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Is Craft Burger Just a Trend, or Is It Here to Stay?

Food trends spike and fade. Two decades in, craft burger keeps growing instead — here's why it looks structural, not seasonal.

Short answer

It doesn't behave like a trend. The craft burger movement has been building steadily since the early 2000s, and once people experience a genuinely house-made burger, expectations shift permanently — they don't go back to mass-produced by choice. That's a lasting change, not a fad.

Food trends usually follow a shape: a sharp rise, saturation, then a fade as the next thing takes over — think cronuts, or unicorn frappuccinos. Craft burger doesn't follow that curve. It's been growing steadily for over twenty years, not spiking and disappearing.

Why it behaves differently from a trend

  • It didn't spike — it built. The craft burger movement started in the early 2000s and has grown year over year rather than peaking and fading.
  • It changed the baseline expectation. Once a customer has had a fresh-baked bun and a house-made sauce, a frozen bun and bottled sauce taste noticeably worse by comparison. That shift doesn't reverse easily.
  • It's driven by taste, not novelty. Trends are often about a new experience or aesthetic. Craft burger is about a better version of something people already eat constantly — a much more durable driver of demand.

What could actually change

The word "craft" itself may eventually get diluted through overuse, the same way "gourmet" and "artisanal" have in places. But the underlying practice — better sourcing, house-made components, chef-driven technique — has already become the standard that quality burger restaurants are judged against, trend or not.

Built to last

BB52 was built around craft-kitchen fundamentals from day one, not as a passing style. What is a craft burger? →

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Frequently asked

Is craft burger just a passing trend?
It doesn't look like it. The craft burger movement has been building since the early 2000s and has shifted customer expectations permanently — people who've had a genuinely house-made burger tend not to go back to mass-produced ones by choice.
How long has the craft burger movement been around?
Over two decades. It began in the early 2000s as chefs applied fine-dining standards to an everyday format, and has grown steadily since rather than spiking and fading like a typical food trend.
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