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This recently published Google Food Trends 2016 report provides a fascinating insight into popular food Internet search trends in the US, with interest in functional foods, pork shoulder, and certain pastas and Asian dishes on the rise. At the same time, interest in established healthfoods, such as gluten-free products and quinoa is on the wane.
Here are four key food trends from the report, which covers January 2014 to February 2016:
Turmeric
Functional foods, i.e. foods with reported health benefits beyond basic nutrition, have become particularly popular with searchers. Interest in turmeric in particular increased by 56% between November 2015 and January 2016 alone – much of which can be attributed to growing interest in golden milk, a kind of turmeric latte consisting of juiced turmeric root and nut juice.
Pho
Interest in refershing, invigorating pho has also grown, both in terms of how to make it and where to eat it, particularly at weekends. Pho searching is at its peak in icy January.
Pork Shoulder
The pulled pork obsession continues, again largely at weekends, when there is a 22% spike in searches related to pork shoulder. Many people in the US are looking to experiment with the meat at home, across a variety of cuisines, particularly during December.
Rigatoni
Following years of stagnation, people are shrugging off carb-free shackles and searching online for pasta again. Interest in rigatoni has increased by 26% over the past year, with much of the search activity occuring on weekends, as people look for simple and tasty recipes to try at home.
However, this hasn’t necessarily translated into sales. Recent statistics produced by Nielsen suggest pasta sales are down by 1% on last year in the US.
Check out the main 'Risers' and 'Decliners' below:
