Who’s the Trendiest of Them All: Grubhub Data Sheds Light on the Nation’s Most Popular Healthy Eating Plans

May 9, 2017

Paleo reigns supreme in order data showcasing the dominance of popular healthy eating plans nationwide, including city-by-city and gender breakdowns

CHICAGO, May 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — With summer approaching and fitness on the minds of people across the nation, Grubhub, the nation’s leading takeout marketplace, today announced the results of a study of the most popular healthy eating plans in the United States. Results from this study showed significant differences in healthy eating preferences between genders, as well as cities.

Some key takeaways from the study include:

  • Paleo reigns supreme: Eating “paleo” is the most popular healthy eating choice across the nation. Paleo orders increased by 370 percent in 2016
  • Seattle residents love food choice (but not gluten!): Seattle residents order food tailored to specific eating plans more than any other major city in the country. Within this health-conscious city, the most popular eating plan is a gluten-free diet — ordering dishes that fall within this category 367 percent more than the rest of the nation
  • Men and women just can’t agree…on food: Fitness-conscious males are most likely to eat a low-fat diet, while females favor a juice cleanse

“Grubhub works hard to bring the broadest, best set of restaurant choice to millions of hungry people,” said Barbara Martin Coppola, Grubhub’s CMO. “Our vast restaurant network offers a variety of choice that means it’s just as convenient to order low-fat, vegan food for lunch as it is to place a pizza or cupcake order for an office party! So whether our diners are eating a paleo, raw food or gluten-free diet — or treating themselves to ice cream — we’re there to fuel their bodies and souls.”

Methodology:
Grubhub analyzed orders related to the most popular healthy eating plans in the United States:  paleo, raw, juice cleanse, vegan, gluten-free, low-fat, Mediterranean and keto diets. Using a combination of dietary tags and a deep-dive into foods that align with specific eating plans, Grubhub analyzed order data from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2016. In doing so, Grubhub data analysts ranked the most popular eating plans across the nation, as well as the preferred plans by city and gender.

Data Findings Include:

Most Popular Eating Plans Nationwide:

  1. Paleo — 370 percent increase in orders in 2016 vs. the year prior
  2. Raw — 92 percent increase in orders in 2016 vs. the year prior
  3. Juice cleanse — 89 percent increase in orders in 2016 vs. the year prior
  4. Vegan — 58 percent increase in orders in 2016 vs. the year prior
  5. Gluten-free — 35 percent increase in orders in 2016 vs. the year prior
  6. Low-fat — 21 percent increase in orders in 2016 vs. the year prior
  7. Mediterranean — 7 percent increase in orders in 2016 vs. the year prior
  8. Keto — 5 percent increase in orders in 2016 vs. the year prior

Top 10 Major Cities Participating in Popular Eating Plans:

  1. Seattle — orders 309 percent more foods related to popular eating plans vs. the of the nation
  2. Portland, Ore. — orders 154 percent more foods related to popular eating plans vs. the of the nation
  3. Dallas — orders 140 percent more foods related to popular eating plans vs. the of the nation
  4. Chicago — orders 94 percent more foods related to popular eating plans vs. the of the nation
  5. San Francisco — orders 74 percent more foods related to popular eating plans vs. the of the nation
  6. Los Angeles — orders 66 percent more foods related to popular eating plans vs. the of the nation
  7. St. Louis — orders 53 percent more foods related to popular eating plans vs. the of the nation
  8. Austin, Texas — orders 44 percent more foods related to popular eating plans vs. the of the nation
  9. Las Vegas — orders 27 percent more foods related to popular eating plans vs. the of the nation
  10. San Diego — orders 22 percent more foods related to popular eating plans vs. the of the nation

Most Popular Eating Plans in Major Cities:

  • Miami — juice cleanse
  • San Jose, Calif. — vegan
  • Seattle — gluten-free
  • Dallas — paleo
  • Houston — paleo
  • Austin, Texas — paleo
  • Phoenix — gluten-free
  • Minneapolis — gluten-free
  • Portland, Ore. — gluten-free
  • Las Vegas — vegan
  • St. Louis — gluten-free
  • Nashville, Tenn. — juice cleanse
  • San Diego — vegan
  • Atlanta — gluten-free
  • Los Angeles — vegan
  • San Francisco — low-fat
  • Boston — low-fat
  • Chicago — vegan
  • New York City — low-fat
  • Philadelphia — paleo

Key Differences Between Male and Female Eating Plans:

  • Paleo — ordered 19 percent more by females than males
  • Raw — ordered 34 percent more by females than males
  • Juice cleanse — ordered 43 percent more by females than males
  • Vegan — ordered 23 percent more by females than males
  • Gluten-free — ordered 23 percent more by females than males
  • Low-fat — ordered 17 percent more by females than males
  • Mediterranean — ordered 22 percent more by females than males
  • Keto — ordered 16 percent more by females than males

Gender Breakdown of Eating Plans by Major City:

  1. Seattle
    • Low-fat — most popular for females
    • Keto — most popular for males
  2. Portland, Ore.
    • Low-fat — most popular for females
    • Vegan — most popular for males
  3. Dallas
    • Low-fat — most popular for females
    • Raw — most popular for males
  4. Chicago
    • Raw — most popular for females
    • Low-fat — most popular for males
  5. San Francisco
    • Raw — most popular for females
    • Low-fat — most popular for males

To find takeout restaurants available in your area, check out grubhub.com. If you are interested in becoming part of the Grubhub Delivery team, please visit driver.grubhub.com. To find out how your restaurant can join Grubhub, check out get.grubhub.com. To learn more about Grubhub and its portfolio of brands, please visit newsroom.grubhub.com.

About Grubhub
Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB) is the nation’s leading online and mobile takeout food-ordering marketplace with the most comprehensive network of restaurant partners and largest active diner base. Dedicated to moving eating forward and connecting diners with the food they love from their favorite local restaurants, the company’s platforms and services strive to elevate food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub is proud to work with more than 50,000 restaurant partners in over 1,100 U.S. cities and London. The Grubhub portfolio of brands includes Grubhub, Seamless, AllMenus and MenuPages.