• by Danielle Oster , December 10, 2024

Spotify may get the most attention for its annual “Wrapped” feature -- but it’s not the only brand with a year-end trends report.

Today, Grubhub unveiled its “2024 Delivered Report,” sharing some of the top national trends among consumers using the app for pickup and delivery orders, While the results are specific to GrubHub, they have some broader implications both for other delivery apps – and for the restaurants, grocery, and convenience stores its customers are ordering from. Grubhub teased the report last week with an Instagram post mimicking the visual style of Spotify’s “Wrapped” with the message: “You spent 28,539 minutes browsing restaurant menus this year.”

“People rejected the minimalist trend as we witnessed a rise in the end of quiet luxury, neon green aesthetics, loud pop tracks, and a common pride in doing everything to the fullest,” the brand wrote in a release announcing the news. “People were determined to get the most out of their purchases, their travel experiences, and certainly their delivery choices.

So what were Grubhub customers ordering?

Chicken rules the protein roost

In one maximalist step, 15% of Grubhub Chipotle orders included double protein.

When it comes to customers’ protein preferences, chicken was the clear champion, with people picking poultry in nearly 40% of restaurant orders and choosing chicken nearly three times as often as beef.

People were way into curds, picked plenty of pickles

TikTok and other social channels helped fuel a resurgence of an unlikely food trend this year, with younger generations choosing curds, their way, employing the ingredient for a range of novel uses from ice cream to pancakes (in addition to more straightforward snacking). Grubhub reports it delivered over a ton of cottage cheese orders this year.

Certain cities selected curds and whey at particularly high volumes: New York City topped the list, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston.

Pickles also continued to surge this year,  as consumers found novel ways to make the most of the briny staple – including substituting pickles for bread in sandwiches and using brine in soft drink concoctions. Grubhubsaid orders containing pickles increased 14%.

Pickle power may have also helped lift Dr Pepper into the top spot for soda brands ordered from convenience stores on the platform, too. Embracing a viral “soda hack” trend, many of these customers added pickles to these orders as well, according to Grubhub.

Return to office fuels lunch delivery

As some return-to-office mandates increased the number of employees physically present in offices, there was a commensurate rise in office orders. Grubhub reported a 53% increase in corporate coffee orders to keep workers caffeinated thanks to the trend.

Lunch orders were big too, especially from a certain QSR spot in particular.

"Chipotle Boys" shook up the lunch scene, turning the burrito bowl into the ultimate workday staple - one forkful at a time, multiple times a week,” Grubhub wrote in its report, naming burrito bowls the lunch of choice for office-ensnared workers. According to Grubhub, corporate Chipotle lunch orders saw a 27% increase on the platform.

Swicy surges

Swicy -- a portmanteau for foods combining sweet and spicy flavors -- was a prevailing food trend for 2024.

According to Grubhub, the flavor trend found its way  “into everything from summer drinks to snacks and spirits.” One example of customers craving for the combo? Purchases of hot honey surged by 30% in Grubhub grocery stores orders, with customers on the platform “pairing it with everything from fried chicken to French fries.”