The Most Iconic Food Trend for 2025: Nostalgia

Fatema Tambawalla explores the resurgence of nostalgia in food, culture, and digital spaces, as people seek comfort and connection in an unpredictable world. From rediscovering generational recipes to reviving retro trends, it examines how the past offers a sense of permanence and belonging.

“We call it ‘bread time,’” says Dina Weber of Sapa Bakery in Mysore, as she reflects on what feels nostalgic to her. “Imagine a German breakfast spread with jams, cheeses, sausages, and slices of bread, where everyone helps themselves from the middle. It is a shared, comforting ritual.”

Dina believes that food trends are shifting back towards what feels familiar and comforting. “The French minimalist aesthetic, with sleek glazes and sharp chocolate decorations, still has its place, but there’s a noticeable change. The flavour combinations might remain similar, but there’s a stronger emphasis on traditional styles and drawing inspiration from childhood memories. It’s about revisiting older decoration styles and flavours and reimagining them in fresh ways,” she observes.

Her insights seem spot on. ‘Nostalgia marketing’ is gaining momentum, with past trends in fashion, music, and food making a marked resurgence. Demand for nostalgic food has become a key driver of product and flavour development. Take the espresso martini from the 1990s, which has seen a revival, or brands like Burger King and Pizza Hut returning to their classic logos to evoke a sense of familiarity and comfort.

Experts predict that nostalgic food will continue to trend in 2025, whether in its original form or reinvented with a modern twist. Think ice cream sandwiches reimagined, old-school soda pop revived as ‘rebel floats,’ or comforting crockpot dishes making a comeback.

The espresso martini, created in 1980, is making a comeback.

It isn’t just food experiencing a return to the past—nostalgia is influencing nearly every aspect of culture. From the surge of ‘trad-wife’ (traditional wife) videos on Instagram to the revival of Y2K fashion trends like low-rise jeans, Clinique’s Black Honey lipstick from 1971 going viral on social media, and the resurgence of old musical hits like Smooth Operator by Sade and Forever Young by Alphaville, everything old feels new again.

Why is everything old, new again? Research shows that a sense of nostalgia today is natural; we live in a constantly changing and shifting world and looking back can serve as a soothing reminder of times gone by. This rose-tinted view of the past can serve as a coping mechanism for increasingly prevalent feelings of isolation and loneliness. Reflecting on the past when there is uncertainty around evokes a sense of stability in a world that often feels unsteady.

For people like Maroof Culmen, nostalgia is a deeply personal connection. As a Heritage Storyteller from Lucknow, he documents lesser-known stories of his city. He grew up in the Purana Shahar. “History was nothing new; we lived with it every day,” he recalls. Oral histories passed down from his grandparents nurtured his fascination with Lucknow’s cultural richness, shaping his identity and life’s work. Today, Maroof shares stories that go beyond the well-known landmarks, focusing on the people and traditions close to home.

Food is a central theme in many of Maroof’s stories, especially Lucknow’s rich culinary heritage. Take for example the story of qorma, a dish that symbolises the city’s “skill, tradition, and cultural pride.” This generational recipe is a unique part of Lucknow’s identity, passed down through families and cherished to this day. Maroof’s videos, often set to the soothing melodies of Mehdi Hassan or Mohammed Rafi, capture the intimate connection between food and nostalgia, showing how the aroma of a beloved dish can instantly transport us to a place of comfort and joy.

It’s no surprise, then, that restaurants are embracing this wave of nostalgia. Comfort foods are making a comeback, with Food & Wine noting the rise of kids’ menu-inspired items like jello shots and 1990s-style rainbow sprinkle cakes. Nostalgia isn’t just a trend—it’s a way of reconnecting with the flavours and memories that anchor us in an ever-changing world.

Closer to home on Hill Road, Bandra, lies Nostalgia: The Old School Bakery. Its menu is a heartfelt tribute to simpler times, featuring classics like Badam Milk, Milo, Jeera Soda, and Softy. The ‘Childhood Favourites’ section includes timeless treats such as Chicken Mayo Sandwich, Chicken and Corn Quiche, and Ghee Roast Sandwich. Designed to offer a place where people can relive cherished memories, this cosy spot reflects a broader societal yearning for comfort and familiarity. Nostalgia remains a powerful draw, thriving as a balm for an unpredictable and ever-changing world.

A Bandra restaurant, Nostalgia, is bringing back favourites like badam milk and chicken mayo sandwiches.

Food spaces online have also embraced nostalgia, with content ranging from Maroof Culmen’s preservation of urban and culinary heritage to ‘trad-wife’ videos (think Nara Smith, perfectly dressed for the camera, crafting something from scratch in her kitchen) and the soothing “I think I like this little life” videos of someone brewing their morning coffee.

Goya’s own documentation of generational recipes serves as a treasure trove of nostalgia, where each dish made anew carries the flavours of the past. On social media, where long-form content is gradually being replaced, a return to the past has also become a return to slower, more mindful activities. Cooking and eating, at their core, invite us to pause and connect—with others and with memories. Dina Weber of Sapa Bakery notes, “It gives us a sense of peace and tells us everything is fine when, in reality, nothing is okay.”

Interestingly, this resurgence is being driven by Gen Z—a generation that has not experience these eras firsthand. Growing up alongside the internet, they are now drawn to disposable film cameras, thrifting, 80s music, and 90s snacks, choosing picnics over high-end dining. For them, nostalgia is both a discovery of a world they never lived in and a response to the fleeting nature of today’s trends. In an age where new songs and viral moments fade as quickly as they arrive, rediscovering the past provides a rare sense of permanence and timelessness.

“When something is new for such a short amount of time, the only anchor of permanence and timelessness lies in rediscovering things that have quietly stood the test of time, waiting to be reimagined and cherished anew. ”

Ultimately, nostalgia is a bittersweet emotion. Whether eating childhood foods or rediscovering decades-old music, it’s as close as we can get to time travel. It fosters connection and grounding—whether in Maroof’s storytelling, Dina’s traditional baking, or the ‘cottage-core’ videos of teenagers knitting in their bedrooms. As Maroof aptly says, “Happiness at the end of the day can be very small; it can be found in simple, daily things. It’s a realisation—that’s the idea they connect to.”

Fatema Tambawalla is a student at Ashoka University where she studies Sociology, Political Science and Philosophy.

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