With a new decade comes new food trends. We dove into our data to find out what’s looking like an actual snack and today, released our first-ever end of year report, coined ‘The DoorDash Dish: 2019–2020 Trend Report’.
We’re excited to share some of the most popular food items ordered by our customers this year, eating preferences and cravings, and what will be 100% that dish in 2020. Check out our 2019 food trend report below, and be sure to share any of your own 2020 food predictions with us on social @DoorDash.
Our Customers’ Favorite Cuisine This Year:
2019 was the year of Mexican food! Mexican food was the most popular cuisine ordered in 2019 increasing by 314% compared to last year, followed by American, Chinese, Italian, Thai, and Indian food.
Half of the top 10 orders in 2019 are part of Mexican cuisine, including burrito bowls, chicken tacos, bean burritos, taco salads, and nachos.
The debate is finally over: burrito bowls reign supreme over classic burritos with burrito bowls coming in at the #1 spot for most popular food ordered in 2019 and bean burritos trailing at #5.
Exploring Diverse Flavors:
- 96% of Americans believe food is a great way to explore other cultures.
- 30% of customers say they typically eat 5–10 different cuisines per month.
- Italy was ranked as the #1 country Americans would choose to live in based on its food scene.
- Thai food was ranked as the best new cuisine tried in 2019.
Top 15 Most Popular Orders in 2019:
The DoorDash Customer in 2019:
- Food delivery was the #1 most popular method of eating dinner with a whopping 66% of Americans reporting that food delivery was their preferred way to eat dinner over cooking a meal (#2) and picking up takeout (trailing at #3).
- Just because we’re ordering in more, doesn’t mean we’re anti-social! The majority of customers surveyed eat meals with others, with 53% eating with 2+ other people weekly.
- Between work, family, and friends, it can be hard to find time to prepare dinner as weekdays at 7 pm are the most popular time that people order food delivery.
- A whopping 96% of people are customizing their food delivery order!
- Americans are resourceful in repurposing their leftovers for other meals as 94% save delivery leftovers.
$5,209: largest amount spent on one single alcohol order, containing strictly bottles of cognac. Now that’s a party!
$2,878: largest amount spent on one single food order included smoked ribbed tip mac and cheese, crab fried rice, curry cornbread & more–yum!
Memorable Foodie Moments in 2019:
The Top 10 Most Popular Condiments of 2019:
Ranch took home the most popular condiment award, followed by ketchup, hot sauce, mayonnaise, and BBQ.
Strangest Places We Delivered To:
Weddings, movie theaters, restaurants, open house viewings, church, the DMV, and airports all fell on our list of strangest places we’ve delivered food this year.
Top 15 Foods on The Rise for 2020:
Cheers to a food-fueled 2019! We can’t wait to see what our customers are up to next year.
Methodology: DoorDash analyzed orders from January 2019 to November 2019, orders from January 2018 to November 2018, and surveyed 1,200+ DoorDash customers to find out the important food trend details for this year and beyond.
The Dish: Our End Of Year Trend Report was originally published in DoorDash on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.