5 Food Trends That Lived And Died This Decade

There are a few

food

trends

that took the world by storm in the 2010s only to quickly fade into oblivion, from cake on a stick... Taryn Varricchio: Yes, I love Starbucks cake pops! Narrator: A drunk in a can... Shayanne Gal: We didn't know how destructive that could be. Narrator: We're taking a look at

food

trends

from the past. Anne Murray: The rainbow and unicorn trend is basically adding a bunch of different food colorings. It remains to be seen what the health effects of

this

are. Herrine Ro: It's one of those foods that is so fun to look at, but when you eat it, you're like, "Ah!" Alana Yzola: "I'm done." Melia Russell: I think the first time I saw a unicorn food was the Starbucks Frappuccino that went super viral.

Narrator: We've seen unicorn foods paint the rainbow of the food scene thanks to Miami food blogger Adeline Waugh, who, for better or worse, gave the world unicorn toast. Herrine: I feel like Rainbow was trying to fit the Instagram aesthetic, but she did absolutely nothing for the sake of it. Manuel Silva-Paulus: Like magic? Is that the taste? Narrator: The rainbow bagel turned a small Brooklyn bagel shop into social media infamy, and shops around the world tried to match its success by adding six shades of food coloring to their food in an attempt to capitalize on the desire for customers to consume vibrant foods that would otherwise be some variant of brown.

Anne: I don't need a rainbow on my bagel, and I really don't need a rainbow on my cake. Taryn: People got

this

high for too long. Every thing was a rainbow because it could be. Alana: Then she started spying on salty foods, like rainbow grilled cheese. Oh. Irene Kim: It was nice. People posted it on Instagram. And it didn't taste good, so people stopped coming. Narrator: This trend may not be dead yet, but we hope it's at least in palliative care. Nico Reyes: Your food will taste the same, rainbow or not. Then you can die. Taryn: You

lived

your years and it's time for you to die.

And I'm glad you're gone. I'm sorry. Ben Nigh: RIP. Narrator: Even before Instagram existed to make photo-worthy foods go viral, cake pops were making the rounds as the trendy dessert at birthday parties, weddings, and baby showers. Taryn: Yes, I love Starbucks cake pops! I love it when they bring back the snowman. Damn cake pops, man. Medha Imam: A cake pop is kindness. Is love. It's a stick that looks like a lollipop, but instead it has cake. Emily Hein: I remember being really excited about them, because it's like a mini cake that's single-serving and appropriate for eating alone.

Taryn: They are adorable, portable, and have a not-too-thick layer of chocolate on top. Narrator: They were invented in 2008 by food blogger Bakerella, but they really caught on when Starbucks started selling them in 2011. From there, it seemed like cake pops would be the next trend to emerge from specialty bakeries. But for one reason or another, the fervor waned and Starbucks seemed to be the graveyard for the once-thriving trend. Lisa Paradise: Cake pops took over the world for about four seconds. Taryn: You go to Starbucks and see the sad snowman sitting there, and I rarely see people buying them.

Emily: Starbucks supports them. Ciannah Gin: Exactly. Does anyone care about the cake yet? Taryn: I'm really sad about that. I love cake pops. Narrator: In 2018, delicacies once sold in fancy bakeries found their widest distribution in the dessert aisle of supermarkets. Lisa: When was the last time you had a cupcake? Medha: About three weeks ago. Lisa: Do you eat cake pops that often? Taryn: Greetings. Ben: Cheers! Hurrah. Yes, this is really good. Taryn: It's very moist and chewy. Lisa: I've never seen anyone so satisfied eating something so simple. So you think we should bring back cake pops?

Taryn: Bring them back. Bring them back right now. Medha: Dear cake pops, I am sad to see you go, but I know that you will always remain in my heart, because you were the only thing that made me happy after a long day of work. The end. Lisa: This is the most innocent thing I've ever seen happen. Medha: I'm very happy right now. Narrator: With the promise of health benefits and a natural space gray coloring, charcoal became a food trend in 2016. It was touted as a super-effective, natural detoxifier, and people couldn't get enough. Tiffany Chang: The idea is that it's black, cool and maybe healthy.

Alana: I didn't know what to expect. I thought it looked bad--. But when I ate it, it really didn't taste like anything. Herrine: That's the thing. Alana: I didn't feel healthier after having it. Tiffany: That's pitch black. Alyse Kalish: I feel like I'm taking a fingerprint. It tastes like earth, doesn't it? Tiffany: I enjoy the aesthetic of it. Alyse: Well, we might have to give it up in the next

decade

. The government will have no choice. Narrator: With a growing trend comes watchful eyes. And almost as soon as the Food and Drug Administration began investigating activated charcoal, it was linked to all sorts of gastrointestinal upset and was even said to decrease the effectiveness of medications like birth control.

The food was banned and the New York Department of Health quickly began cracking down on restaurants selling any and all activated charcoal products, and Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream lost about $3,000 in stock and ingredients used to make it. make their famous black coconut ash ice cream. Alana: Activated charcoal, you came with so many promises of good health. However, I think it's time to say goodbye. You taste like nothing and you don't really do anything. So let's leave that to the 2010s. Shayanne: Remember when we all drank Four Loko and you don't remember it? Narrator: Four Loko, a toxic mix of caffeine and alcohol, took college campuses by storm in 2010.

But its peak in popularity was short-

lived

, with a sudden drop in sales the same year when colleges began reporting students falling ill. and even

died

afterwards. benders with the drink. Celia Skvaril: If you saw someone drinking a Four Loko, you knew what they were trying to do. Dominique McIntee: You could pick up a little pace with other drinks, but with Four Loko, like one sip, like a couple of sips, it's game over. Shayanne: Little did we know, you know, when it first came up, how destructive that could be. Narrator: In November 2011, caffeine was removed from the drink in an attempt to make it less effective in case of rapid intoxication, which immediately affected its popularity and sales.

Shayanne: After they took out the caffeine, it was almost like a sparkling seltzer, but they don't make it as good. And then he just left, and you know what, I think it's for the best. Celia: No wonder Four Loko is great. Narrator: Four Loko can still be purchased at the occasional liquor store. It's even trying to enter the mineral water market, but the original recipe we knew and loved is gone forever. Shayanne: Dear Four Loko, you know, you had a truly momentous heyday filled with a lot of non-memories. We appreciate it for what it was only in retrospect, not in the moment.

I think it's best to leave that in the past. Narrator: We all remember the slight thrill of knowing that "when you're here, you're family." But while chains remain a ubiquitous establishment in American culture, sales have fallen for many big-name chains over the past

decade

, with several locations closing around the world. Kate Taylor: It's harder to convince millennials and Gen Z to spend Friday night going to a TGI Friday's or an Applebee's. They feel like they are from an older generation. It will not be the cultural institution it was a decade ago. Narrator: Despite a Twitter campaign to agitate the masses, IHOP's sales have steadily declined over the past two and a half years.

Kate: People don't want that old, stodgy, normal, casual, sit-down type of chain restaurant, and if they're going to spend more, they want it to be a real experience, often in a stand-alone location. Narrator: In 2019 alone, Applebee's made it a little harder to find apps at half price, closing more than 20 locations. But he's actually one of the lucky ones, as Pizza Hut closed about 450 locations and the Footlong closed more than 1,000 doors. Even the King's isn't safe, with 250 Burger Kings closed in 2019 alone. Kate: So, old-school chains, it's sad to hear that millennials killed you, but, you know, it was time to evolve, and some people are doing it, some people don't do it.

So.