Technicolor Food Trend

Rainbow Bagels (The Bagel Store, Brooklyn, 2016) - tie-dye bagels with rainbow cream cheese - launched “unicorn food” trend where rainbow colors dominated Instagram despite questionable taste. The visual spectacle represented peak aesthetic-over-flavor food culture.

Origin: Scot Rossillo (Bagel Store owner) created technicolor bagels; Instagram explosion February 2016

Lines: 3-hour waits in Brooklyn; tourists pilgrimage from across country

Taste: Food coloring didn’t enhance flavor; some reported chemical taste; cream cheese overly sweet

Copycats: Rainbow everything - pizza, grilled cheese, pasta, sushi, lattes

Unicorn trend: Sparked 2017’s “unicorn” food phase (Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino)

Peak: 2016-2017; fatigue set in as every food went rainbow

Backlash:

• Food coloring concerns (artificial dyes)
• Prioritizing Instagram over taste
• “This is why aliens won’t visit us” memes

Legacy: Established rainbow as guaranteed Instagram engagement; template for visual-first food trends

Rainbow bagels proved you could sell mediocre-tasting food if it photographed well enough.

Sources:
https://www.eater.com/
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/rainbow-bagel-brooklyn-bagel-store