Chia seeds, quinoa and almond milk lead the list of healthy foods and ingredients that are trending highest on restaurants’ takeout orders
An analysis by GrubHub, an online and mobile food-ordering company, shows that chia seeds, quinoa and almond milk rank among 2014’s trendiest “health” foods that are being incorporated into restaurants’ takeout orders
GrubHub’s analysis examined a year’s worth of order data, focusing on foods and ingredients touted for their health benefits, and found that these items registered the largest order spikes in the last year:
- Chia seeds – 140%
- Quinoa – 110%
- Almond milk – 110%
- Kale – 99%
- “Raw” foods – 59%
- Gluten-free – 52%
- Pressed juice – 38%
GrubHub’s analysis also looked at where these types of food trends are most geographically concentrated, with the following cities ranking highest as “early adopters” for their percentage of trending “health fad” orders:
- Boulder, Colo.
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- Seattle
- New York
- San Jose, Calif.
- San Diego
- St. Louis
- Miami
- Austin, Texas
“GrubHub order data is an incredible indicator of new food trends,” said GrubHub Inc. President Jonathan Zabusky. GrubHub works primarily works with independent restaurateurs who can test out trends and quickly add new menu items, Zabusky noted. “Menu flexibility like this is a luxury, and it puts our restaurants at the forefront of industry trend-setting,” he added.
Besides identifying food fads and where they’re most concentrated, GrubHub’s health trend analysis also uncovered these additional insights about health food-ordering habits:
- Gluten-free items, kale and pressed juices are the most popular health food orders, respectively.
- Women are 44 percent more likely than men to order trendy health foods from takeout restaurants: Hemp seed (110% more common with women), chia seeds (66%), almond milk (63%), kale (61%) and quinoa (57%).
- Trendy health food orders are 110 percent more commonly placed during breakfast than throughout the rest of the day.
- College students are nearly 50 percent less likely to participate in these health food trends than the average diner.
