Holy Kale! Watch the Spread of the New Health Fad Across the City

A new health food trend pops up just about every month, and the analysts at GrubHub, the nation's leading online and mobile food-ordering company, set out to track these crazes in the takeout space. GrubHub's order analysis shows that chia seeds, quinoa and almond milk rank among 2014's trendiest "health" foods, with these trendier orders most heavily concentrated in Boulder, Colo., Chicago and Los Angeles.

To uncover some of the fastest-growing health food fads at takeout restaurants across the country, GrubHub analysts examined a year's worth of order data, focusing on foods and ingredients touted for their health benefits. Findings reveal that the following items registered the largest order spikes in the last year:

2014 Trending Health Foods i

• Chia seeds 140%
• Quinoa 110%
• Almond milk 110%
• Kale 99%
• "Raw" foods 59%
• Gluten-free 52%
• Pressed juice 38%

GrubHub's analysis also considered where these types of food trends are most geographically concentrated, with the following cities ranking highest for their percentage of trending health fad orders:

Health Fad Early Adopters

1. Boulder, Colo.
2. Chicago
3. Los Angeles
4. Seattle
5. New York
6. San Jose
7. San Diego
8. St. Louis
9. Miami
10. Austin

"GrubHub order data is an incredible indicator of new food trends," said GrubHub Inc. president, Jonathan Zabusky, noting that GrubHub primarily works with independent restaurateurs who can test out trends and quickly add new menu items. "Menu flexibility like this is a luxury, and it puts our restaurants at the forefront of industry trend-setting," he added.

Additional Health-Related Food Ordering Trends
Besides identifying food fads and where they're most concentrated, GrubHub's health trend analysis also uncovered additional insights about health food-ordering habits:

• Gluten-free items, kale and pressed juices are the most popular health food orders, respectively.
• Women are 44 percent more likely than men to order trendy health foods from takeout restaurants: Hemp seed (110% more common with women), chia seeds (66%), almond milk (63%), kale (61%) and quinoa (57%).
• Trendy health food orders are 110 percent more commonly placed during breakfast than throughout the rest of the day.
• College students are nearly 50 percent less likely to participate in these health food trends than the average diner.

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