The Most Popular Super Bowl Foods, Snacks, and Drinks by State

Year after year, the Super Bowl is the most-watched sporting event in the United States. It's also the second-biggest day for food consumption, following Thanksgiving. Have you ever wondered what foods and drinks are the most popular on this day? Do different states have unique preferences for this occasion? How have these preferences changed over time?

To find out more, we analyzed Google Trends search data from 2016 to 2023 to answer these questions. To predict if things will change this year, here are the key findings for last year's Super Bowl:

• Domino's saw a 30% increase in pizza sales compared to regular weekends, and Uber Eats reported a 20% rise in order volume during the same period.

• Pizza is the most popular food, followed by chicken wings and cookies. While many states favor chicken wings as snacks most, preferences are not the same everywhere. Burgers are the preferred snack in 7 states. Surprisingly, chips are Delaware's favorite snack.

• Domino's was the preferred pizza choice in 27 states, while Pizza Hut was the most searched-for pizza brand in 21 states.

• Beer is the most popular drink, followed by soda and liquor. Interestingly, the proportion of searches for beer decreased by 19.4% from 2016 to 2023, while the proportion of searches for liquor increased by 30.3%.

Pizza Is the Most Popular Super Bowl Food

On Super Bowl day, there is always a surge in takeout orders and pizza sales. People enjoy a variety of foods while watching the game. Domino's claimed a 30% increase in pizza sales during the 2023 Super Bowl compared to regular weekends, and Uber Eats reported a 20% rise in order volume during the same period.

To analyze variations in food preferences across states, we performed data analysis and examined Google Trends for food terms like pizza, chicken wings, burgers, cookies, chips, sliders, and other food-related searches.

By analyzing the data, we discovered that the number of searches for pizza on 2023 Super Bowl day is five times higher than for any other type of food.

The State of Pizza Preferences

We identified the four most popular pizza chains and looked at their search volume on the 364 days of the year when the Super Bowl wasn't played. Typically, the hierarchy goes Domino's, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and then Papa John's. However, on Super Bowl Sunday Pizza Hut takes the lead, and Papa John's hops over Little Caesars.

Although Domino's is the favorite in 27 states, Pizza Hut is preferred in 21 states. Additionally, Little Caesars is the most searched pizza brand in Michigan, and two states prefer Papa John's as their favorite pizza brand.

Chicken Wings Are the Favorite snack in 34 States

While pizza reigns supreme nationwide, the popularity of snacks like chicken wings, burgers, and cookies varies across different regions. By examining the number of searches for these snacks, we discovered the most popular choices in each state.

Although the proportion of searches for chicken wings, burgers and cookies are somewhat similar, chicken wings are still flying the highest.

Liquor Becomes Increasingly Popular

During the Super Bowl, the four most widely consumed drinks are beer, wine, liquor, and soda. To study the changes in preferences over time, we analyzed the quantity of searchers for these beverages during the Super Bowl period from 2016 to 2023.

By normalizing the proportions, we obtained a detailed breakdown of the number of people searching for each drink relative to the total searches. The figure below shows that beer consistently had the highest proportion, reaching 50%+ at its peak. However, the proportion of beer searches has been decreasing over time, while the proportion for liquor has been steadily increasing. This indicates a shift in popularity from beer to liquor during the Super Bowl.

What could be the reason behind this trend? One possible explanation is the rapid rise in beer prices. According to the Consumer Price Index data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, although the overall inflation rate was about 4.9%, beer prices increased by 5.9% in 2022, while liquor prices only increased by 1%. This price disparity may be influencing the choice of beverages, leading to a decline in beer consumption and a rise in liquor consumption.

Beverage Preferences: From beer to liquor

We learned liquors, such as rum, vodka, and whiskey, are steadily catching beer in popularity. To identify which states are showing a growing preference for liquor over beer, we conducted a detailed analysis on a state-by-state basis.

From the dynamic map, we can observe that the number of states favoring liquor as their top choice has increased from 3 in 2016 to 25 in 2023. Additionally, certain states like Rhode Island and Connecticut have consistently preferred liquor throughout the past eight years, with no changes in their beverage preferences.

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