Egg Girl Summer
The data said it, not me
If you thought there was a fun new food trend of the summer, I’m here to disappoint you. Once upon a time, kombucha, sourdough starter, and plant-based meats were all the craze. But looking inside the fridges of Kirsty Godso, Arden Yum, Tracy Dubb, and Dr Natazia zu Stolberg over the past few months, those trends are nowhere to be seen. Instead, a food much more ordinary was revealed as the star of summer: eggs.
Once a week, Katie Stone convinces founders, authors, CEOs, doctors, and celebrity trainers to open their fridges and show us what’s inside. I wanted to determine if there was a fridge food IT-girl for summer 2025, so I sorted through all fifteen “Into The Fridge” features in Plant Based from June through September this year. A peek inside 15 fridges doesn’t deliver population-level representation, but it does give us a strong sense of cultural patterns. These 15 trendsetters have a collective Instagram following of 876K+, so the items stocked on their shelves today have potential to be the grocery trends of tomorrow. But as you’ll come to see, the trendy or wellnessy aspirational foods are fewer and far between; practicality and basic building blocks are the real focuses for fridges in summer 2025.
Read, send to a friend, and tell me your fridge must-haves of the summer in the comments!
There’s a new 80/20 rule.
When I started digging in, I was bracing for a lot of kale and not an equal amount of fun stuff. Thankfully, I was wrong; these tastemakers validated the second half of the 80/20 rule for me with their balanced fridge philosophies. Especially Tyler McGillivary, whose “favorite fridge items are various kinds of little oven-baked bites and ice cream bars.”
Their fridge philosophies are refreshing reminders about going back to the basics. These are the 4 clear fridge rules this group is following:
Make it easy to be healthy. Healthy decisions at the grocery store or farmers market make for healthy choices when you open the fridge.
“A fridge should be an organized feast for the eyes—colorful, inviting and alluring.” - Erica Chidi.
Joy is a nutrient. Having fun is a big part of wellness. Fun starts with cheese and chocolate.
Minimize waste. Be intentional about what you bring home.
Left: Frances’ fridge. Right: Sarah Isenberg’s fridge.
Stars - they’re just like us! They eat eggs every morning too.
With such a wellness-focused source, I expected to see matcha or bone broth rise to the top, but here we are with the most popular fridge item as a good ol’ carton of eggs. 80% of respondents said their fridge is always always always stocked with eggs.
“A hot breakfast is a non-negotiable for me.” - Shira Barlow, MS, RD on eggs
Coming in as the second most popular fridge food was greens. This is where the culinary curiosity and micro-trendiness kick off with mentions of rapini, gem lettuce, broccolini, and yu choy. Tied in the #2 spot were non-alcoholic and popular CPG beverages ranging from Melanie Masarin’s Ghia to Olipop and a Diet Coke.
Then, if we skip ahead on the list to something very important (dessert), we see the proof of “joy foods”.
“Joy is a nutrient and I truly believe that having fun must be part of the wellness equation.” - Danielle Duboise
The proof that chocolate is #wellness is that it’s mentioned in 12/15 respondents’ comments. But we’re not talking a regular Hershey’s bar here; we’re talking nice chocolate. Artisan chocolates. Homemade mushroom chocolates. You can bet they’re stocked up.
“I become feral when our chocolate supply is low.” - Alex Taylor
Hot sauce is the hottest condiment.
The most-mentioned condiment came from the spicy category, but the most-mentioned flavor profile was savory. Spicy sauces and chili crisps got the most shoutouts, but savory staples like olive oil, mayo (Kewpie specifically), and ketchup make up the largest share of fridge space. When looking at seasonings, all were savory: salt, Parmesan, Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend. The most brand-specific mention was to Maldon with their sea salt.1
If you’re wondering, here are the top 10 most popular condiments:
Hot sauce
Chili crisp
Olive oil + mayo tied
Mustard
Vinegar, ketchup, and peanut butter tied
Kimchi and sour cream tied
Pro tip: Costco sells a bucket of this stuff. Highly recommend.
Me wondering if I’m panic buying eggs or if this is my true personality
Very curious to know if this was influenced by the shortage of eggs we had earlier this year. I'd also love to know what brand seems to be the go to for this demographic. Never thought I'd be so invested in eggs....