Yelp forecasts food and beverage trends for 2023
To navigate 2023’s trends, Yelp went to its team of data scientists, its larger community and trend expert Tara Lewis to see what food, home and beauty terms are rising in searches. The review platform looked at millions of searches to find the words, phrases and businesses that saw significant interest between 2021 and 2022 across those categories.
Yelp is predicting the following up-and-coming food and dining trends:
- Experimental dining (underwater restaurant searches up 263% and dinner theaters were up 109%)
- Michelagua (up 62%)
- Slushie drinks (up 77%)
- Pickle-flavored foods (up 55%)
- Oxtails (up 45%)
- Dirty sodas (up 40%)
- Hojicha (up 38%)
- Mocktails (up 59%)
- The Supreme (a cream-filled croissant from Lafayette Bakery in NYC, up 13%)
- Fast food nostalgia (up 90%)
Fun experiences seem to be on the minds of consumers. Michelagua, a tasty non-alcoholic alternative to micheladas (a Mexican drink made with beer, lime juice, assorted sauces, spices and chili peppers), is accompanying many meals. Using beer-free mixes to complement an agua fresca, the michelagua typically comes in three flavor options: mango, pineapple and spinach or cucumber with lime.
In 2023, Yelp predicts that slushie drinks – both alcoholic and non-alcholic – will dominate menus. The platform expects restaurants to expand this frozen drink trend, with creative combinations like the frozen negroni.
Yelp users are eager to go back to restaurants and create memorable dining experiences. Destination dining options – such as dinner theater or underwater restaurants – offer views, activities or entertainment, all while enjoying a meal.
From drinks to desserts, pickles are making their way from side dishes to entrées. In the year ahead, expect to see items such as pickle martinis and pickle ice cream pop up across the country.
Consumers are more nostalgic for their childhood faves than ever, and the fast food industry has been riding that wave by bringing back some old staples like the McRib, Happy Meals and Halloween pails. Many Yelp users have been searching for the nearest spot where they can go to relive some of their childhood fast-food memories.