4 Instagram food trends you should know
Modern food trends are increasingly spread via visual social media platforms. Use these four viral ones to help inform product innovation.
August 4, 2016
![4 Instagram food trends you should know 4 Instagram food trends you should know](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/bltc8e59444f68a98fe/64ff218af1b74968e26a949e/cronuts-instagram.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
You've heard of avocado toast. But crafty Instagrammers are boosting the visuals of this good-fat snack by twisting an avocado into a fluted rose shape. It’s a little labor intensive (check out the hashtag #avocadorosefails for a good laugh), but by slicing half of an avocado extremely thin, forming it into a long line, and then rolling it into a rosebud, folks are making this ultra-hot, good-fat ingredient even more craveable by making it appear (almost) too pretty to eat. Product innovation (in avocado): GoAvo Avocado Spread Photo: @avantgardevegan
Modern special diets are all about good fats, protein and ample fruits and vegetables… not so much about high-glycemic white rice. That’s why a growing number of ‘stammers and pinners are going crazy over cauliflower rice (and riced vegetables in general). Rather than steaming, roasting or simmering cauliflower florets, smart cooks are grating raw cauliflower with either a box grater or food processor. When cooked, the “rice” achieves a texture, appearance and (some say) taste comparable to straight-up jasmine. Product innovation: Boulder Canyon Riced Cauliflower
Sushi is good. Burritos are good. Why not merge these culinary delights into one super-sized, hand-held lunch item? Already a handful of take-out restaurants across the nation, from California to Boulder to Boston, specialize in rolling these massive sushi rice-veggie-fish rolls. A build-your-own mentality makes them easy to cater to special diets, too. But they have one thing in common: all use seaweed to encase the various contents inside. Photo: @gourmadela
Low-carb enthusiasts, followers of paleo- or grain-free diets, and those who simply want to eat fewer refined carbs have all embraced cooking with spiralized vegetables. Who knew that ho-hum veggies like zucchini, sweet potatoes and butternut squash would make such great pasta swaps? Social media mavens from around the web are crafting beautiful plates that make eating more vegetables delicious and fun. Product innovation: The Veggie Noodle Co. Photo: @serenagwolf
Low-carb enthusiasts, followers of paleo- or grain-free diets, and those who simply want to eat fewer refined carbs have all embraced cooking with spiralized vegetables. Who knew that ho-hum veggies like zucchini, sweet potatoes and butternut squash would make such great pasta swaps? Social media mavens from around the web are crafting beautiful plates that make eating more vegetables delicious and fun. Product innovation: The Veggie Noodle Co. Photo: @serenagwolf
When Chef Dominique Ansel created the Cronut, the half croissant, half donut hybrid, a star was born. But, of course, you already know that. News outlets ranging from The New York Times to The Washington Post have covered this flaky pastry, tracking its rapid, meteoric rise.
Three years after its inception, a line still forms around the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. So strong is Cronut’s pull that New Yorkers and tourists alike wait hours for a chance to purchase this $5 pastry, and it has even fueled knock-off Cronuts from chain bakeries.
But the Cronut is just one example of a food that went viral.
While certain foods have risen in sales thanks to pop culture references (the gourmet cupcake trend is often attributed to a scene from Sex and The City, where character Carrie Bradshaw nibbles on one from Magnolia Bakery), modern food trends are increasingly spread via visual social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.
Posting food online is nothing new. But look closely and you’ll find that trendy tastemakers who frequently follow special diets are at the forefront of healthy innovation—food innovation that manufacturers can use to inform new product ideas.
Here, find a sampling of food trends blooming on Instagram and Pinterest to help you get with the times.
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