Taste maker cities ?

9 comments

1. Taste maker, like where are the trends going to come from? I think LA and NYC are always going to be those.

   Or more culinary/literally taste maker. Like next big foodie city?

2. Still LA and NYC, maybe Chicago a bit too

3. As of 2021, these are the top 25 test markets in the US. Cool or not, they determine quite a bit of what gets introduced on the national market…

   Nashville, TN

   Cincinnati, OH

   Indianapolis, IN

   Charleston, SC

   Jacksonville, FL

   Greenville, SC

   Oklahoma City, OK

   Phoenix, AZ

   Albuquerque, NM

   Winston-Salem, NC

   Birmingham, AL

   Greensboro, NC

   Orlando, FL

   Charlotte, NC

   Columbus, OH

   Louisville/Jefferson County, KY

   Lexington, KY

   Tulsa, OK

   Baton Rouge, LA

   Columbia, SC

   St. Louis, MO

   New Orleans, LA

   Kansas City, MO

   Tucson, AZ

   Little Rock, AR

   These are generally seen as the most accurate microcosms of the US, without being so large as to make testing overly expensive.

   I live in the Kansas City area and we frequently get new products before they roll out nationally (or sometimes just disappear).

4. I think Portland definitely ‘peaked’ as the It City in 2012, and it’s been Austin for awhile. But it’s right at the end of its reign. I don’t know who would be the immediate successor.

   I am going to guess Raleigh/Durham will be next up. Then in 10-20 years it will be Boise then Richmond VA

5. There’s a difference between being trendy and being a tastemaker. I’m glad that Portland, Austin, and Brooklyn are getting attention, but if they tried to be active tastemakers, they would immediately lose the cool that makes them interesting.

   I would argue that the tastemakers are still in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago because tastemaking is an active process with a significant financial investment, not something that happens because you’re cool.

6. New ones: Nashville, Austin, Charleston, Denver

   But NY and LA can’t really be unseated.

7. NYC, LA, & Chicago, same as it’s been for quite a while.

8. Portland, Or has become the druggie and homeless capital. It’s gone down hill badly.

9. New York? It’s all I see in my fyp rn

   During pandemic was a little Miami or Fl in general