The nostalgia for 2016’s culture is at an all-time high, with influencers and celebrities alike reflecting on what that year held for them. But what was 2016 like in terms of food trends? I’m about to find out.
Two words: pink drink. Starbucks carried the trend of colourful drinks, be it regular menu items or the elusive ‘secret’ menu, only available if you if you combined specific ingredients and syrups, or asked your barista really nicely. The drink that most people will remember is the Pink Drink, with the ingredient combination made famous by the likes of James Charles calling it ‘Pinkity Drinkity’, this now permanant menu item appeared in every LA YouTubers video. Essentially a Strawberry Acai Refresher with coconut milk instead of water, everyone and their grandma was trying to get their hands on this drink. Starbucks further hit the jackpot with their limited-edition Unicorn Frappuccino, literally looking like a unicorn had thrown up into the blender. Taking Instagram by storm in 2016, this viral drink was only available for 5 days, and quickly sold out at multiple locations. It's popularity was fuelled by its Instagram friendly appearance - 2016 was all about colours being as bright as they possibly could. None of this beige and grey stuff…
These brightly coloured bagels were often served with ‘funfetti’ (vanilla with sprinkles) cream cheese, layered to create a ‘unicorn food’ appearance, clearly a huge 2016 trend! The bagel went viral within 24 hours in February 2016, garnering 70 million views. Leading to long lines in Brooklyn, New York (its origin city), this bagel is still popular in the Big Apple, with iconic eateries such as ‘Liberty Bagels’, being synonymous with the rainbow cream cheese bagel.
Vegetarianism and veganism really took the world by storm in 2016, with more people than ever making the switch. Plant-based options moved from niche to mainstream, with vegan food sales in the UK growing by over 1,500%. Nut milks such as oat, soya, and almond became staples in almost every café, as less and less people drank cow’s milk. Veggie burgers were introduced in Nordic McDonalds in 2017, following the popularity during 2016. Kale dominated as a superfood, and fuelled almost every smoothie made across the year! Something that has certainly changed since then is protein intake. Now we are continuously told that we must have grams upon grams of protein in each bite, but in 2016 this was not on our minds at all!
So, there is just a few food trends from 2016. A lot can change in 10 years!