20 Oct 2022
For 42% of Gen X and baby boomer internet users worldwide and 21% of Gen Z’ers, social media is the place where they look for recipe inspiration, says research by GWI Zeitgeist.
In the U.S. and U.K., 53% of Gen Z reports they find inspiration for recipes and meals via TikTok, according to Progressive Grocer. So it is no surprise that the holiday season is the peak moment for food-related social media content. What foods are trending on TikTok this season? We’ve compiled a list of 8 recipes & dishes!
When asked what type of content people would like to see more of from food-related social media accounts, seasonal recipes are favored by 46% of food content viewers. This was the second most popular content type, only trumped by simple recipe ideas that use few ingredients or have few steps, which is favored by 59% of food content viewers.
December is full of different celebrations from all around the world. Here are some of the widely-celebrated ones:
St. Nicholas Day - December 5: Many European countries honor St. Nicholas of Myra with St. Nicholas Day. Celebrations include parades, feasts, gift-giving, and festivals. There are special cookies with lots of spices that are eaten and a lot of chocolate gifts,
St. Lucia Day - December 13: Swedish girls dress up as “Lucia brides”, sing songs and bring their families coffee and saffron buns shaped like an S.
Hanukkah - December 18 - 26 2022: Jews commemorate an ancient miracle by lighting a candle on the menorah for eight days in a row and have dinners with special foods such as latkes. There is a lot of fried food on Hanukkah to remember the ancient oil miracle.
Winter Solstice - December 21 2022: All around the world, people participate in festivals and celebrations on the shortest day of the year. Typical foods vary across the world, but in China consist of for instance dumplings, wonton and glutinous rice balls.
Christmas - December 24 - 26: The Christian commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated with decorations, special foods and gift-giving. In many countries, Christmas dinners usually center around a turkey or other large meat dish. There are lots of special Christmas pastries as well, such as panettone and christmas pudding.
Kwanzaa - December 26 - January 1: In the United States, African Americans celebrate their culture and heritage, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu. The main dish there is a one-pot stew, together with rice, bread, fritters and vegetables.
New Year - 31 December: Many people all over the world welcome the new year with parties, fireworks, new year’s resolutions and special foods, ranging from twelve grapes in Spain and marzipan pigs in Germany to soba noodles in Japan.
What foods are most popular during all those celebrations? To help you be the first to adopt new trends, we’ve turned to TikTok to find out what flavors and foods are all the rage right now.
On the social media platform, we see these 8 trending foods for the 2022 holiday season:
1. Christmas crack
678.7M+ views
The recipe for Christmas crack is simple, but the result is promised to be highly addictive. Melted butter and sugar spread over graham crackers, followed by chocolate and sprinkles. When it’s hardened, it is broken into smaller pieces to snack on. Easy and festive, just as internet users like it.
2. Reindeer crack
460.4M+ views
This spin on Christmas crack resulted in equal fame. The recipe might even be easier: crackers, peanuts, pretzels and M&M’s are mixed with store-bought almond bark.
3. The grazing board
508.3M+ views
Officially, a grazing board is a combination between a cheeseboard and a charcuterie platter, but TikTokkers have gone wild with their own reimaginings of the snack board. Videos of board party’s where every guest brought their own themed board went viral, featuring everything from nacho board, and sushi board to dessert board. But the biggest hit for sure was the butter board: a platter spread butter and decorated with flavorful toppings, vegetables and spices. An invention that was good for 508.3 million views.
4. Oreo balls
80.7M views
This under-5 ingredients and under-5 steps recipe once again starts with store-bought cookies. Oreo’s are crushed, mixed with cream cheese and then rolled into balls. These balls are then dipped in melted chocolate and decorated to taste. These snacks require no baking and no actual cooking, but do give people the opportunity to bring a homemade treat to celebrations.
5. Ice cream cones as trees
A simple decorating trick that has spread like wildfire is the ice cream cone that doubles as a tree. By turning the cone upside down and decorating it with green buttercream frosting and powdered sugar, it becomes an adorable Christmas tree to decorate cupcakes, desserts and cakes with.
6. Lobster roll
1.9B+ views
The holiday season is all about indulgence. And what is one of the most indulgent foods out there? Lobster! So obviously, the lobster roll is making a come-back in December. Lobster meat is served on a grilled brioche or milk bread type bun, together with some butter and lemon juice. While most of the trending foods we’ve seen are easy home recipes, the lobster roll is often bought at a restaurant and then shared online.
7. Challah bread
224.7M+ views
Challah bread comes in all different shapes and types of braiding, which makes it the perfect dish for TIkTok-tutorial videos. Six-strand braids, multi-color braids or loafs shaped like the Menorah candelabra can be found all over the platform. A further 52.5M views go to videos that feature easy challah bread recipes for Hanukkah.
8. Christmas Tree Breadsticks
135.7M views
The ideal appetizer for anyone that goes for maximum impact with minimum effort. Store-bought sheet dough crust is topped with cream cheese, spinach, cloves, garlic, cheddar cheese and some seasonings. The triangular shape is then cut to create several pull-apart breadsticks. Once baked, this snack is very Instagrammable - or should we say: TikTokkable?
Do you already know these online trends?
Taste Tomorrow
Taste Tomorrow is the world’s largest ecosystem for consumer understanding in bakery, patisserie and chocolate. By tracking local and global consumer behaviors, attitudes and choices it provides us with valuable, in-depth insights. We are able to use these insights to track the evolution of trends and reveal new ones, helping your business to stay connected to your customers and discover new opportunities.
