DoorDash food delivery trends: 8 million burgers and counting

Food delivery trends come and go. Celebrating five years of food deliveries, DoorDash has delivered millions of food orders. Were you part of the 8 million burgers delivered?

Do you ever wonder what causes food delivery trends? For the past five years DoorDash, a technology company, has been a force in food delivery service area. From your favorite restaurant to trendy newcomer, the DoorDash has been part of sports events, momentous occasions and just the weekend food delivery. Looking back at all these deliveries, the company can share a little insight on food trends.

Before DoorDash, food delivery was rather limited. Sure pizza and Chinese food often arrived at your front door. If you lived in a bigger city, you might have had more options. Today, food delivery is big business. Now, pizza may not even be a top food choice in your city.

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appetit)

To celebrate its fifth birthday, the company looked back at all those deliveries. The information is pretty interesting, at least for a food fan. According to the company, the top cuisine in several major cities is the following:

"New York: ChineseLA: JapaneseSan Francisco: MexicanChicago: American (pizza)Dallas: BBQWashington, D.C: Middle EasternMiami: Latin AmericanAtlanta: Southern (fried chicken)Boston: ItalianSeattle: Thai"

Looking at this list, some foods are a little obvious. Sure Dallas residents love their barbecue and Miami residents can be drawn to Latin American flavors. What I never would have guessed is that Seattle would have chosen Thai or Washington, D.C. would have leaned toward Middle Eastern.

Seattle is often on the forefront of food trends. Thai cuisine is still a little unfamiliar for some people. While Pho is quite popular, other dishes are a little less familiar. Maybe the forward thinking Seattle can influence other cities.

Also, the idea that Washington, D.C. tops the Middle Eastern food delivery is a little unusual. Not to get too political, where’s the meat and potatoes. Maybe all those politicians aren’t that closed minded, especially when it comes to food.

DoorDash findings weren’t limited to just a few cities’ favorite foods. Over the past five years, the company delivered 8.5. million orders of French fries, 8 million hamburgers and 4 million orders of wings. Even though food trends come and go, classic all-American food is always popular. Wonder how many people will order some hamburgers for the upcoming July 4th holiday?

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Even though classics have earned their spot in food delivery, some foods have lost popularity over the past couple of years. For example, ramen was extremely popular food trend. From twists on the classic to even ramen burgers, you could eat ramen every day for a month.

DoorDash has found that the ramen may not be quite as popular. Poke has replaced the noodles on the popularity scale. Maybe people are going gluten free or maybe people are going keto. It’s not that ramen is suddenly bad. The change in ordering habits just shows that people are looking for something new. How long will the poke trend last? Probably when a major chain starts to serve a bland, watered down version, the trend will be over.

The biggest takeaway from this survey is something that the company doesn’t specifically say. Food delivery is a convenience that people want and will continue to use. More and more restaurants are expanding into this delivery option. While consumers say that they want to cook at home, food delivery is growing. Could the expanding options be a response to the convenience that consumers crave?

Truthfully, the restaurant choices have helped to grow the food delivery industry. Instead of just pizza or Chinese, consumers can get almost anything delivered to their home. From a healthy salad to a 6-pack of beer, people want instant gratification. Why go to the store, when the store can come to you?

This food delivery expansion doesn’t necessarily hurt the restaurant industry itself. Of course, don’t expect to get a Michelin Star restaurant to deliver their signature dish to your front door. But, that same chef can create a spin-off specifically for home delivery. It expands its name recognition and can increase business. For the new chef, it is a great way to get exposure and keep costs down. Some brands are experimenting with a delivery only service.

Even though consumers want convenience, the food needs to be good. No one is going to order time and again if the delivered food tastes bad. It would be interesting to see the company’s statistics on repeat orders or customer loyalty. Just like everyone has their favorite seafood restaurant or pizza joint, do consumers have a favorite DoorDash restaurant? Maybe that information will be included in the next survey.

Next: Perfect pizza and wine pairings

Until then, Happy Birthday DoorDash. Thanks for delivering us 8 million burgers over the past five years. Here’s to 5 more years and maybe you can break the 10 million burger delivery mark. Wonder if plant based alternative foods are the next food delivery trends on your list.