CHICAGO — At the recent National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show, innovation wasn’t just a buzzword – it was on the menu. From reimagined Korean street food to clean frying oils and multi-layered drinks designed for TikTok virality, food and beverage companies showcased how they’re meeting shifting consumer preferences with bold new offerings.
Here were three standout trends from the show floor:
K-Food Goes Mainstream – with Creativity and Fusion
The Korean wave in American foodservice continues to build momentum. Spoonfully! cited up to an 80% increase in usage of Korean sauces in U.S. foodservice over the past year (according to Circana data from September 2024). Several brands spotlighted their K-food innovations, offering craveability, versatility, and ease of preparation.
CJ Schwan’s (a subsidiary of CJ CheilJedang of South Korea) highlighted Korean and global flavors with the use of Bibigo Gochujang Hot & Sweet Sauce in Gochujang Fried Chicken Sliders as well in a Hot & Sweet Mustard Dipping Sauce to go with Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls at its booth. A standing room-only crowd gathered to watch CJ Schwan’s partner and celebrity chef Jet Tila demonstrate how to cook Chef Jet’s Bibimbap and Chef Jet’s Korean Hot Pot Ramen.
CJ CheilJedang had a second booth at the show, for its Seoulfully! brand. Seoulfully! is a line of premium Korean flavoring sauces developed for professional chefs to provide “significant time and labor savings so you can serve speed-scratch Korean fusions more simply.”
Wang Globalnet drew steady crowds with its Tornado Potatoes – spiraled fried potatoes on skewers, a Korean street food staple made for Instagram.
Ingredion demoed Crispy Tteokbokki Fries – crispy fries made from Korean rice cakes – and Korean Fried Chicken dusted with Snow Cheese, bringing together two cult-favorite flavors in a fun foodservice-friendly format.
Wang Korea Tornado Potato
Clean-Fried Innovation
As scrutiny of seed oils continues to rise and foodservice operators look to avocado oil and beef tallow as alternatives, Zero Acre Farms made a splash with its latest innovation: Noli Fruit Oil. The Noli Fruit Oil aims to check many boxes: it is seed oil-free, positioned as “The cleaner frying oil” with a 445 degrees smoke point, expeller-pressed from a unique, non-GMO hybrid palm fruit grown deforestation-free in Colombia; requires 95% less land than soybean oil, and provides a cleaner taste in fried food. Zero Acre’s flagship All-Purpose Oil made from sugarcane plants that undergo fermentation with more heart-healthy fats than olive oil and a high smoke point also made an appearance.
Multi-Textured Drinks Tap Gen Z Demand for Playfulness
Beverage booths brought serious creativity, layering textures and flavors to deliver novelty and shareability:
PepsiCo’s DRIPS station showcased customizable iced drinks with ingredients like strawberries and basil seeds, candy boba, coconut chips, flavor syrups, and whipped cream—resulting in layered, snackable beverages. The premium soda creations are currently offered at select Regal movie theater locations.
Keurig Dr Pepper showcased a Fiery Dill Pickle Lemonade made with salty dill pickle brine and Canada Dry Club Soda, tapping into flavor shock and TikTok curiosity with a balance of tang and fizz.
Coca-Cola unveiled a Sprite + Tea hybrid as a limited-time offering in regular and zero-sugar varieties and also in a refreshing frozen drink format. Sprite + Tea came out of an intern research project that was inspired by TikTok videos of consumers putting tea bags into Sprite. The result: an Arnold Palmer (the mix of iced tea and lemonade) updated for Gen Z.
NERDS’ co-branded ICEEs (from J&J Snack Foods Corp.) were topped with colorful NERDS candy pieces, offering crunchy-chewy contrast in a frozen drink format perfect for theaters, theme parks, and Gen Alpha consumers.
About the author: Virginia Lee is a food & beverage trendspotter and founder of The Curious Foodie LLC, helping CPG brands, research agencies, and global food companies understand what’s next – so they can make smarter decisions, faster. She has advised companies on innovation and market-entry opportunities in CPG at Euromonitor International, Innova Market Insights, and Brightfield Group.
The Food Institute Podcast
It’s tariff time, and companies the world over are working to better understand how their operations will be impacted. Jodi Ader from RSM US LLP joined The Food Institute Podcast to discuss which products and inputs are currently subject to tariffs, and how to best mitigate supply chain risks.
