As director of culinary for Dallas-based Velvet Taco, Venecia Willis admits she spends a lot of time following food creators on TikTok and Instagram to spark ideas for WTF—the fast casual’s Weekly Taco Feature. She’s tasked with coming up with 52 tacos a year, and cooking and eating videos provide instant access to the ingredients and trends consumers are into.
“One of the most successful ideas came from someone I follow who was making breakfast tacos on his backyard griddle with raw sausage patties and biscuits,” said Willis. His technique helped her perfect the smashburger taco she had been working on for some time. “When you see a trend on social media, Velvet Taco has the ability to act on it quickly,” she added.
Used to be that content creators on TikTok, Instagram and other social platforms were all about promoting existing products, restaurants or themselves, said Shannon O’Shields, VP of marketing at Rubix Foods, where she leads consumer insights in the flavor and ingredient space. “Now we’re seeing them as opportunities to identify the next big trend.”
When a chain chef sees how many followers are interested in a trend, it gives them validation to pursue it. “Social media has unlocked free, unedited feedback from commenters and content creators that’s authentic and readily accessible. It’s like an instant focus group,” O’Shields said. “It’s a shift that’s happening, where creators are helping shape menu development.”
Lori Primavera, VP of research and development and product marketing for Smoothie King, couldn’t agree more. “TikTok creators aren’t just promoting trends—they’re shaping and creating them. Whether it’s flavor mashups, functional ingredients or even ways consumers hack our existing menu, there’s huge value in listening to that space,” she said.
A TikTok creator helped perfect Velvet Taco's Bacon Smashburger Taco. | Photo courtesy of Velvet Taco
Willis had tried a smashburger taco with an oval patty for a WTF, but after watching the backyard cook’s video, she changed it to a round, which better fit the round tortilla. “I placed the burger puck on the flattop, covered it with a flour tortilla, and used a smasher to pat it down so both were the same size. The burger covered the whole tortilla and when I flipped it, the tortilla became caramelized.”
She topped it with cheese and bacon, folded it over then dressed it with lettuce, tomato and pickle. “Sales went way up on the Bacon Smashburger Taco after I made the change,” said Willis, and it’s now on the permanent menu.
Timing is tricky
“There’s a fine line between going too crazy vs. following a trend,” said Willis, but she has the ability to activate quickly when she sees something she thinks will fly, since the weekly tacos are lower risk limited-time offers. It took just 14 days from idea to launch for Velvet Taco’s ChatGPT WTF, an AI-generated surf ‘n turf-style taco tweaked with a little human culinary input.
“Chains are evolving their internal operations to bring buzzy ideas to the menu faster,” said O’Shields. “The product development life cycle is traditionally 12 to 18 months, but more nimble chains are speeding up the timeline when they need to. It’s a ‘nice-to-have’ now but in the very near future will be a ‘must-have.’”
While 14 days is a rarity even for a nimble concept like the 51-unit Velvet Taco, larger chains are seeing the benefits of jumping on a hot trend early. Shake Shack, which counts 375 locations in the U.S. and 210 globally, including several in Dubai, was tracking the viral ascent of the Dubai chocolate bar. “We like to be first to innovation, always at the forefront,” said Nancy Combs, senior vice president of culinary and calendar innovation for Shake Shack.
TikTokers play up the sensory or ASMR appeal of the Dubai bar’s textures of silky chocolate, creamy pistachio filling and crisp kataifi, which create pleasurable sounds when eaten. Exaggerated crunch, sizzle and slurping encourage repeat viewing and engagement. To capture that, Shake Shack introduced a Dubai Chocolate Shake at its Middle East locations in February, featuring pistachio frozen custard and toasted kataifi in a crisp, crackable dark chocolate shell, topped with chopped pistachios and kataifi. It mimics all ASMR attributes of the chocolate bar: A visual standout with crackle and crunch.
Shake Shack embraced the Dubai chocolate trend early on, creating a shake with a crackable chocolate shell. | Photo courtesy of Shake Shack.
“It was one of our most successful LTOs globally, and it generated lots of excitement domestically,” said Combs. “Our social team does a lot of listening, especially the commentary between consumers and Shake Shack. Our guests have a real appetite for globally inspired items, so this gave us a unique opportunity to introduce an elevated dessert in the U.S.”
By April, the New York-based fast casual fast-tracked the Dubai Chocolate Shake to three U.S. cities. Nearly every location sold out in a day, but some complexities had to be ironed out before it could go national. “The Shacks in Dubai are more intense operationally than what we have here. We were making the chocolate shell in double boilers and grilling the kataifi to get it crunchy,” said Combs. But the supply chain team moved quickly to simplify execution and source hard-to-get pistachios, and by June, the Dubai Chocolate Shake launched nationwide for a limited time in limited quantities at each location.
“We’re seeing the new shake surpass expectations in several regions, contributing to a meaningful lift in traffic,” said Combs. “Reaching virality was worth it, but trends come and go, and not every one is right for Shake Shack. Our team has roots in fine dining, and our typical stagegate process leads to elevated versions of classic menu items and trends,” citing the chain’s black truffle burger as an example.
Making a trend your own
As a result of social media, consumers have an expectation to see more innovation in the restaurant space, said O’Shields. But when deciding what flavors, ingredients and trends to embrace, look for those that are authentic to your brand and can be ID’ed as your own with creative twists.
The Sleepy Girlzzz Smoothie is a spin on the sleepy girl mocktail trend on social. | Photo courtesy of Smoothie King.
“No matter the trend, we always want to prioritize nutritious ingredients or added protein so that it supports a wellness goal, too. That way, we’re not copying — we’re creating our own iteration of the trend that aligns with our brand’s purpose,” said Primavera. A good example is when Smoothie King launched the Sleepy Girlzzz Smoothie in response to the viral “sleepy girl mocktail” trend on TikTok. “This trend had a clear alignment with our mission and vision, and our iteration was packed with delicious and nutritious ingredients to support a good night of sleep,” she added.
Christian Gianaris, national beverage director for Boston-based PPX Hospitality Brands, first encountered dirty sodas on YouTube and did a little research into how they originated. The beverages were largely limited to quick-service concepts, but he was looking into how the foams could be translated to the cocktail menu at full-service Legal Sea Foods, one of the PPX brands.
Although the dirty soda trend is booming on social media, when Gianaris floated the idea to his teams, the head of the company said his college-age daughter spends $17 a day buying dirty sodas. That was enough to convince him to develop Legal Sea Foods’ take on the trend.
“Suppliers are working fast to create products for dirty sodas but I didn’t want to purchase something that would only have one use,” Gianaris said, referring to the creamers and add-ins that characterize the drinks. “I had already developed and tested a coconut lime foam for the cocktail side, so I tried that on top of a soda.” He also created a vanilla foam. Both are based on pasteurized egg whites and dispensed from an iSi Easy Whip device.
Dirty sodas at Legal Sea Foods account for 10% of soda revenue. | Photo courtesy of Legal Sea Foods.
“We already serve Pepsi fountain drinks, so customers can choose cola, Starry or any favorite and turn it into a dirty soda. We place the whipper at the fountain station so it doesn’t add any pressure to bar service,” said Gianaris. He also brought in Dr Pepper as an option, since he noticed its popularity for dirty sodas. The foam is dispensed on top and then blends into the drink as it’s sipped through a straw.
Legal Sea Foods’ dirty sodas are priced at $7 for 16 ounces and are listed on the beverage menu. Introduced about a month ago, they make up 5% of soda sales but account for 10% of soda revenue.
Gianaris believes that Legal Sea Foods is one of the first casual-dining chains to jump on the trend, and, he said, the presentation and quality of ingredients is superior to what you’d get at quickservice. “The trick is to recognize those trends that have legs, but we’re not afraid to try something and fail,” he said.
Content creators as collaborators
Chains are increasingly tapping into popular content creators on TikTok to promote a menu item in the most authentic way. Coppell, Texas-based Smoothie King saw success with this strategy with two limited-time offers.
“Last year, we launched an LTO smoothie with Dude Perfect, which helped connect our brand with a younger audience and amplify and promote the menu launch,” said Primavera. Dude Perfect has close to 19 million TikTok followers, and the creators demo how they make the resulting bright blue smoothie—a mix of pineapple, banana, kiwi apple juice, a protein blend, vanilla frozen yogurt, turbinado and blue spirulina. “They helped amplify and promote the smoothie,” she added.
“We’re starting to see a value in brands collaborating with content creators on developing an actual menu concept, rather than simply promoting it,” said O’Shields.
Chili’s didn’t start out collaborating with content creators, but when the menu’s Triple Dipper appetizer went viral because of the Fried Mozzarella’s visually impressive cheese pull, the social team made sure to focus on it, said Brian Paquette, director of culinary innovation for the Dallas-based casual-dining chain.
They engaged directly with the “cheese pullers” on TikTok and, largely from organic growth, sales of the Triple Dipper surged 70%. In 2024, Chili’s served 22 million orders of its iconic Fried Mozzarella.
“We started thinking, ‘what else can we do to expand on this,’ and zeroed in on our great sauce lineup,” said Paquette. “We had the opportunity to jump on the trend quickly because all the ingredients were in house.”
Sales of Chili's Triple Dipper spiked 70% after it went viral on TikTok. | Photo courtesy of Chili's
Nashville Hot Mozz launched in August 2024, soon after the cheese pull started its viral ascent in July, and a Honey Chipotle version debuted in November 2024, both as secret menu items across Chili’s 1,000 U.S. locations. Since then, 20% of Fried Mozzarella orders have been sauced with either Nashville Hot or Honey Chipotle, and according to the most recent figures, the Triple Dipper now accounts for 14% of Chili’s total sales.
Chili’s also pays attention to menu hacks on social media, watching how people combine foods or menu items they love to make something new. “We might take a look at some of the hacks and ideate from there,” said Paquette, “or partner with a content creator.”
Cross-functional engagement across finance, marketing, supply chain and culinary allows Chili’s to move to market more quickly. “We want to stay ahead of the curve, but not too far ahead so it alienates our core customers,” said Paquette. “We make sure a trend has legs and lean in when we can but not always be chasing the shiny penny.”