The most popular foods across the Middle East in 2019 may not surprise one -- pizza and Shawarma claimed the top spot, with Acai, falafel, and Poke not too far behind. 

 

Breath mints all round as garlic was the favourite seasoning, ranking 4th on the list in Saudi Arabia.

 

But what will one be ordering in 2020? Taking a look at which foods are accelerating in popularity on Uber Eats uncovered a few key trends rising to the top at the start of the new decade.

 

 

Looking at the sharpest increases in customer search and order volumes on the Uber Eats app, it was identified that flax seed is the emerging superfood to watch in 2020 across EMEA. 

 

People’s love for all things garlic is likely to continue into 2020 and the acai bowls will probably be topped with delicious cacao, which rounds out the top 5 list.

The ‘hottest’ food trends for 2020 include: Flax, Kombucha, Garlic, Chanterelle mushrooms and Cacao.

The ‘coldest’ food trends one sees on the decline include: Sriracha, Taro, Matcha, Tofu and Kimchi.

 

Saudi Arabia saw the rise of vegetarianism with meat-free dishes ranking 8th in most ordered food throughout 2019. When it comes to guilty pleasures, there’s nothing quite like a pizza to satisfy those cravings, ranking 2nd, just behind shawarma.

 

The most popular items include: Shawarma, Pizza, Falafel, Garlic, Halloumi, Hummus, Vegetarian, Honey, Quinoa and Protein.

 

Matthew Denman, General Manager, Uber Eats Middle East and North Africa, said: “Our goal is to bring people the food they love, when they want and wherever life takes them. With a wide selection of options on the platform to suit all tastes, over the last year, we saw that although the usual take-out options are still popular, there was a jump in the popularity of health-conscious dining, with people looking to enjoy foods that contain added health benefits - like flax seeds.

 

“What is particularly interesting is the global trends we see across markets, with Uber Eats available in more than 35 countries around the world, there were similarities. For example, Shawarma was included in the top 20 lists across EMEA, as well as in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

 

With more than 3,000 restaurants and a wide selection of cuisines to choose from across both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, we're pleased to see how our platform is helping transform food delivery from that guilty weekend treat to your go-to healthy, everyday meal, and we’re looking forward to this continuing into 2020”. -- Tradearabia News Service