With prices increasing across both the grocery store and restaurant / takeout menus, young people are finding themselves budgeting for meals more than ever—including what used to be considered “cheap” drive-thru items. Looming news of tariffs have them worried and make some grocery items feel like luxury (ahem, eggs). But they still want brands to dish them up something interesting and new, from global food trends to unique flavors. And to make it a social media win, brands really need to be on top of what’s trending—even down to nichest of dishes like seafood boils and carbonara ramen.
YPulse’s 2025 Food Shopping and Trends report dives into how young people are approaching grocery shopping now, where they’re eating out most, the food trends they’re trying, how many are cooking at home, and what they want to see most from food service and CPG brands.
Report length: 21 pages, North America report is based on surveys of 1500 13-39-year-olds in the U.S. and Canada, fielded March 2025. Western Europe report is based on a survey of 2500 13-39-year-olds in the U.K., Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, fielded in March 2025
