As TikTok has become a significant part of today’s society, its explosion of food content continues to reshape daily habits and eating culture. From mukbang videos of creators eating trending foods to influencers vlogging their everyday meals, TikTok has changed how people view food and plays a growing role in what restaurants choose to serve as businesses respond to viral recipes and popular ingredients in hopes of attracting customers. 

These videos expose viewers to a wide variety of cuisines, encourage them to try new dishes, and often drive major food trends that spread quickly across social media. TikTok’s influence extends beyond entertainment by shaping daily food choices, cooking habits, and even broader ideas about health.

Many young people turn to TikTok for information about food and wellness, which influences the decisions they make around food. “​​Dublin University suggested that 57% of Gen-Z and Millennial TikTok users are influenced by or regularly adopt nutrition trends from the platform,” British Broadcasting Corporation said. This demonstrates how TikTok is not just a source of entertainment, but also plays a powerful role in shaping young people’s eating habits. 

Food trends spread fastest through influencers, whose recipes and reviews drive millions to try new dishes. It is not uncommon for videos to have clickbait-style phrases to draw attention, for example: “You NEED to try this!” or “Best fried chicken EVER!” 

According to a survey from the British Broadcasting Corporation carried out in the U.S., 53% of TikTok users have visited or ordered food from a restaurant after seeing a TikTok video about it. The statistics show how influential social media creators are, directly impacting where people choose to eat and what foods they decide to try.

“I think TikTok has really shaped the way that restaurants have been publicized and become popular, because some restaurants are extremely popular due the advertising on TikTok, because TikTok is such a prominent part of today’s society when it comes to food trends,” sophomore Madeline Moore said. TikTok doesn’t just influence individual eating habits, but the success of entire restaurants. 

Binge Coffee House, a Vietnamese coffee house and café, serves a variety of drinks including traditional Vietnamese coffee, specialty ube and egg coffee, and a wide range of matcha drinks, along with food items like bánh mì sandwiches and popcorn chicken. The local, family-owned business now has three locations in the East Bay. Binge Coffee House opened December 24, 2024 and has gained popularity on TikTok, where content creators have shared their positive experiences and recommended it to their followers. 

“We didn’t expect that we would blow up on social media, and I think that it is very important in gaining popularity for our restaurant, and getting people to come out and visit us,” an employee at Binge Coffee House said. The cafe updates its menu every few weeks, adding weekly items based on customer feedback. “[The menu] depends on social media because if we see that people really like the weekly food and that they are posting it a lot on social media, then we tend to keep those foods,” an employee at Binge Coffee House said. 

TikTok not only promotes small businesses like Binge Coffee House, but also boosts the popularity of larger chain restaurants. “I have gone to numerous restaurants that I found on TikTok. I discovered Crumbl Cookies on TikTok,” Moore said. These viral trends highlight how quickly TikTok can influence consumer choices, and shape the products that end up on store shelves and menus. “I saw that Lindor also is partaking in the Dubai chocolate trend, and they have Dubai chocolate Lindor at Safeway,” Moore said.

TikTok clearly influences restaurants, but how do TikTok food videos inspire so many people to try the recipes and foods themselves? Moore experimented with the viral ​​penne ala pasta recipe, and tanghulu. “For both of these foods, the visuals drew me in because the vodka pasta looked so appetizing, and the videos catered towards teenagers like myself. Also the audio and the ASMR portion of the tanghulu video really encouraged me to try it,” Moore said.  

TikTok has a noticeable impact on the eating habits of many teenagers, but some trends can promote harmful or misleading ideas about eating. “I think that TikTok can have very harmful effects, because some creators promote unrealistically small portion sizes, edited or posed body images, and very thin models who encourage under-eating,” Moore said. As harmful food content continues to circulate, it is important to recognize how social media can influence perceptions of food and body image.

It is evident that TikTok has the power to make a restaurant go viral, but does that popularity actually last? “Our items will go viral for two or three weeks, and after everyone has already tried it, then it goes back to the normal rate. That’s why we rotate our items every one or two weeks to keep people coming back,” Binge Coffee House employee said. 

As TikTok grows worldwide, its impact stretches beyond entertainment. Children, adults and businesses alike have responded to these trends in different ways. TikTok’s impact on how people discover, prepare, and think about food is undeniable. Whether TikTok’s influence leads to better food exposure or unhealthy eating habits, one thing is clear: our relationship with food is now shaped by the scroll.