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Grubhub: Consumers say they order online most from fast casual brands

December 7, 2018

The fast casual industry is sizzling hot when it comes to online ordering, according to Grubhub, whose recent Year in Food report revealed that consumer surveyed said they order online most from fast casual concepts. The report included results from a national survey on consumer tastes and eating habits.

QSR concepts came in second place with consumers when it comes to frequency of online orders, and the casual dining sector rounded it out as third-most popular choice for online ordering, according to a company press release.

The top reason for ordering food was the age-old "Didn't feel like cooking," which garnered 43 percent of the explanations. The desire to satisfy a particular craving got 30 percent, and 28 percent of the orders were about saving time.   

The survey also found that plant-based food consumption was on the rise in the U.S., and bean burritos topped the list of favorite items according to Grubhub's data and trend analyses, while not a single red meat center-of-plate item finished in the Top 10 this year. Orders containing cauliflower were also big, including everything from cauliflower rice bowls to buffalo cauliflower. 

In the late-night category, spicy food ruled the roost, including stuffed jalapenos -- which saw 169 percent more orders this year-- and spicy miso ramen, which grew 167 percent in popularity.

Avocado toast, however, has faded into food trend history, and the popular poke bowls have lost popularity compared to last year, but still came in at No. 2 on the top orders list. 

Favored dessert items included brownies, followed by Oreo cookie cupcakes, baklava, salted caramel cookies and cobbler.

The Top 10 items growth areas, according to the data, were: 

• Bean burrito (+276 percent).
• Poke (+ 205 percent).
• Chicken slider (+189 percent).
• Baby back pork rib (+165 percent).
• Chicken burrito (+164 percent).
• Chicken sandwich (+160 percent). 
• Cauliflower rice bowl (+155 percent).
• Chicken and waffle slider (+145 percent).
• Parmesan chicken (+139 percent).
• Buffalo cauliflower (+124 percent). 

In the breakfast category, more healthful items claimed the top two spots, but traditional standards filled out the Top 5 items in that category, which included: 

• Peanut butter acai bowl (+350 percent).
• Detox juice (+193 percent).
• Bacon, egg and cheese sandwich (+190 percent).
• Breakfast burrito (+141 percent)
• French toast (+106 percent).