• In recent years, platforms like TikTok have transformed the way food preferences emerge and spread.
Flavors and products such as bubble tea, matcha, Dubai chocolate, cheese cottage, pistachio or spicy honey (hot honey) have rapidly gained global popularity, sometimes even generating temporary ingredient shortages – matcha or pistachios being notable examples. These trends, often born from viral videos, have a short lifespan on the platform – around 90 days – which creates a major challenge for large companies in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry.
Traditionally, big food and beverage brands set the pace for innovation. In the early 2000s, launches like Coca-Cola with Lemon or Doritos Chilli Heatwave were considered bold and anticipated taste directions that have endured. Today, however, the classic new product development cycle – often 18 months – seems slow compared to the speed with which a social media phenomenon spreads.
Some large companies have tried to catch "the wave"For example, Lindt introduced a Dubai-style chocolate bar with a rich pistachio filling and a crunchy kadayif texture, which hit shelves in Europe, the US and Canada in 2025, about a year after the Dubai original went viral. In this case, the success was notable, but not all attempts to develop an innovative product have been successful in getting it to market. Coca-Cola, for example, launched a drink with bubble-like bubbles "bubble tea" in Turkey after two years of development, when the trend had already become a habit in many markets, five years earlier.
Large companies constantly monitor social media, and some have accelerated internal processes to shorten the time to launch a new product. However, the risk remains high: high development costs require high sales volumes to be profitable, and the difference between a passing fad and a lasting trend is difficult to predict.
Fad or trend – the social media trap
On the other hand, smaller brands have a clear advantage, as they react more quickly to market signals. Sometimes, the success of these companies seems linked to a timing lucky, launching existing but cleverly rebranded products just when the public was ready to rediscover them.
However, even large FMCG companies are not without their advantages. They benefit from a loyal consumer base and the ability to distribute products on a large scale. What becomes "old" for audiences highly connected to TikTok it may seem fresh and interesting to the rest of the buyers.
And innovation is no longer just about new flavors. Today, novelty comes from unexpected collaborations – between food and non-food brands, for example –, from attractive packaging, or from creative concepts like mystery flavors. These allow established brands to generate curiosity and engagement without blindly following a viral wave.
In conclusion, we can confidently say that the big players in the consumer goods industry can no longer rely solely on their traditional innovation leadership. To remain relevant in a world dominated by fast-paced content and algorithms, companies must reinvent themselves from within – disrupting their own routines and looking beyond the feedSocial Media trends. Agility and the courage to create your own narratives can be the key to success, rather than constantly following ephemeral trends.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor-in-Chief Arta Albă
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