Food delivery service Grubhub is releasing its 2025 Delivered Report, tracking consumer shopping habits from Jan. 1 to Oct. 15, 2025, on Grubhub platforms. The report showed that this year, consumers went all in on "foodmaxxing," a cultural shift where meals, snacks and grocery orders were designed for maximum nutritional value, functional payoff and a little extra aesthetic appeal for social media feeds.

Grubhub's trend report analyzes millions of orders placed throughout the year, and they all tell the same story: this was the year food had to prove itself. People wanted meals that did everything from boosting energy to supporting gut health, and of course, hitting those protein goals. If food didn't do something for consumers, it wasn't getting ordered.

Foodmaxing rules are all about consuming simple things that have an outsized impact, and tinned fish did just that. Grubhub orders of tinned fish tripled in 2025, with grocery purchases up 209% over 2024.

Protein-labeled grocery items available on Grubhub increased nearly 20%, popping up in unexpected places from cookies to popcorn to cinnamon rolls.

But even with all the experimentation, the country's true protein obsession held strong. Grubhub diners ordered more than 750 nuggets, tenders and strips from restaurants every single hour; that's about 5.2 million so far this year, and climbing. And in the country's biggest cities, 76% of all chicken orders included nuggets. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia lead the way.

Grubhub

Eggs entered their redemption arc in 2025. Grubhub grocery orders skyrocketed 58%, fueled by protein-packed breakfasts, meal-prep mania and the rise of viral egg "flights" taking over social feeds.

The most-ordered egg dish was the sausage, egg and cheese sandwich. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago led the charge in SEC orders, proof that the sandwich is still America's undefeated breakfast MVP. Demand was so strong, someone in one of these cities was unwrapping an SEC every few minutes.

One of the biggest foodmaxxing surprises this year was the rise of convenience stores as meal destinations. In a shift from soda-dominated purchases from Grubhub's 2024 findings, the top items ordered weren't chips or candy. They were hot, protein-forward, grab-and-go foods like taquitos, chicken rollers and hot dogs. Convenience got strategic this year.

Source: Grubhub