What’s Hot and Cool: National Restaurant Association Show 2025

As we explored the expo floor with Chicago Chef Kathy Takemura, we found some of the latest trends shaping menus. From pickle lemonade to the growing demand for seed-oil-free foods, the Show was packed with food and drinks designed to meet both todays and tomorrow's restaurant needs. Here are a few standout trends.

Pickles are a big dill: From ketchup to lemonade, classic dill pickles and bold pickle flavors brought surprise and delight to the 2025 NRA Show, inspiring innovation and excitement with a tangy, adventurous twist that's both buzzworthy and social media ready. Coca-Cola debuted Pickle Lemonade, made with its traditional fountain lemonade and Twang Pickle Snack Salt crafted specifically for Coke. Keurig Dr Pepper created Fizzy Dill Pickle Lemonade-a blend of lemonade, salty dill pickle brine, Canada Dry Club Soda, and a pickle garnish for the Show. And Poshi, a FABI Award winner, sampled its ready-to-eat, brine-free, liquid-free, and mess-free snacking pickles.

Red sauce italian: This cozy, comforting style of Italian-American cuisine is gaining popularity, centered on rich tomato-based sauces and classic Italian dishes. Kraft Heinz showcased its Escalon line of tomato products for the first time, sampling 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, offering new classics for restaurants. Meanwhile, Veggipasta introduced single-ingredient, plant-protein pasta to show-goers, made from peas or lentils providing a wheat-free, gluten-free alternative that complements traditional Italian dishes and meets consumer preferences and needs.

The color (of the Show) purple: Foods and drinks infused with vibrant purple hues-think blackberry, blueberry, butterfly pea flower, grape, elderberry, black cherry, hibiscus, and black raspberry-dressed the expo floor in eye-catching color. These flavors captivated attendees with their striking appearance, and in some cases, highlighted functional ingredients. For the first time, Red Gold sampled its blackberry ketchup, a versatile condiment perfect for a variety of recipes. Keurig Dr Pepper highlighted its Blackberry flavor in traditional and zero-sugar varieties, which can be enjoyed on its own as a refreshing beverage or used in savory sauce recipes. Nourrir, a spiced West African sparkling juice, dazzled in vibrant purple with its cranberry hibiscus flavor. Cedar Crest Ice Cream offered a vibrant black cherry ice cream. And Rishi Tea & Botanicals showcased their antioxidant-rich sparkling botanical teas with butterfly pea flower for a calming and nootropic effect. Another purple standout, ube, is playing a lead role in beverages (see Dirty drinks below).

Embracing clean label: Changes in food policy and consumer demand for transparency are driving restaurant suppliers to create cleaner-label products with simple, recognizable ingredients, free from artificial ingredients. No matter the menu category, clean-label claims and conversation 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 optimized sodium content. Conway Dressings tested seed-oil-free ranch dressing and mayonnaise. MYLK Labs showcased five flavors, such as Sweet Maple Strawberry, of ready-to-eat oatmeal made without artificial colors or flavors. And J&J Snack Foods sampled its Thinster cookies with no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, no corn syrup, no hydrogenated oils, real dark chocolate, real butter, and real sugar.

Spicy is still sizzling: Spicy flavors remain a menu favorite, evolving with more nuanced sweet and spicy profiles. Hot honey is still a category standout, now with a few new twists. First-time Show exhibitor Local Hive sampled its Honey Hot Sauce and Hot Honey in multiple chili flavors, all made with 100% U.S. honey. Dip presented its hot honey seasoning and hot honey made with ghost pepper. However, hot honey now faces competition from hot maple, an emerging star in the sweet-heat category. Conway Dressings introduced 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 comes in Golden Sriracha flavor, and Spicewalla created rose harissa powder made with ancho chili, cayenne, and rose powders in collaboration with Chef Cheetie Kumar.

Beverage standout flavor, watermelon: Fruit flavors are always a beverage standout at the Show, but watermelon took center stage in 2025 for both its flavor and hydration benefits. Harney & Sons sampled its 100% Watermelon Juice loaded with natural electrolytes and antioxidants. Walters Bay exhibited its unsweetened watermelon medley iced tea for the first time at the Show. Cedar Crest Ice Cream offered watermelon sherbet, Slush Puppie offered its Tiger's Blood flavor with watermelon, coconut, and strawberry flavors. Sunny Sky's Dr. Smoothie created a lightly caffeinated watermelon coconut, mint refresher. And newcomer, London Liqueur Co. offered watermelon liqueur made with natural flavors and natural cane sugar.

Dirty drinks: Dirty soda captured Show-goers attention with a multisensorial experience. Dirty sodas have quickly evolved to include a variety of sweet add-ins and toppings, enhancing both flavor and texture. PepsiCo showcased DRIPS by Pepsi, featuring zero-sugar sodas enhanced with fruit syrups, creams, popping boba, and other playful toppings. Meanwhile, Icee trademarked the term Dirty 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 dirty soda, including Peaches and Cream Soda and Ube Matcha Latte. These loaded dirty sodas also reflect the expanding boba tea trend, now available in ready-to-drink formats like YZB Boba's heat-free bubble teas, including its purple ube variety that only requires adding milk. And Jarritos showcased new canned boba tea line, Jarriboba in multiple fruit flavors.