Menu Matters Monthly Minute | December 2025
And that’s a wrap on 2025.
It feels like just yesterday we were ushering in the new year, excited to kick off Menu Matters’ 10th anniversary. And what an anniversary year it was! We completely rebranded with a new logo, colors, and a revamped website. We launched all new offerings, including The Mess Hall, our podcast focused on messy, nuanced conversations about the food industry. We traveled to nearly 30 different destinations for speaking engagements, client sessions, and to lead market immersions, from international trips (Australia, Canada, the Netherlands) to our anniversary party at the National Restaurant Association Show in May.
We were proud to be quoted in dozens of publications, from our favorite trade magazines and websites to CNN, Fox Business, The Daily Mail, and Morning Brew.
We welcomed the newest addition to Menu Matters, Shelley Phillips, our strategic planner extraordinaire!
But more importantly, we got to work one-on-one doing work we love with so many talented and passionate industry experts. We’re so lucky to get to work in the food and beverage industry, which plays a meaningful role in people’s lives. It represents heritage, memory, celebration, creativity, pleasure, community, health — the list goes on and on.
We’re so excited to head into 2026 — and we hope we can work together in the months ahead. But in the meantime, we wish you a very happy holiday season.
DID YOU KNOW?
41% of Gen Z says they are usually on their phone when eating a meal.
That’s hardly the recipe for a very meaningful, engaging food experience. But some consumers are trying to break free from their screen addictions.
They’re buying dumbphones, embracing low-tech parenting, going on tech-free vacations, attending digital detox retreats, even buying landlines. Australia recently banned social media for anyone under 16.
It’s also why they’re getting into so-called “grandma hobbies” like knitting, crocheting, and gardening. They long for tactile experiences.
In a world of transactional experiences mediated through a screen, how can the restaurant experience be more meaningful and engaging? At a time when consumers are looking to get hands-on again, how can the home kitchen be a center of analog experimentation? Indeed, when we asked about a range of food-related resolutions consumers have for 2026, more consumers wanted to cook meals from scratch than any other option — 45% chose it.
This data and research comes from our upcoming 2026 Consumer Needs Report, releasing on January 5. Watch your inbox for your complimentary copy.
What We Learned
On LinkedIn, we start the week with our #MondaySparks (three creative ideas to jumpstart the week) and end the week with our #FridayFive (five things we learned in the past week). Here are five of the most popular posts from the past month:
What happens when you combine ketchup and matcha?
Why consumers are speeding up their media.
Why Pantone chose a shade of white for its color of the year.
How to convince someone to leave a cult.
A washing machine — for humans?
You can catch every #FridayFive, #MondaySparks, and more here and here.
Menu Matters in the News
“Trend Smarter, Not Harder,” Foodservice Equipment & Supplies
“Trend Thoughts: Reconsidering What It Means for a Food To Be Hot,” Supermarket Perimeter
“Middle Eastern Cuisines Lead 2026 Ethnic Food Trends,” Supermarket Perimeter
“Premiumization Movement Makes Storytelling, Packaging Important As Ever,” The Food Institute
“Shoppers Put a Premium on Value-Added Produce,” Supermarket News
“Webinar: How Foodservice Suppliers Can Build Demand With Operators,” Belle Communication
“December 2025 Editor’s Note: Staying Power,” Supermarket Perimeter
The Beekman
The Hot List
Delicious meals, excellent hotels, favorite products, thought-provoking books, great TV shows and movies — these are some of Maeve and Mike’s favorite recent discoveries.
“If you ever had the opportunity, stay at The Beekman in NYC. It's a splurge, but worth it on every level. The property itself is gorgeous with intricately tiled and wood inlay floors coupled with an impressive atrium at the bottom of which is the lobby bar - The Bar Room - often identified as one of (if not THE) best lobby bars in New York. For an extra special stay, head there during the holidays, even if it's just to grab a drink in that lobby. And, if you need somewhere to go after, check out the holiday igloo pop-up experience at Somewhere Nowhere. During the holidays, there are a lot of cheap pop ups that overcharge for underwhelming experiences. Here, each teardrop-shaped ‘igloo’ is cozy and comfortable. The service was attentive without being intrusive, but most importantly the food and drinks were fantastic. It was well worth the time and investment for a special experience.” MAEVE
“The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic, CT, has been on my list ever since reading about how they prioritize using invasive species. The experience lives up to the hype and then some. There isn't a misstep on the menu, from the clever 'sea-scargot' appetizer that swaps snails for slipper limpets to the crispy rice with duck egg that uses rich, fatty, invasive green crabs (the team worked with legislators to change the laws in order to serve them — previously they had to apply for a bait license in order to offer them). More importantly, the generosity and hospitality was present from the first moment to the last. They even brought out a tuna wellington dish they were testing for an upcoming dinner at the James Beard House. It was easily one of the best meals I had this year.” MIKE
“It is easy to overlook small, unique experiences in the city you live in or choose to visit. I may not be a big social media user (or fan), but I'll give props where props are due. I saw a post on the holiday market at the Church of Sweden in Manhattan. The building is beautiful but ‘stuck’ between two huge office buildings so it's easy to walk past without noticing it. Outside of the holidays, they have a beautiful cafe and market with standard goods, but for Christmas they focus on crafts and foods. Everything is imported from Sweden from their market...not designed for the U.S. If you have a chance, at Christmas or during the rest of the year, it's worth a stop.” MAEVE
Let’s Meet Up
San Diego, CA - January 9-13 - Winter Fancy Faire
Youngstown, OH - January 13-16 - Steelite Trends Connect
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - February 15-16 - Refrigerated Foods Association Conference
New Orleans, LA - March 2-5 - NAFEM Executive Summit
Denver, CO - March 10-12 - Research Chef’s Association Conference
A sneak peek at our 2026 consumer needs…
The latest episode the Menu Matters podcast — The Mess Hall, where we have messy conversations about the thorny topics that matter to the food and beverage industry — is here.
In this episode, we kick off the show by looking at some of the brands and products that are killing it right now, from a marketing message from a knife sharpening brand to the Savannah Bananas to one of the best hotels we stayed at in 2025. Then we dive into the Menu Matters Consumer Need for 2026 -- consumers are just looking for the food and beverage industry to keep it real. In a world of AI slop and general distrust, how can brands and companies showcase the real human-focused ideas, solutions, ingredients, and products that will resonate in the year ahead? We also look at the five sub-trends that can help you solve for this need, from cutting through the noise to making food experiences more meaningful.
You can find it on all of your favorite podcast platforms (Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Overcast).
