Food and Drink Trends for 2024

Signal Contributor
January 14, 2024
10:08 am

By Mackenzie Filson

Delish.com

What’s in (and out) for next year? The experts have weighed in. With the door closed on 2023, we’re looking into our crystal balls (or tea leaves or pasta-themed tarot decks) to predict what food and drinks will be trendy in 2024.

There are plenty of food trends we hope pick up speed in 2024 (or kindly fade away), and we know we’ll never quite predict them all. Think of it this way: This year already gifted us things that were decidedly not on our 2023 bingo cards, like robot waiters and caffeinated lemonade lawsuits. Plus, Grimace made a comeback (and everyone was not okay with it, clearly).

So, are we really ready for 2024? Who knows. Just be sure to save some room for these food and drink trends.

Fancy Faux Fish

No, that’s not tinned crab or tuna you’re seeing here. It’s Seed to Surf’s plant-based tinned “snow crab” and “whitefish” made entirely from enoki mushrooms and celery root. Consider this the delightful, eco-conscious lovechild of 2023’s trend of Mushrooms Being Everywhere and the “treat yourself” little luxury of tinned fish, especially as consumers are reportedly flirting more and more with plant-based items. Mushroom crab cakes, anyone?

Galaxy Quest

Not all of us will be able to realize our space-travel dreams, so Torani Puremade Galaxy Syrup is bringing the experience back to earth as their 2024 flavor of the year. Torani says that since “47% of Americans reported that they did at least one ‘space-related activity’ in the last year, now is the perfect time for this flavor to have its moment in the spotlight.”

As part of the development process, Torani conducted hours of market research and consulted with an astronomer to create a taste of space and the molecular structure of dust clouds. It apparently tastes like raspberries and dark rum.

Vinyl Bars Are Back

Vinyl bars, while not necessarily new, sadly took a major step back during Covid, as most places turned into the town from Footloose, so to speak. Thankfully, vinyl bars all around the country are popping back up (like Le Fantastique in San Francisco) or becoming more popular (like Gold Line Bar in LA), as trend forecasters have noted that consumers are craving a bar-hopping experience in less-traditional spaces.

Creste di Gallo Pasta

Elbows? So 1998. Bucatini? Big snooze. 2024 is reportedly all about a new pasta shape: Creste di Gallo. Meaning “crest of the rooster” or “coxcomb” in Italian, the noodle resembles the ruffled crest on top of a rooster’s head. In pasta form, these ridges and folds are prized for how well it holds sauce, and will remind you of another popular noodle shape, cascatelli.

New Age Grocery Stores

One of the trends I’m most excited for? Grocery stores going way into the future. Pop Up Grocer is the latest to make the chore of grocery shopping feel like an epicurean excursion. According to Aishwarya Iyer, founder of Brightland, “The consuer appetite for unique, high-quality products is reshaping the grocery landscape” leading to a wave of “Shoppy Shops” and shopping platforms for expertly foraged wild foods (as is the case of Foraged).

Pizza Vending Machines

This trend feels like part fever dream and part what I’d promise my class mates if they elected me class president in middle school. That being said, I’m a total fan and really hope I can have a Pizzaforno vending machine in my area very soon. Plus, even DiGiorno is testing out their own pizza vending machine prototypes to further blur the lines of their “It’s not delivery” tagline.

Garleek

According to ButcherBox’s Chef Ashley Lonsdale, 2024 will shine a spotlight on a new, hot vegetable: garleek, a cross between garlic and leeks that’s created through responsible seed breeding. Lonsdale predicts that garleek will become more mainstream as consumers are keen to support these types of hybrid vegetables.

Walk-In Reservations

Anna Altieri, the Executive Culinary Director of Spiegelworld, has maybe my favorite prediction of them all: the return of walk-in reservations.

“Restaurants are realizing that while packing your books full months in advance could be more predictable, it removes the whimsical nature of dining,” says Altieri. “I am loving the new restaurants that opt to leave a percentage of their tables open for the folks that just don’t know they need spicy rigatoni 90 days ahead of time.” As a last-minute diner myself, I couldn’t agree more.

Sleepy Drinks

Honk-choo, honk-choo, mi mi mi mi mi. Oh sorry, I just had one of a variety of sleep-centric drinks you can now stock at your house for beddy bye time (like Apothekary’s Dream Team which features their “Chill the F* Out” powdered supplement or Som’s canned sleep drinks). Thanks to the popularity of the viral TikTok recipe for “sleepy girl mocktails,” trend forecasters are noting how consumers are more focused (focuzzzed?) than ever on maintaining proper sleep hygiene.

Tamarind

Yes, brands are hedging their own bets on what flavors will be big in 2024. As for spice maker McCormick, they’re predicting one flavor to be the spice you turn to most next year: Tamarind. You know (and likely love it) when it’s stirred into your pad Thai or Indian curries, tamarind has a sweetness and a tang that makes it ideal for marinades and BBQ sauces and for classic drinks like a Mexican agua de tamarindo. Get you a spice that can do both!

Elderflower Everywhere

Let’s be real, if you were out at a bar or hanging around your friend’s bar cart this summer, you were likely sipping a St. Germain spritz. The St. Germain spritz had us in a choke hold and it’s starting a wave of plenty adding more elderflower elements to other drinks, according to Yelp’s Food & Drink Trends Report.

Tsukemen (Chilled Ramen)

Being hot and cold is now a very, very good thing, thanks to spicy cold ramen (aka tsukemen). Combining a cold noodle base + spicy heat (like the ultra-popular spicy chilled ramen on offer at Ramen Tatsu-Ya), tsukemen is a summertime delight of brothy noodles, crisp toppings (like corn and squash), and proteins like chicken and pork. No need to blow on your bowl to get it to cool off. Just dive right in.

Carbon Negativity

The only negativity we’ll be allowing in 2024 is carbon negativity, especially as climate change is front of mind for many people. And thanks to brands like Air Company, there’s now a carbon negative and impurity-fee vodka on the market that removes one pound of carbon dioxide from the air, per bottle. That vodka-soda of yours? It’s saving the world (a little bit)? We’re fans.

More (Way More) Mushrooms

Make room for mushrooms, because they will be everywhere in 2024. As shoppers and chefs are moving further away from alternative meats like Impossible and Beyond, they’re focusing on putting the “plant” back in “plant-based” by using mushroom’s savory-meaty capabilities, like Meati’s line of mushroom-based jerky (pictured), cutlets, bites, and steaks.

Tomato Cocktails

Bloody Marys and Micheladas aren’t the only tomato-based cocktails out there. As “tomato girlies” head to the bar, they want more options than the brunch-time standbys. Expect to see Instagram-able tomato drinks like the Caprese Martini (pictured here at Jac’s on Bond in New York), the briny Tomatini, and even a Tomato Top Negroni.

Carajillos

Espresso martini? She’s a bit played out. No, 2024 will be all about another coffee-based cocktail: the Carajillo (pictured here at Bar CDMX). Think of it as a more simplified (and less fussy) espresso martini, as the Spanish-Mexican Carajillo only requires two ingredients (espresso or coffee and Licor 43). It’s such a beloved drink you might see this flavor profile elsewhere (Kellogg’s apparently makes Carajillo-flavored cereal).

Sparkly Syrups

2024, to me at least, feels like it’ll have many examples of how social media is changing what we see IRL, namely Tiktok-friendly dishes and drinks. In this case, what has more of that “Oh my god I have to try it now” quality than something made with edible glitter and sparkles? Mixing up glittery cocktails is just one way to use Runamok’s Sparkle Syrup. It’s also amazing on pancakes so you can feel like a sparkle-pony-unicorn-fairy pretty much any time of day (the dream).

Seacuterie Boards

Merging together the powerful pull of 2023’s food media darlings (tinned fish and charcuterie boards), you’ll get the newest snacking craze: seacuterie boards. And no, it’s not just straight up fish fillets that you’ll be finding on your boards, either. “Concepts like shellfish sausages, octopus salami, and swordfish ham are gaining popularity,” says Stephen Toevs, Senior Director of Culinary, US and Canada, Marriott International.