Food fads come and go, and today’s diet obsessions and viral bites won’t be any different. Charcoal lattes and collagen gummies? They may look downright silly in 20 years. Here are 10 trends that future foodies will laugh about the way we do at Jell-O salads today.
10. Functional Candy and Soda
Prebiotic sodas, “clean” candies, and collagen gummies…these paved the way for wellness candy boom. Right now, people love the idea of snacking while improving their skin or gut health. But later on, this may look like clever marketing. Why? Because these foods sell the illusion of health while using the same processed base.
9. Whole30 Reset Diet
The Whole30 program promises a 30-day reset by cutting sugar, dairy, grains, and legumes completely. While it appeals to people craving control and quick fixes, its extreme restrictions make it difficult to sustain. Like cabbage soup and juice cleanses before it, there’s a chance Whole30 will be remembered as another fad diet that demonized other food groups.
8. Girl Dinner
Remember having your own #girldinner? In most TikTok videos, that’s a plate of crackers, fruit, cheese, and whatever else you can find in the fridge. It resonated with many because it’s easy and low-effort. However, over time, it might look less charming and more like a lack of nutrition and balance in eating habits.
7. Cloud Bread
During the pandemic era, this airy, pastel-colored bread substitute went viral on TikTok. It tried to replace bread as a low-carb, low-cal option, made with whipped egg whites, cornstarch, and sugar. Yes, it looks magical, but it’s not filling, doesn’t toast well, and tastes like sweet foam. Even nutrition experts agree that it’s not much of a substitute for real bread in terms of satiety and nutrition.
6. Mini Pancake Cereal
Here’s another TikTok phenomenon of pouring a bowl of teeny pancakes and eating them with syrup…just like how you eat your cereal. It exploded in 2020, and it was cozy, playful, and great for short videos. But in reality, who has time to flip dozens of quarter-sized pancakes before work? This trend is already fading, and in 20 years, we may laugh at how we turned breakfast into a crafty project.
5. Spherified Foods and Drink Pearls
Those tiny balls of liquid that looked like caviar but taste like lemon, vinegar, or even cocktails? That’s spherification, a cooking trick borrowed from science labs. They’re popular now as they make food look high-tech and fun. Most of the time, though, they don’t add much flavor. Even chefs admit that it’s more show than taste.
4. Weird Restaurant Presentations
Remember when restaurants served burgers on clipboards, soup in mason jars, or dessert in a tiny plant pot? Today, unusual plating is great for Instagram post. But give it time, and diners may shake their head at the gimmick. There’s already a “We Want Plates” movement that highlights how silly these presentations are when you just want a meal properly served.
3. The Carnivore-Only Diet
Meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, anyone? This is the Instagram darling of extreme eating. Fans love it because it’s like an act of rebellion against plant-based culture. Some influencers also believe this diet can improve focus and energy. Meanwhile, doctors have already warned that lack of fiber and high saturated fat can raise risk for heart disease and stroke.
2. Charcoal Everything
For a couple of years, activated charcoal showed up in almost everything—lattes, lemonade, ice cream, and even pizza crust. It was marketed as a detox miracle, and so it blew up. In reality, doctors pointed out that charcoal can also absorb nutrients and medications you actually need, making it more risky than healthy.
1. Plant–Meat Mash-Ups
Hybrid nuggets and burgers that mix meat with veggies or grains continue to gain traction. At a time when people want less guilt without giving up flavor, these mash-ups feel like a win-win. Later on, this could look like a weird compromise because why not just eat one or the other? Some of these blends are also and still highly processed, so they’re not much better nutritionally.