One thing was clear at the 2025 National Restaurant Association Show: today’s biggest opportunities live at the intersection of culture and convenience.
Here are the biggest trends present across the show floor and in panel sessions, paired with PR-specific tips from Belle’s foodservice marketing strategists.
🧋Buzzy Beverages: Dirty, Spiked and Full of Potential
Dirty sodas—those creamy, flavored, fizzy drinks born on social media—were everywhere at the 2025 National Restaurant Association Show. The trend took off on TikTok in 2021 and hasn’t slowed down. Creators continue to share new combos and recipes, fueling the craze. Interest is climbing —Google searches for “dirty soda” rose 87% from 2024 to 2025, and all signs point to continued growth.
At Belle, we’re particularly intrigued by the brand collaboration potential this new category provides for day-time treats, caffeinated beverages and mocktails. Soda recipes were infused with fruit purees, coffee concentrates, boba pearls, milks and even dill pickles.
Speaking of TikTok, Sprite dropped a new LTO while at NRA: Sprite + Tea. The summer drink was inspired by the viral social media trend of consumers steeping tea bags in Sprite. “You never go wrong when you listen to consumers and tap into what they’re doing by becoming part of their everyday,” said A.P. Chaney, Senior Creative Director, Sparkling Flavors North America.
THC is also having a moment. The Hemp Beverage Pavilion featured cannabis-infused seltzers and canned THC cocktails. Brands are capitalizing on shifting consumer behaviors as younger demographics replace alcohol with cannabis. Regulations are still murky, but the category is clearly on the rise.
PR tip: Beverage creativity is having a moment. Find ways to insert your products into the trend by partnering with other brands and collaborating with social media influencers to come up with daring, delicious recipes. Have fun, experiment and get exposure—all while listening, polling and reacting to consumer responses and reactions.
🧂Flavor Trends: Swalty and Snackable
Consumers are done playing it safe, with flavor innovation the new standard demand. “Swalty” (sweet + salty) stole the show and savory ice cream had its moment.
Snackable bites and split plates are also on the rise, driven in part by GLP-1 drugs and partly by value-seeking diners. Suppliers are partnering with operators to build menus and packaged offerings that align with evolving behavior and shrinking budgets. We saw new takes on traditional foods, repositioning them with recipes tailored to this trend.
PR tip: Leverage the momentum around “swalty” and snackable to craft layered storylines for both trade and consumer media. Pitch how your brand is innovating with flavor and format and emphasize how these shifts meet evolving portion culture. Partner with influencers, amplify your efforts and explore brand collaborations to increase relevancy and reach.
🛒 Convenience Is King
Traditional foodservice brands are exploring grocery, c-store, and grab-and-go formats to keep pace with how consumers live and shop. According to Supermarket News, this trend isn’t just opportunistic—it’s strategic. Smart licensing, SKU curation and gourmet options in convenient packaging are becoming essential. A report released leading into the 2025 Restaurant Show shared that 24% of consumers eat at c-stores and grocery stores more often now than they did a year ago.
PR tip: C-store entry requires a blended strategy. Brands must speak directly to trade stakeholders while also building a groundswell of consumer interest.
To build trust and excitement among retailers, distributors and category buyers, share product releases and brand evolution stories in publications like Convenience Store News, CSP Daily News, NACS Magazine and C-Store Dive.
Additionally, drive consumer pull-through at the store level and encourage trial through influencer partnerships. Collaborate with social voices that reach your target audience, such as those who review fast food, highlight their on-the-go lifestyle or have fandoms within your target regions.
📱Influencer and Chef Content in High Demand
Involving popular chefs for recipe development and booth demonstrations was a key tactic. While a potentially obvious approach for food brands, equipment providers are now also leveraging influencer power to draw attention.
Hoshizaki stood out with its ongoing partnership with Chris Leavitt (@notjustabartender, 417K followers) to showcase its specialty ice machines. With social content shared before, during and after the event, Hoshizaki appeared where competitors were not and generated valuable use cases and testimonials for its machines.
As for operators, social media influencer partnerships aren’t new, with 79% reporting to have tried them, as indicated in a poll during the show’s “Secret Sauce of Successful Influencer Marketing” panel. But only 35% of session attendees said they’ve used this content for allowlisting or paid amplification—a missed opportunity for increasing ROI.
PR tip: Foodservice decision-makers scroll for the same reasons consumers do — education, entertainment and inspiration. Use influencer content not just for top-of-funnel visibility for your restaurant or product, but as a credibility driver throughout the buyer journey. Then activate that content in sales decks and paid ads to extend its life + increase its impact.
🤖 Automation, Customization and AI
Robotics and AI didn’t just show up—they stole the show. New tools are solving the pressing pain points of labor shortages and consumer demands for more personalization.
Fully autonomous kitchen tools like precision fryers, robot baristas, push-button salad choppers and dispensers, steak searers and burger flippers signal a new era in food prep and back-of-house operations.
Customer-facing tech solutions also abounded and focused on making customization seamless. Embodying the Coke Freestyle vibe, machines for everything from custom dipping sauces to smoothies were widely present.
But most operators aren’t ready to fully automate kitchens, or ready to go it alone. In 1:1 conversations, we heard that QSR and FSR executives are staying committed to people-first teams, or if ready to bring on robots, they’re counting on tech partners to guide the way.
PR tip: Robot and AI brands need to ease operators’ fears and hesitations and tell the impactful stories of early adopters, including human interest angles. Rather than focusing too heavily on features, highlight efficiency and profitability gains, employee and customer satisfaction improvements and individual operator success stories.
Final Takeaways from 2025 National Restaurant Association Show
To summarize: Beverage variations—dirty, spiked and bot-made—are gaining traction across dayparts. “Swalty” flavors and bold mashups are pushing menus. Smaller, more shareable portions are shifting how people dine. Convenience is expanding, with more brands showing up in C-stores and grab-and-go. Kitchen automation is becoming practical, not experimental.
And across it all, creator-led content and PR storytelling are no longer optional—they’re driving measurable traffic, buyer consideration and consumer demand for all players in foodservice.