Here are the restaurant brands Gen Z consumers are talking about the most

Research and strategy firm dcdx released its Magnetic 100 Restaurants Report today, highlighting which brands are resonating the most with Gen Z consumers based on their organic conversations online.

The firm typically does a report focused on the top 25 brands across sectors but expanded the list to 100 for the first time because there was high interest in the restaurant industry’s hyper-competitiveness, according to chief executive officer and founder Andrew Roth. The idea is to measure digital word-of-mouth conversations to understand the relevance of a brand for the Gen Z demographic (ages 12 to 27), which is expected to wield $12 trillion in spending power by 2030, according to Nielsen, likely making it the wealthiest generation ever.

“Magnetism can be measured through how much and how often consumers talk about a brand online and this is all organic, so it’s not skewed by big marketing or influencer budgets,” dcdx director of strategy Mara Stolzenbach said during a recent interview. “Analyzing this type of user-generated content allows us to understand what is resonating with customers and how they think about a brand.”

Brands that attract younger consumers organically command more pricing power in an increasingly crowded marketplace, Roth added.

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“These brands tend to consistently drive higher shareholder value,” he said.

Of the 100 restaurant brands analyzed, the public chains that increased their Brand Magnetism over the past year outperformed the stock market index S&P 500 by more than 41%, while the public brands that lost Brand Magnetism in that same timeframe underperformed the S&P 500 by 26%. Further, the top six restaurant brands drove more than 50% of the engagement for the overall category in Q1 2025, with the top 14 brands driving more than 75% of the category’s conversations.

“It is clear that restaurants are not just competing for dining dollars – they are competing for mindshare in an ongoing and crowded online conversation,” Roth said.

Rankings

The full report breaks down all 100 brands from “Weak” to “Magnetic,” through three separate analyses: brand momentum, TikTok follower count, and segment (quick-service, fast casual, and casual). Metrics are then derived from popularity (the average weekly engagement of user-generated content over time), and consistency (the variation in average weekly engagement of UGC over time).

The consistency of average weekly engagement is measured for each individual brand and is weighted and added to the popularity sub-score to form the overall Brand Magnetism score, from 0 to 100. For this report, 139 total restaurant brands were analyzed based on 7.78 billion total engagements.

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The top 5 “most magnetic” brands based on dcdx’s methodology include:

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Rounding out the top 10 are Crumbl, 85.59; Raising Cane’s, 85.11; KFC, 83.73; Chick-fil-A, 83.59; and Subway, 83.20.

The remaining brands in the top 25 are Chili’s, In-N-Out Burger, Dunkin’, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Jollibee, Burger King, Popeyes, Texas Roadhouse, Olive Garden, Waffle House, Domino’s Pizza, Krispy Kreme, Five Guys, Pizza Hut, and Wendy’s. The full top 100 is available online here.

Notably, 39 of the top 100 brands gained momentum in the past year, ranging from minor upticks in Waffle House’s momentum to major swings from brands like Chili’ s and Starbucks. Chili’s progress has largely come from viral videos showcasing products such as the 3 For Me platform and experiences such as the cheese pull from its Fried Mozzarella Sticks. Roth adds that Starbucks’ efforts to get back to a coffeehouse culture with small changes such as messages written on cups with Sharpie pens have helped the chain gain favor among younger consumers.

“Starbucks’ score dropped last year, but now people are talking about it, and mostly because of those notes written on their cups. That one single action has caused a huge jump,” Roth said.

He added that Mukbang-style content dominated the themes driving conversations for the top restaurant brands. Other brands were propelled by employee-generated content or experience-driven, in-store reactions.

Top rising and falling restaurant brands of Q1 2025

Several brands have shown top-of-mind progress so far in 2025, including Checkers and Rally’s, which increased its weekly engagements by 123.12 points. Schlotzsky’s had the second highest improvement, adding nearly 119 points. According to dcdx, the common thread among these two brands is that their viral spikes haven’t translated to sustained momentum. These brands consistently had low hums of conversation until outlier viral moments.

Baskin-Robbins added more than 64 points, making it the third-highest riser. The chain received a bump from its introduction of the Dubai chocolate bar in November.

Rounding out the top 10 risers are Jimmy John’s, Chili’s, Culver’s, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Starbucks, Taco Bell, and Wetzel’s Pretzels.

Brands that have fallen the most out of social conversations in Q1 include Fogo de Chão, which has declined by more than 94 points, followed by Blaze Pizza, down 88 points. Rounding out the top 10 biggest drops are Bubbakoos, Cold Stone Creamery, Papa Johns, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Shake Shack, Denny’s, Qdoba, and Del Taco.

Unique challenges for restaurants

Such ebbs and flows are more unique to restaurant brands than other industries dcdx measures. Unlike the beauty industry, for instance, where less popular brands can still maintain passionate followings and high consistency of user-generated content, consistency is increasingly variable for restaurant brands, Roth said.

“For brands that want to increase their magnetism, restaurants have to overcome a higher threshold of consistent consumer affection. If consistent love is harder to achieve in the restaurant space, then establishing loyalty demands creating an experience for consumers that sticks with them long after their meal is over,” he said.

This is why consistency is so important for restaurant brands striving to connect with younger consumers.

“A dangerous trap we see for many brands is in that hunt for cultural relevance, it can put them into a sea of sameness,” he said. “We call it ‘brand soup.’ Building magnetism is not something that happens through a momentary flash in the pan, but rather consistency over time.”

Authenticity and trustworthiness are also critical.

“Young audiences grew up so exposed to brands all the time and because of that they’re now good bullshit detectors,” Stolzenbach said. “It’s important to find out what your audience loves and go deep into that instead of going wide with everything just as a ploy to get attention.”

Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]