Takeaways from 2025 NRA Show
Global cuisine and color continued to permeate nearly every corner of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show floor—important and established pillars of menu innovation for the past decade. While NRA Show trends tend to echo what’s already bubbling up across the industry, they offer a valuable snapshot of where operators are placing their bets.
This year, that snapshot was taken against a backdrop of real momentum: attendance was up 6% from 2024, and the show floor buzzed with confidence and excitement. The restaurant industry is clearly re-energized, and I’m excited to say that the NRA Show is officially back. Here are seven standout themes worth your attention.
1. Flavors on full volume: Korean and swicy absolutely dominate
SWICY, smoky, spicy, umami-rich ingredients continue to rule. Think classic Mike’s® Hot Honey or sweet-spicy gochujang sauce, and the omnipresent prevalence of Korean-inspired BBQ (like bulgogi everything, we’re not mad about it) and Korean street food snacks across menu-parts. Note: The supplier exhibitors who provided speed-scratch shortcuts continued to steal operator attention.
2. Sauce as a main character
From sidekick to star. Bold, exciting, flavorful sauces—often with a global twist—have taken center stage, riding the coattails of consumer demand for personalization and Gen Z affinity for dipping sauces. Seen up and down nearly every exhibitor row, NRA exhibitors touted how their operator customers say leveraging unique sauces make managing menu revitalization projects and rotating LTO programs a breeze.
3. U.S. regional is having a moment—er, century
Authentic American dishes with a hyper-local focus is a notable trend with momentum and longevity, highlighted with the NRA’s special “A Taste of the States” showcase spotlighting iconic flavors and formats from nearly 150 independent exhibitors.
4. Right-sized dining, a win-win for operators and patrons
Restaurants are trimming portion sizes to meet health-conscious demand and control food costs, while designing menus that spotlight flavorful, high-margin dishes diners crave often accompanied by smaller packaging solutions. The operations that find the sweet spot of nailing smaller portions without making customers feel a lack of value will rise to the top.
5. Bye-bye footprint, hello reinvented off-premise
Restaurant and café designs continue to shrink their square footage, making way for unique equipment (shout out to Botrista, Inc.) and operation solutions. Limited-service restaurants are rethinking off-site dining in hopes of taking back some market share from retail foodservice players (i.e., C-stores, grocery perimeter, etc.), ranging from streamlined QSR lines for in-store and delivery orders to premium concepts packaging partially prepped meals for guests to finish in their own home kitchens.
6. Beverage category takeover
The beverage category is alive and well. Trends like boba and all things tea (e.g., Coca-Cola’s much anticipated Sprite + Tea product launch), cold foams, dirty soda inspiration, mushroom extracts, Japanese ingredients and flavors (e.g., matcha, yuzu and cherry blossom), spirit-free cocktails, purple ube everything and smart machines/equipment drove innovation in the beverage category at the 2025 NRA Show.
7. Integration for the win: from digital data to daily decisions
NRA’s restaurant tech showcase focused on software that boosts margins by integrating AI-driven labor forecasting, mobile ordering and digital tools like kiosk flows, financial forecasts and conversational AI. These technologies promise to help offset rising labor costs while preserving hospitality and improving efficiency. The result: smarter daily decisions fueled by connected, data driven systems.
As the show floor buzz fades and the industry looks ahead, one thing is clear: bold flavor, smart innovation and simplified operations are no longer “next”—they’re now. Whether it’s swicy sauces, smaller plates or tech-fueled efficiencies, the common thread is intentionality—meeting guests where they are while staying nimble and craveable. For operators looking to bring these trends to life with on-trend flavor solutions and globally inspired ingredients, SupHerb Farms is ready to help you turn insights into impact.