Data Shows How the Year’s Moments Made Their Mark on Food Orders

CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Grubhub, the nation’s leading online and mobile food-ordering company, today announced the launch of A Year In Delivery, a comprehensive analysis of delivery trends throughout 2016. The data uncovers compelling stories about what Grubhub users turned to throughout various cultural moments this year.

Grubhub dove into some of the largest moments from 2016 and how they influenced food orders, highlighting key events such as:

On the day the Chicago Cubs broke the curse, Chicagoans celebrated with orders of hot dogs spiking more than 36 percent.
Throughout Winter Storm Jonas, orders of tomato soup increased by 230 percent.
During President Obama’s final State of the Union, an American cuisine staple proved patriotic spirits were high, with New England clam chowder as a top ordered dish.
“We are always looking to use our data to play back insights about big society moments impacting our users’ eating behaviors,” said Barbara Martin Coppola, CMO, Grubhub. “With ‘A Year in Delivery,’ we’re excited to look back at the interesting and unexpected trends for what was a tumultuous year! Whether it was times of joy, sadness or stress, our data showed that food was always there for our users.”

How We Did it:
Grubhub’s talented team of data analysts looked into how the events of 2016 influenced the food ordering trends of its users.

• In evaluating orders from January to November 2016, Grubhub analysts compared orders from the same timeframe in 2015 and 2014 to identify current trends
• When looking at specific moments, analysts evaluated each date and found the most ordered dishes by users compared to the rest of the year.
• User habits for special instructions and tipping were also evaluated for particular moments.

Data Findings Include:
In addition to analyzing the correlation between cultural moments and delivery trends, Grubhub uncovered the most popular dishes of 2016, anticipated trends for 2017 and what was most popular on the city level in 2016, using the year-over-year analysis methodology.

Five Most Popular Dishes in 2016 (In Comparison to Orders In 2015 and 2014)

1. Mac and cheese — 373 percent increase in orders
2. Chicken and waffles — 234 percent increase in orders
3. Tonkotsu ramen — 223 percent increase in orders
4. Southern fried chicken orders — 218 percent increase in orders
5. Oxtail — 161 percent increase in orders

Ten Dishes Expected to Rise In Popularity in 2017 (Based On Orders In 2016)

1. Ternera — 1781 percent increase in orders throughout 2016
2. Tamales — 456 percent increase in orders
3. Poke — 169 percent increase in orders
4. Spam musubi — 161 percent increase in orders
5. Takoyaki — 139 percent increase in orders
6. Sancocho — 126 percent increase in orders
7. Brisket — 95 percent increase in orders
8. Tater tots — 85 percent increase in orders
9. Pho — 78 percent increase in orders
10. Patacones — 48 percent increase in orders

Most Popular Dishes Ordered by City in 2016 (In Comparison to the Rest of the U.S.)

• Seattle — Vegetarian samosas saw a 422 percent increase in orders
• Portland — Panang curry saw a 354 percent increase in orders
• San Francisco — Carne asada burrito saw a 695 percent increase in orders
• San Jose — Butter chicken saw a 297 percent increase in orders
• Los Angeles — Spicy scallop roll saw a 180 percent increase in orders
• San Diego — Steak tacos saw a 230 percent increase in orders
• Las Vegas — Garlic naan saw a 398 percent increase in orders
• Phoenix — Carne asada burrito saw a 943 percent increase in orders
• Denver — Fried pickles saw a 176 percent increase in orders
• Dallas — Chicken tortilla soup saw a 207 percent increase in orders
• Houston — Chile con queso saw a 852 percent increase in orders
• Austin — Brisket sandwich saw a 228 percent increase in orders
• Chicago — Tonkotsu ramen saw a 176 percent increase in orders
• Detroit — Banana pudding saw a 727 percent increase in orders
• Cleveland — Grilled cheese sandwich saw a 199 percent increase in orders
• St. Louis — Chicken quesadilla saw a 377 percent increase in orders
• Atlanta — Sweet potato fries saw a 272 percent increase in orders
• Miami — Jerk chicken saw a 244 percent increase in orders
• Philadelphia — Shanghai steamed pork soup dumplings saw a 151 percent increase in orders
• Washington D.C. — Chana masala saw a 301 percent increase in orders
• Boston — Kimchi fried rice saw a 142 percent increase in orders
• New York City — Barbacoa tacos saw a 202 percent increase in orders

To see the full analysis, visit grubhub.com/thecrave/a-year-in-food-delivery.

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About Grubhub
Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB) is the nation’s leading online and mobile takeout food-ordering marketplace with the most comprehensive network of restaurant partners and largest active diner base. Dedicated to moving eating forward and connecting diners with the food they love from their favorite local restaurants, the Company’s platforms and services strive to elevate food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub is proud to work with more than 45,000 restaurant partners in over 1,100 U.S. cities and London. The Grubhub portfolio of brands includes Grubhub, Seamless, AllMenus, MenuPages, LAbite, Restaurants on the Run, DiningIn and Delivered Dish.