Every year, Gopuff analyzes nationwide orders to identify shifts in consumer behavior and discover the latest trends. Thanks to Gopuff’s unique model, the company acts as a real-time demand signal, able to measure the speed at which a trend moves from a social post to an actual customer purchase within minutes.

The 2025 report confirms that social media has become a huge driver for discovery and purchase behavior within the CPG space. Some, though not all, viral recipes and products have customers searching for and purchasing related items in near-real time. In fact, nearly one quarter of surveyed Gen Z Gopuff customers confirm they’ve ordered a specific snack because they saw it trending on social media, citing it as a "common way I discover things." In some cases, customers also seem to be educating themselves online about the latest health trends, then coming to Gopuff with a clearer picture of which products fit those trends. 

Virality Drives Customer Search and Purchase Behavior

The 2025 flavor landscape was fundamentally reshaped by viral social media trends, driving rapid growth for niche ingredients.

• The Pistachio Renaissance: Following the viral "Dubai Chocolate" trend, sales for the product exploded +13,753% year-over-year (YoY) since February, peaking in October. Consequently, pistachio emerged as the strongest performing new flavor, with search activity up 168% YoY and sales increasing 55% YoY. The Hershey’s Dubai Chocolate bar, a Gopuff exclusive, was the #6 product in terms of overall sales on Gopuff the weekend of launch. 

• The Hot Honey Effect: The virality of Hot Honey Ground Beef Bowls recipes also fueled sales increases for hot honey (up 157%) and cottage cheese (up 137%) YoY. 

• Dates Surge: Driven by viral popularity within the TikTok food community, sales for dates surged 1,121% YoY, peaking in August.

• Poppable Impulse: The fastest-growing ice cream subclass was "Chunks, Bites & Dough," up 112% YoY. This subclass includes brands like Fruit Riot, TruFru, Ben & Jerry's Dough Chunks, Baris, Doughlicious and Yasso Poppables— many of which have recently become popular on TikTok. 

• Matcha Lattes: Matcha showed sustained growth in both interest and purchases as searches rose 98% YoY, matched by a 174% increase in sales, peaking in October.

• The Fridge Cig Effect: Need a little something to take the edge off? Following viral social media trends, sales of Diet Coke increased nearly 10% month-over-month between July and August 2025 when this trend peaked. 

The Rise of the Sophisticated Shopper

There was a lot of talk on social media this year about better-for-you foods and tips for how to optimize your nutritional intake. As a result, Gopuff customers searched a lot for "better for you" snack options – with an emphasis on those fiber and protein-packed options. 

However, customers weren’t very likely to search for "protein," or “fiber,” specifically. Instead, they searched for products that are known to be rich in fiber or protein, indicating that customers may be discovering or educating themselves on tasty products and recipes online that fit within the latest health trends, then coming to Gopuff to purchase them. 

• Creatine: Protein sales overall were up 77% YoY, with one particular standout: Searches for creatine surged 119%, confirming its shift from a niche bodybuilding supplement to a mainstream, functional health component.

• Fibermaxxing: Customers prioritized searches for specific high-fiber products like chia seeds (up 53% YoY) and goji berries (up 50% YoY), rather than generic terms like "fiber." When it came to sales, Goji berries saw the biggest overall impact, increasing 76% YoY.

• Fermentation: Unlike the terms ‘protein’ and ‘fiber’, Gopuff did see an increase in searches (up 41% YoY) for "fermented,” demonstrating a growing interest in probiotic benefits, but perhaps less understanding of which products are fermented. That said, the number of searches for sauerkraut (up 35% YoY) and pickles (28% YoY) were both up this year.

• Non-Alc: Customer orders for non-alcoholic beverages increased nearly 50% YoY, with orders peaking in January. 

Not All Virality Translates to Commerce

Gopuff’s data also demonstrates that not every trend becomes a commerce opportunity.

• Silly trends like “Dinosaur Time” and specific recipes like “Strawberry Pasta” that went viral failed to drive any measurable increase in search or purchase behavior on the platform.

• Additionally, while better-for-you soda space made plenty of headlines in 2025, Gopuff did not see a rise in orders for existing brands, with the exception of Bloom, which bucked the trend with a nearly 200% increase in orders in 2025. 

• While milk alternatives (like oat milk or almond milk) have been growing in popularity over the past few years, customers reached for these items less in 2025, while orders for traditional milk actually increased slightly.

Feeling the Pinch

Consumer behaviour continues to reflect a focus on value. Searches for terms like “deals,” “discounts,” and “savings” increased significantly, pointing to a more value-conscious consumer base.

• Searches for these three terms rose by 29% YoY.

• Searches for these items has increased by an average of 40% year-to-date.

• Searches for 'Discounts' saw the largest individual increase, rising 51% YoY.