese and Japanese foods were the most popular, followed by Thai, Indian, French, Caribbean and Greek.
Looking ahead to 2021, Uber Eats examined which food searches are accelerating in popularity. Sriracha, oat milk, cauliflower and flowery foods are all on the rise heading into next year.
