Damn! We really don’t want to see these 6 trends again in 2025
It was another year packed with food trends. Every year, we tell you what will be hip & happening the following year, but we’re still surprised every year. Who could have predicted last December that we would encounter pickles absolutely everywhere in 2024? Spoiler: we’re pretty sick of pickles by now. And there are even more food trends that, as far as we’re concerned, can happily stay in 2024.
Maybe it’s more of a hospitality trend than a food trend, but we also hear a lot around us that shared dining is sooo 2024. Agree or not? And can you relate to the food trends we mention below—or not?
6 food trends that, as far as we’re concerned, can stay in 2024
Pickles on everything
Yes, the pickle. We had a laugh this past year, because pickles suddenly turned up everywhere, with one combination even crazier than the next. You could say pickles suffered from the tompouce effect. Not so long ago, tompouces suddenly appeared in all sorts of forms too. This year, you couldn’t escape pickles. They showed up in pickle cheese; we bought liver sausage with pickles, a chocolate letter with pickles, oliebollen with pickles, pickle cheesecake… Clever ideas, all of them, and sometimes successful, but as far as we’re concerned, back into your jar with you, pickle!
Coffee with ridiculous toppings
We love a good cup of coffee, but the things we saw this year… Towers of whipped cream, stroopwafels, marshmallows, and, as the final flourish, a donut skewered onto a straw. It looks more like a sweet snack show than a latte. How are you even supposed to drink it without making a mess? And by the time you’ve taken the perfect Instagram photo, your coffee is probably cold. Just give us a cappuccino, without the circus.
Viral nonsense that is supposedly good for your health
Sounds vague? Let’s get straight to the point: this year, for example, it became trendy to drink baking soda. Yes, you read that right. That little bluish packet that is probably crumpled up somewhere in your baking-supplies drawer. It supposedly ”helps with nausea, prevents mouth ulcers, resolves stomach and intestinal problems and reduces bloating”. But that overlooks the fact that baking soda also contains an extremely high amount of sodium, which is simply very bad for us. Don’t believe everything influencers tell you.
Pistachio on everything
Pistachios are our favorite handful snack. Preferably roasted and salted, but we also enjoy them unroasted and unsalted. In salads, for example, and in a tagine. But in 2024, it became too much. Pistachio was everywhere: from the Dubai pistachio bar to pistachio oliebollen. But pistachio on everything? No, thank you! We fervently hoped the pistachio obsession would end this year, but no such luck. Starbucks is launching a Pistachio Latte, Iced Pistachio Latte and Pistachio Frappuccino this year, along with a Pistachio Donut and Creamy Pistachio Loaf Cake; pistachio cake topped with creamy pistachio icing. Too little, too late if you ask us—and a desecration of the beautiful nut in greasy blockbuster products.
The Dubai chocolate bar
The Dubai chocolate bar was the luxury snack of the year, and we readily admit: it was fun for a while. That combination of chocolate, pistachio and künefe attracted attention worldwide, especially thanks to influencers such as Monica Geuze. They also flew off the shelves in the Netherlands, even resulting in an oliebol version. But honestly, we’re done with it. Yes, it’s tasty, but at that price? It still feels a bit like we’re paying more for the hype than for the actual flavor.
Adding protein to absolutely everything
Spreadable cheese, granola bars, crackers, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, bread, wraps, oatmeal (?), chips (?!)… These days, everything seems to be sold in “extra protein” versions. Just walk through an ordinary supermarket; you could fill an entire cart if you wanted to. If you’re healthy, all that extra protein—as Het Voedingscentrum also says—is really not necessary. Too much protein can even be bad for your kidneys. Yet supermarkets are bombarding us with it. We’re telling you, these are simply marketing tricks that you fall for with your eyes wide open. Let’s close our eyes to them in 2025, please.
Read also:
