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What’s Hot and Cool: National Dining Establishment Association
Program 2025-Image Credit National Dining Establishment Association The National Restaurant Association Program 2025 impressed attendees with a lively display of the latest food and beverage trends.
As we checked out the exposition floor with Chicago Chef Kathy Takemura, we found some of the latest trends forming menus. From pickle lemonade to the growing need for seed-oil-free foods, the Program was loaded with food and beverages created to meet both todays and tomorrow’s dining establishment requirements. Here are a couple of standout patterns.
Pickles are a huge dill: From catsup to lemonade, classic dill pickles and vibrant pickle tastes brought surprise and delight to the 2025 NRA Show, inspiring innovation and enjoyment with an appetizing, adventurous twist that’s both buzzworthy and social networks all set. Coca-Cola debuted Pickle Lemonade, made with its standard fountain lemonade and Twang Pickle Snack Salt crafted specifically for Coke. Keurig Dr Pepper created Fizzy Dill Pickle Lemonade-a blend of lemonade, salted dill pickle brine, Canada Dry Club Soda, and a pickle garnish for the Program. And Poshi, a FABI Award winner, sampled its ready-to-eat, brine-free, liquid-free, and mess-free snacking pickles.
Red sauce italian: This comfortable, soothing style of Italian-American food is gaining popularity, centered on rich tomato-based sauces and traditional Italian dishes. Kraft Heinz showcased its Escalon line of tomato products for the first time, tasting chicken parmesan, tomato toast, meatballs, and tomato sorbet made with their canned tomatoes, sauces, and pastes. Rachelli, maker of authentic Italian desserts, presented individually portioned tiramisu and whole tri-colore (Italian rainbow) cake, providing new classics for restaurants. On the other hand, Veggipasta presented single-ingredient, plant-protein pasta to show-goers, made from peas or lentils offering a wheat-free, gluten-free option that matches standard Italian dishes and meets customer preferences and needs.
The color (of the Show) purple: Foods and beverages instilled with lively purple hues-think blackberry, blueberry, butterfly pea flower, grape, elderberry, black cherry, hibiscus, and black raspberry-dressed the exposition floor in captivating color. These tastes captivated guests with their striking appearance, and sometimes, highlighted functional ingredients. For the very first time, Red Gold tested its blackberry catsup, a versatile condiment ideal for a variety of dishes. Keurig Dr Pepper highlighted its Blackberry flavor in standard and zero-sugar ranges, which can be delighted in by itself as a revitalizing drink or utilized in mouthwatering sauce recipes. Nourrir, a spiced West African shimmering juice, charmed in vibrant purple with its cranberry hibiscus flavor. Cedar Crest Ice Cream offered a lively black cherry ice cream. And Rishi Tea & Botanicals showcased their antioxidant-rich sparkling botanical teas with butterfly pea flower for a relaxing and nootropic result. Another purple standout, ube, is playing a lead role in beverages (see Filthy drinks below).
Accepting tidy label: Changes in food policy and customer need for openness are driving restaurant suppliers to develop cleaner-label items with simple, recognizable active ingredients, devoid of synthetic components. No matter the menu category, clean-label claims and discussion peppered the Show. Red Gold debuted its first-ever barbecue sauce made with no high fructose corn syrup, no caramel color or other artificial colors, and enhanced sodium material. Conway Dressings evaluated seed-oil-free cattle ranch dressing and mayo. MYLK Labs showcased five flavors, such as Sugary Food Maple Strawberry, of ready-to-eat oatmeal made without synthetic colors or tastes. And J&J Treat Foods sampled its Thinster cookies without any synthetic flavors, colors, or preservatives, no corn syrup, no hydrogenated oils, genuine dark chocolate, genuine butter, and real sugar.
Spicy is still sizzling: Spicy flavors stay a menu favorite, developing with more nuanced sweet and hot profiles. Hot honey is still a category standout, now with a couple of new twists. Newbie Program exhibitor Regional Hive tested its Honey Hot Sauce and Hot Honey in several chili tastes, all made with 100% U.S. honey. Dip provided its hot honey flavoring and hot honey made with ghost pepper. However, hot honey now deals with competitors from hot maple, an emerging star in the sweet-heat classification. Conway Dressings presented its new hot maple syrup (not yet on the market) to show-goers, offering a spicy twist for breakfast menus, chicken and waffles, sauces, dressings, and desserts. Tajín expanded its portfolio with Tajín Twist, a FABI Award-winning sweet and spicy seasoning blend. Doritos now can be found in Golden Sriracha taste, and Spicewalla developed increased harissa powder made with ancho chili, cayenne, and increased powders in collaboration with Chef Cheetie Kumar.
Drink standout taste, watermelon: Fruit tastes are constantly a drink standout at the Show, but watermelon took spotlight in 2025 for both its flavor and hydration benefits. Harney & Sons sampled its 100% Watermelon Juice packed with natural electrolytes and antioxidants. Walters Bay showed its unsweetened watermelon medley iced tea for the very first time at the Program. Cedar Crest Ice Cream used watermelon sherbet, Slush Puppie offered its Tiger’s Blood flavor with watermelon, coconut, and strawberry tastes. Warm Sky’s Dr. Smoothie produced a gently caffeinated watermelon coconut, mint refresher. And newcomer, London Liqueur Co. used watermelon liqueur made with natural flavors and natural walking stick sugar.
Dirty beverages: Filthy soda captured Show-goers attention with a multisensorial experience. Dirty sodas have rapidly evolved to include a range of sweet add-ins and garnishes, improving both taste and texture. PepsiCo showcased DRIPS by Pepsi, including zero-sugar sodas boosted with fruit syrups, creams, popping boba, and other playful toppings. Meanwhile, Icee trademarked the term Unclean Icee, its own take on dirty soda combining classic Icee flavors, cream, and candies for sweet multi-textured treat. Oatly introduced four oat-milk versions of filthy soda, including Peaches and Cream Soda and Ube Matcha Latte. These loaded unclean sodas likewise show the expanding boba tea trend, now available in ready-to-drink formats like YZB Boba’s heat-free bubble teas, including its purple ube range that just requires including milk. And Jarritos showcased brand-new canned boba tea line, Jarriboba in multiple fruit flavors.