From Plate to Post: Social Media Trends for Spring and Summer

Did you know that 1 in every 5 young consumers (Gen Z and Millennials) has purchased a food or beverage specifically to post it on social media?¹

Let that sink in. Many younger consumers are planning to share a food or beverage purchase with their followers before they even enter a restaurant or foodservice location.

Love it or hate it, social media is not only the preferred form of communication for many consumers today, but it has also become a powerful marketing platform for the food industry overall. It’s where many consumers learn about restaurants, new menu items, where their friends and family are eating, and what has opened near them.

At a time when costs are inching ever higher, it can also be an opportunity to entice new customers (while also keeping current customers engaged) in a more cost-effective way. But how do you create options that are made to shine, resonate, and even go viral on social media?

Consider the platform

There are plenty of social media platforms available today, with new ones popping up all the time. It’s not only important to consider what’s worth your time and what’s not, but also to understand that each tool has its own needs and demands. Consider the four most-used platforms:

• YouTube: Overall, YouTube has more users than any other platform, though it skews slightly younger.² While it’s not a part of many foodservice operators’ brand strategy, it can be a valuable tool. Many people today are replacing traditional TV with YouTube, watching longer-form content from their favorite creators. That has created an entire landscape of creators who visit restaurants and foodservice operators, with the longer videos on this platform allowing them to share the team’s stories, showcase more menu items, and go behind the scenes.

• Facebook: The second most-used platform overall, Facebook is also the social media option of choice for Gen X and Boomers, meaning you’ll reach a wide audience across generations.² Facebook can also be more purely informational than other options, allowing to post everything from new deals to changes in your hours to questions about the menu you want customers to answer.

• Instagram: Instagram has seen a huge boost in usage recently, increasing 6% alone from April to August 2025.² It’s also the second most-used platform for Gen Z, after YouTube.² That’s likely partly due to the popularity of Reels, Instagram’s short-form video content platform. Instagram is a key platform for both those beautiful photographs of your most social media-worthy dishes and the Reels that showcase your operation in action.

• TikTok: The newest platform has seen incredible growth in a short time, with nearly two-thirds of Gen Z saying they use it.² For TikTok, it’s all about video content. This is where those dynamic dishes that work so well in video formats are key (more on that below).

The recipe for going viral

Everyone wants to grab consumer attention and stand out on social media. If there was a single, proven way to go viral everyone would be doing it. But there are some key tactics you can use to increase your chances of cutting through the noise and resonating with users.

As noted above, video is becoming the content type of choice for so many platforms today. That means creating more menu items that work well in videos: think dynamic cheese pulls, saucy drips, tableside presentations, smoke or steam, and other options that entice customers to get out their cameras and record.

Check out the Spring & Summer 2026 Trend Feast® Guide for inspiration on creating a viral dish, available by joining Simplot+.

Can you also showcase more of your operation in action in your own marketing videos? You can post highlight reels from a night in your restaurant, special events, and customers laughing and engaging. Make your operation look like a restaurant customers can’t wait to visit.

Creating a dish that looks great on camera isn’t just about the looks alone, either. The old refrain “we eat with our eyes” holds true here, as nearly 40% of consumers associate visual appeal with high quality menu items or great taste.¹

Indeed, social media virality might best be described as craveability through a screen. Social media users see something that simply looks so delicious and appealing that they can’t help but like and share it. That’s why the options that go viral are often those that rate highest in craveability, like savory/salty foods, sweet options, and beverages.³

Consider fries, burgers, pizza, ice cream, donuts, shakes, and tacos as low-hanging fruit if you’re looking to break through on social media platforms.³

Why it matters

As we noted previously, many social media users are heading to restaurants specifically to post something on social media, which has a real impact on traffic. In fact, 55% of Gen Z and 56% of Millennials say they have purchased a food, beverage, or ingredient specifically because they saw it on social media, while 44% of consumers overall say the same thing.²

While influencers can be one part of social media success, they aren’t the only factor. Many of those users who are visiting restaurants to try something they saw on social media saw it on a friend or family member’s feed. That matters. Consumers today say that recommendations from friends or family make them more likely to try a new restaurant than any other reason.⁴

Many even travel far out of their way or wait in long lines because they want to try a viral food so badly. By focusing on menu items with a strong visual impact, clear quality, interactive experiences, bold colors and flavors, and options that are clearly unique and stand out in a crowded market, you may find a line out your own door.

¹ HotShots Report: Quality vs. Aesthetic, Datassential, October 2025
² Like-worthy Insights: Social Media Sensations, Datassential, March 2025
³ Elevate Experience: Solving Consumer Need States, Datassential, June 2025
⁴ 2026 Consumer Needs, Menu Matters, January 2026