Daily Briefing (Insiders Only): Girl Dinner Grows Up
The countdown to the new year has begun as evidenced by the flow of new trend predictions and reports aiming to bring our expectations up-to-date with future innovation. Today, we are breaking down the themes and ideas shared by the Specialty Food Association while taking a look at how early movers have already injected themselves into the realm of hot new products.
First up: Girl Dinner 2.0. After more than a year growing within the cultural zeitgeist, Girl Dinner is already squaring up for a sequel (read: slightly more substantial snacks). According to SFA trend experts, Girl Dinner is shifting towards the realm of dumplings as a snack and pizza cupcakes for lunch, rather than its origins of a few crackers, cheese and random charcuterie items. Nuanced, innovative and “familiar with a twist” foods like Fishwife’s tinned seafood and Lotus Foods Forbidden Rice Ramen are primed to take the top spot.
Instant Global Gratification. Dumplings, dosa and Doosra’s snacks are emblematic of the range of products trendspotters believe will be top consumer picks in 2025. The demand for Southeast Asian brands has definitely permeated this space, but the experts also pointed to other regions on the map – such as tapenade from Santorini or Xinca’s Salvadorian pupusas – in terms of where consumer taste buds are traveling. Easy-to-prepare, convenient, globally flavored foods is itself a melting pot of the trends we’ve seen rising since pandemic times.
Those COVID-19 inspired cooking trends are as sticky as another key indicator from that era, high food prices. Third on the SFA’s list is “Yes, Chef” – a sentiment that indicates consumers are working to win their own at-home Michelin star when reaching for products like Todo Verde’s Al Pastor Seasoning or Sabatino White Truffle Sauce. As food prices remain inflated, cooking a top-quality meal at-home in itself is the winning recipe.
Functional foods as natural enhancers (think: Brook37 Wellness Teas or High Country Fungus Magic Cocoa), a cornucopia of chili pepper callouts (the evidence for this one is everywhere), new uses for vinegar (like American Vinegar Works Apple Cider Hot Vinegar) and consumers sweet on real sugars such as cane, honey and syrup (see the back panel of your new favorite treat for more) help round out these experts’ expectations for the year ahead.
In addition to naming seven trends in total, the experts added some à la carte, flavor-related finds it expects to be big in the year ahead including oil-based hot sauces, black garlic, lavender and flavored cheeses.
