TikTok food trends: are they here to stay? - Palatinate

By Chloe Codling

Over the past couple of years, the social media platform TikTok has skyrocketed in popularity across the globe. This is in part due to the series of lockdowns we have all experienced, which have led to people spending more of their free time browsing the app. However, TikTok has influenced people's lives in a number of different ways, not just in the amount of time spent on the app. Creators on TikTok provide inspiration in a whole variety of different things, including fashion, crafts, workouts, and food. Food in particular has resulted in a series of food 'trends' from viral recipe videos, which have gained and lost popularity over time. Amongst these include the Dalgona whipped coffee recipe, baked feta pasta, and Emily Mariko's salmon and rice recipe. However, will any of these recipes actually continue to be made into 2022 and beyond? Or will they soon die out due to the very nature of TikTok trends? Have they already died out? This article will use some of my own personal experiences with TikTok to investigate these questions.

The summer lockdown of 2020 for me is characterised by certain things that were trending on TikTok at the time, some of which include Tiger King, specific TikTok dances, and Dalgona iced coffees. Out of curiosity, I tried the recipe for the coffee: I will hold my hands up and say that I really enjoyed it. I liked it so much that I made it quite a few times after that and I even made a video of myself making it, which reached over 30,000 views. But over a year later, am I still making it now? Unsurprisingly, no. After all that time spent whisking away to make the perfect foamy coffee, I decided that a normal iced coffee was so much easier and more convenient to make, especially considering that nobody has as many spare hours during the day anymore as they did during that summer lockdown. And in my opinion, this cycle of events is the norm for TikTok food trends – you get inspired by a recipe, make it a few times after that, and then gradually forget about it.

After all that time spent whisking away to make the perfect foamy coffee, I decided that a normal iced coffee was so much easier

In the same vein, there were swarms of videos filling my 'For You' page of people making the feta cheese pasta recipe, so of course, I had to try it. Yet again, I made a video of me making it (with not as much success in terms of views this time, sadly) and tried it – it was quite nice. However, nothing in me was desperate to go through the effort of making it all again. It was fun to make and interesting to try, but in reality, it was not any nicer than a normal pasta dish. Again, this seems to be common amongst TikTok food recipes – they are a novelty to make but they are often impractical to implement permanently into your diet.

However, recently it was announced that TikTok will be launching its own food delivery service, whereby people can try out viral food recipes from the comfort of their own homes, without having to make anything themselves. This takeaway service is due to be launched in May 2022 and it will enable people to have feta cheese pasta dishes, sushi bowls and other viral food trends easily at home. Yet despite the fact that there is clearly a profitable market and business model in this, it does not mean there is a guaranteed longevity in any of these dishes – Tiktok have already said that they are planning to update their menus quarterly, to keep up with changing trends. Doesn't that say it all? Just like other trends, TikTok food trends come and go all the time, with very few of them actually becoming a permanent feature in anybody's lives. But that doesn't mean to say they aren't fun to try and can provide some amazing food inspiration, which you might be able to adapt in ways that actually make them work for your lifestyle. And, stay tuned for the TikTok food delivery service, which will make it considerably easier to try these food trends yourself!

Image credit: Ivabalk via Pixabay