Bite the Trend: Food microtrends promote mindless and expensive consumerism

Every day when I scroll through my TikTok For You Page, I see endless videos of influencers trying “viral snacks” and insisting that I have to try them.

It's always the same routine. The influencer first displays the food, spinning and waving it in front of the camera. Then they, of course, try it. Next comes widened eyes and shocked looks, followed by oohs and aahs, as the influencer claims it is the single best thing they've ever tried.

And, the 30 second videos work. Food microtrends seem to be popping up at a higher frequency than ever before.

The trends are consistently gaining more popularity and draining more wallets. All these microtrends accomplish is promoting mindless consumerism and letting big companies profit off desperate viewers who will pay any amount of money to get their hands on the next “best” snack.

Food microtrends have always been around. Back in 2020, we had cloud bread and whipped coffee, but now there seems to be a new viral food every other hour, and they consistently get harder and more expensive to obtain.

Dubai chocolate is at the forefront of this trendy epidemic.

Originally going viral in December 2023, the kataifi and pistachio cream-stuffed chocolate bar is arguably the most long-lasting viral food of all time.

The chocolate bars were originally extremely hard to come across, and when you could find a rare Dubai chocolate bar, it would cost upwards of $40. This lack of availability made the treat enormously desirable, and had people willing to pay such high costs.

One of the main ingredients, kataifi, is only grown in the Middle East and difficult and expensive to find anywhere else in the world, making it almost impossible for people to make at home. Meaning, the only way to try Dubai chocolate is to buy it through big businesses.

Though a Dubai chocolate bar has become easier to get a hold of over the past two years, especially with big companies such as Crumbl and Lint releasing their own variants, it still costs around $20 to get one bar.

One of the main ingredients, kataifi, is only grown in the Middle East and difficult to find anywhere else in the world, making it almost impossible for people to make at home. Meaning, the only way to try Dubai chocolate is to buy it through big businesses.

The lack of do-it-yourself potential is a common theme for most of the recent “viral foods”.

​The “realistic fruit pastries” aren't a novice-level pastry, and the materials needed to make them, such as molds, cost more than it takes to just drive down to the World Fresh Market in Overland Park to buy one of the $10 treats.

Admittedly, some of the snacks are meant to be made at home, but the necessary ingredients have to be bought from big businesses. And, not to mention some viral foods are only made at restaurants, like Canes sauce and Wing-Stop chicken.

It’s not a coincidence that there is no way to make these foods with stereotypical pantry items. Influencers make these videos displaying unattainable foods because it gets them views and engagement.

Businesses encourage and partner with influencers to do this because they know, no matter what, they will get money from these trends.

No matter if you buy the food from a store, buy the ingredients to make it at home, or go purchase the food from the restaurant, big companies will profit off of your consumerism and the virality of the product.

Trendy foods have always been a thing and always will be a thing, and it can definitely be fun to try new, exciting snacks, but next time you're considering dropping $20 on a viral treat, take a minute and wonder if you'd ever consider buying it without a video's influence.