Umami, swicy, street food, boba—the increasing globalization of the menu has given rise to some of the culinary world’s biggest buzzwords in recent years.
As we acknowledged in our 2025 trends roundup, flavors from around the world open doors to broader trends. Asian cuisine’s increasing popularity and diversity in the U.S., for example, has ushered in a growing appreciation for umami. Since international cuisines often spawn new trends, we thought the most fitting way to start the year would be to dig into the global flavors that will impact menu trends in 2025 and beyond.
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Chilly Crisp?: As the name suggests, chili crisp has just the right amount of spice and crunch. The Chinese condiment is typically used for noodles, stir-fried vegetables, and meats. But as consumers get more adventurous with swicy (i.e., sweet and spicy) dishes, chili crisp will appear in more and more places, even atop ice cream.
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Birria’s Big Moment: Birria was ordered 1.3 million times from Grubhub in 2024, and the momentum isn’t slowing down. Traditionally a Mexican goat or beef stew, birria also serves as a popular taco filling. To put their own spin on it, chefs can sub in different proteins or use the dish’s adobo marinade across other menu offerings.
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Curry Up: While we’re on comforting stews, let’s head East for Thai curry. While there are multiple varieties, Panang and yellow curries are crowd-pleasers because of their mild, aromatic flavor. Just about anything can go in Thai curry, making it great for customization and build-your-own-bowl concepts.
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Hand Pie: Samosa, empanada, dumpling, bao—our love for doughy handhelds knows no borders. Neither do the flavors. Mash up cuisines and create playful combinations, like Peking duck empanadas, chocolate dumplings, or Texas BBQ samosas.
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Pizza Pie: Taking inspiration from global and regional cuisines for pizza toppings is nothing new—Mexican and Hawaiian pizzas have become menu mainstays. The next international spins may be tikka masala pizza with a naan base, Thai pizza with peanut sauce and shredded vegetables, or Korean pizza with bulgogi and kimchi.
Your Sourcing Solution
The world will never run out of new flavors to explore—that’s as exciting as it is daunting for an operator. Dot Foods has resources to simplify LTO management, sourcing, and sampling, so national accounts can minimize risk as they seek global culinary inspiration.
Discover a whole world of trending flavors.