Videos of TikTokers eating crunchy foods, complete with exaggerated sound effects, are blowing up on the platform. It all fits with TikTok’s love of ASMR or “autonomous sensory meridian response”—the tingly sensation some people experience when they hear certain sounds.
“There’s fun that comes along with listening to crackling or crunching while watching someone eat or cook on social media,” said Shannon O’Shields, VP of marketing for Rubix Foods, a flavor and ingredient innovation company. “Flavor has been explored but texture is novel and ready for more exploration. It can really make a product stand out.”
It’s clear that consumers are embracing multi-sensory eating experiences, and texture is playing a larger role in creating craveability. Menu developers are catching on, emphasizing crunch, crispiness, creaminess, chewiness, fizziness and other textural components of food and beverages.
“Texture has long been a chef's secret weapon in creating very craveable dishes,” said Mike Kostyo, vice president of Menu Matters, a food industry consulting firm. “I say 'secret' because consumers are often unaware of how important texture is.”
In a Menu Matters survey, consumers were asked which sensory experiences were most important to them when choosing a new food to try. Texture came out in fourth place, behind taste, appearance, and aroma. “But when you look at consumer test scores for foods, you see that foods that have descriptors like 'crunchy' or 'crispy' score much higher,” said Kostyo, “so consumers aren't always aware of how important texture is.” He adds that crunchy/crispy is Americans’ most-loved texture, followed by creamy and juicy.
Irvine, California-based Taco Bell is on top of the texture craze, often calling out descriptors in the names of menu items, like the Crunchwrap Supreme.
“We keep a close eye on food trends, what cravings our fans are sharing online and how consumers are reacting to menu innovations that we test across the country,” said a Taco Bell spokesperson. “What we discovered is that to create the full-on experience Taco Bell fans are after, they want that satisfying crunch—the kind that transforms food from just a flavor into something that engages multiple senses. So, we are finding new ways to deliver cheesy, crispy crunch the way only Taco Bell can. For example, our recent menu addition, Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupas, feature a crispy cheddar shell paired with fresh onions and premium protein that create a unique sensorial experience from the outside-in.”
Crunchy chips and snack foods on the retail side are inspiring menu innovation, too. Taco Bell added even more crunch to its lineup by featuring a giant Cheez-It cracker in its limited-time Big Cheez-It Tostada and Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme. And sister Yum Brands’ chain KFC layered crunchy Cheetos on its fried chicken sandwich to make its extra-crispy filet even crispier.
According to market research firm Datassential, the word “crispy” now shows up on 62% of U.S. restaurant menus.
Hardee's BBQ Chip Glazed Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich combines crunch and a popular chip flavor. |Photo courtesy of Hardee's.
The popularity of fried chicken sandwiches, signature sauces and the passion for crunch prompted Rubix to develop a technology called CrispKeeper. It’s a delivery system that retains the crispness of fried chicken when it’s placed in a sandwich and doused with sauce.
Chips and chip flavors are also showing up in menu items. “Eight of the 25 best-loved brands are chip flavors, and it’s low-lift innovation to bring these to the menu,” said O’Shields.
Sonic’s BBQ Chip Seasoned Tots, a recent LTO, capitalize on the barbecue flavor, coating the tots’ crispy exterior with the salty, smoky taste of the chips. And Hardee’s tested a BBQ Chip Glazed Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich and Chicken Tenders in select markets last summer.
Other concepts are also using texture as a selling point, although a bit more subtly. Cava’s crispy Pita Chips have a large fan following, and earlier this month, the fast casual introduced a mascot of sorts named “Peter Chip” to play up the item. Guests are encouraged to add the chips to a bowl for extra crunch or purchase them on their own as a snack.
Fast casual competitor Sweetgreen offers its own textural elements to add to bowls, including tortilla chips, crispy rice, spicy cashews, roasted almonds and za’atar breadcrumbs. But crunch is really central to the chain’s new air-fried Ripple Fries, and one TikTok influencer provides an audible testament to that.
Crunch and crispiness are not the only trending textures. Beverage concepts, particularly, are touting the creaminess of cold foams topping coffees and teas and the chewiness of boba and gel candies added to drinks.
Dutch Bros' signature Soft Top provides a creamy textural contrast to a beverage. | Photo courtesy of Dutch Bros
A signature at Dutch Bros is the brand’s Soft Top, a creamy blend of buttermilk, sugar, vanilla and heavy cream. Guests can request it to crown any beverage, and limited-time specials add flavored candy “sprinks” on top—like strawberry in the Strawberries and Cream Rebel for Valentine’s Day—for contrasting texture.
Texture is emerging as a somewhat new frontier in menu development and a key differentiator. In fact, data from Rubix reveals that 50% of consumers will send something back if it doesn’t meet texture expectations.
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