The resurgence of Y2K has become a cultural phenomenon across the music, fashion, and film industries in recent years. Neon colors, eclectic patterns, and early-2000s nostalgia are cultivating consumer trends. However, does Y2K have a place in the food and beverage industry? From the re-release of nostalgic snacks and revival of retro packaging and branding, Y2K has the potential to introduce a unique trend into the food and beverage space. However, for newer, smaller companies, it is more challenging to create that sense of nostalgia for consumers without having an existing legacy to draw ideas and inspiration from.

I asked our PR and growth experts: What role does nostalgia play in consumer purchasing decisions when it comes to food and beverages? How can new food and beverage companies capitalize on the Y2K resurgence without having experience from that era without seeming forced? What steps can be taken by new food and beverage startups to achieve a strong social presence that contributes to Y2K trends?

Here are the experts' insights:

• Repurpose decades-old creative
• The early 2000s personalization craze
• Partner with Y2K-culture influencer
• Y2K-inspired product designs or time-limited releases
• The memory of a common experience
• Bright colors, cool packaging and fun flavors
• Neon colors or strange fonts
• The product as an element of entertainment
• Y2K nostalgia as visual stimulation, not just memory
• Visual nostalgia and newness in flavor

Repurpose decades-old creative

Emily Reynolds-Bergh, Owner at R Public Relations

"Nostalgia is an important part of consumer purchasing. Especially with products that engage the senses, like food and candles, nostalgia can bring back positive memories the purchaser may want to relive. Tap into nostalgia with vintage branding, subdued colors, and even consider repurposing decades-old creative.

New food and beverage companies can pull from their own fond food memories and creatively recreate favorite dishes from childhood. The more authentic the offering is to your staff’s lived experience, the more your customers will buy in.

For busy food and beverage startups, consider working with a designer to create a library of social media templates for each type of post you typically publish. The designer can imbue the templates with a 70s, 80s, 90s, or 2000s flair while keeping the formats modern."

The early 2000s personalization craze

Janice Kuz, Owner at The Nines Emporium

"After 20+ years in hospitality and running The Nines for almost a decade, I've learned that nostalgia in F&B isn't about recreating the past—it's about capturing the feeling of findy. When we launched in 2015, we had zero legacy but positioned ourselves as "Melbourne café culture meets Sunshine Coast vibes," which gave people a nostalgic anchor even though we were brand new.

The Y2K opportunity for new F&B companies lies in menu presentation and ordering experience, not just aesthetics. We've tested retro-style "secret menu" items that customers have to ask for by name—like our off-menu "Stack Attack" pancakes that regulars know to order. This creates the same exclusive feeling that defined early 2000s internet culture without needing decades of history.

For social media, focus on the Y2K obsession with customization rather than just neon colors. Our monthly specials work because customers feel like insiders finding limited-time combinations. We've seen our engagement spike 40% when we post "build your own" style content that lets people create their perfect meal combo—it taps into that early 2000s personalization craze.

The key is making your brand feel like a hidden gem that people "found first." Our loyalty program works because it rewards findy behavior—your 10th coffee is free, but more importantly, regulars feel like they're part of something special that others haven't caught onto yet."

Partner with Y2K-culture influencer

Matt Dawson, Vice President of Growth Marketing at Brandwatch

"Food and beverage brands can capitalize on the Y2K resurgence by partnering with influencers who authentically embody the Y2K culture. Influencers have a big impact on their followers' purchasing decisions and engagement. Leveraging this and finding the right influencers can be a game changer in getting in front of other brands."

Y2K-inspired product designs or time-limited releases

Mircea Dima, Founder & CEO at AlgoCademy

"Nostalgia is an important factor in the buying process of food and drinks since it makes consumers relate to pleasant memories. The Y2K resurgence is getting into the emotion that people associate with simpler, fun times that many people would like to have again. Being a founder, I have seen how effectively emotional connections are effective when selling products that remind people of previous decades, as younger generations are trying to relive them via media and brands.

The task of the new companies to exploit the Y2K nostalgia but not associate with the time is all about being real and imaginative. It is really about adopting the style, the language, the spirit of the moment as opposed to recycling old formulas. In my practical experience, the collaboration with the creatives and influencers who went through the period can bring additional value to these campaigns as well.

To achieve scale, startups can make use of social media such as TikTok and Instagram, where trends that are reminiscent of the past have done well. Posting content that highlights Y2K-inspired product designs or time-limited releases, and interacting with users with the help of interactive campaigns or nostalgia-themed challenges, will ensure good brand recognition. I have realized that the audiences love those brands that are fun, authentic and innovative, yet they do not forget the past."

The memory of a common experience

Miguel Angel Gongora Meza, Founder & Director at Evolution Treks Peru

"The most disastrous thing would be to mix nostalgia with imitation. The fact that a snack or a drink is wrapped in a bright neon package that reminds of the year 2001 does not make consumers connect with a snack or a drink. What makes them purchase is the memory of a common experience, such as buying a soda after school with a group of friends or eating a candy bar as you watch a late night music video. That fond look back is what provides old brands with such a high traction when they reintroduce something.

In the case of new businesses that do not have that history, the solution is not to make up a narrative but to build experiences that reflect the collective euphoria of the Y2K period. Hosting little events where they can trade special-edition packaging, creating playlists based around early-2000s pop culture, or selling themed bundles at a nominal $20.00 price point can make the product be part of the cultural discourse. Consumers might not recall the brand dating back to two decades ago but they will recall the encounter around the brand today.

Social presence increases when a firm links its product with the visual culture. By retro packaging and with special releases being photographed under blacklight, collaborations with local artists to create a poster or sticker and limited releases announced in the middle of the night online, it can be built up. Y2K food and beverage is successful when it makes people feel moments that they would like to share and not when it repeats colors and fonts without any meaning."

Bright colors, cool packaging and fun flavors

Dr. Carolyn Kittell, Owner at Smile Essentials Cosmetic Dentistry

"Nostalgia is a powerful factor in determining the purchasing behavior of people in food and beverages. The items that remind people of happy and easy times create a connection between people and the flavors, designs, and products. It is not just a belly filling thing; it is a reliving of a memory. Research shows that consumers are 40 percent more likely to select something that reminds them about pleasant memories. That heart connection is robust and creates loyalty. A sale is more than a transaction, when a brand is used, it is a permanent relationship.

Should a new food or beverage company be interested in taking advantage of the Y2K trend, it needs to know what was special about that particular time. They do not have to have experienced it, but they must observe the reasons why it is famous. That vibe includes bright colors, cool packaging and fun flavors. As an example, Coca-Cola released the Starlight soda, which was meant to remind of the Y2K feel. The trick is to get the spirit of that time and bring it into your brand in a natural manner. Should you make it, your product will remain in the mind of customers."

Neon colors or strange fonts

Doug Crawford, Founder at Best-Trade-Schools.net

"Emotional attachment of buyers to a particular product which somehow occupies a special place in their memories is one of the factors in the sales buying of beverages and food. The emotional connection would be the reason to support the purchasing behavior since consumers are likely to possess memories of the associated product. Food and beverage companies that are in the market can use the trend as they cleverly re-package old and new branding as the Y2K re-emerges. The inclination to Y2K must be so low-profile like the packaging to be done in the fashion of neon colors during the time or strange fonts, which will remind the right feeling but does not sound like a joke. They can be designed to appeal to the modern consumer, and stay authentic by emphasizing Y2K-inspired flavors, retro-themed packaging and storytelling that can assist them in associating the product with the cultural moment."

The product as an element of entertainment

Caspar Matthews, Director at Electcomm Group Electrical & Data

"Food and beverage nostalgia often does not work due to taste, but more to memory. A friend, a song, and the liberty to be younger is a reminder of the past and this can be done by a packet of chips or a soda tied to an era.

New food and drink companies that did not exist in the early 2000s are not supposed to act as though they possess a history they do not. They can instead turn towards cultural allusions that were of importance at that period and rework them to the present-day design. Imagine such packaging of an old computer interface or such promotion in the form of the release of a flip phone. That provides the customer with the feel of Y2K without purporting a non-genuine past.

The product should be made an element of entertainment and not promotion to establish a strong social presence. The content that replicates the sense of grainy 2002 music videos or early chatroom designs can make people share it as it appears playful, but not artificial. The exclusivity of the time and sense of urgency is also provided by a limited edition of 2,000 cans or 20-hour flash sales. Such small numbers can be easily handled by a startup and always make waves online."

Y2K nostalgia as visual stimulation, not just memory

Duman Zhumagulov, Owner at BoxStar Movers

"Nostalgia plays on the familiar, more of the vibe that is desired, not so much history, especially for a brand that is new.

So there is no pretense to being Y2K material. Young F&B start-ups use bold typography that is almost typewriter-like, metal finishes, shiny, semi-translucent plastics, and pixel art.

Interpretations of days past with a twist create a new product, such as reworking a classic soda into a healthier functional beverage for today.

This is a good thing because depending on the product line, what is created in the 2000s space can help mitigate overproduction. Lo-fi videos, Polaroid-filtered photos, flip-phone aesthetics, or faux Myspace pages allow the consumer to easily relate to that idea.

The key advice is to embrace brand advocacy’s essence: micro-influencer work that acts as cultural conduits from the old to the new.

This should not be an attempt to “recreate the 2000s” but rather to perceive the vibe — randomness, excitement, and craziness from those days in a more intense manner."

Visual nostalgia and newness in flavor

Adam Yong, SEO Consultant & Founder at BrandPeek

"Nostalgia is one of the most under-appreciated levers for shaping consumer behavior. In food and beverage, nostalgia doesn't act as much like a memory of a particular product, but as an emotion-based shortcut. For example, a consumer will select based on the comfort of something they recognize even if the actual product has changed. That's why specials from twenty years ago keep selling. It's not just the taste profile that holds the memory, it's the memory of a certain moment, like an after-school routine or a summer break.

For new companies that don't have the history of that time, their mistake is to copy what brands did at the time. That comes across as hollow. The best approach is to make a nod to the cultural signposts of Y2K while still providing something contemporary. A new sparkling beverages company, for example, might build its brand on the bold neon visual codes of that time but use a flavor combination that's entirely new, such as dragon fruit and yuzu. The brand engagement is related to consumers who seek the visual nostalgia, and the flavor is newness. It is not about passing off as if you've been there. It's about learning to re-contextualize the aesthetics of the early 2000s and making it feel relevant to a younger generation.

Consistency is key to create a strong social presence through storytelling. Instead of random Y2K references being posted all over the world channels, companies should establish a story line. That means having design elements such as pixelated fonts, lo-fi filters, and music loops associated with the early 2000s run through a campaign, rather than just one post. A good first step might be to create a series of ten short videos (under 30 seconds) that highlight various Y2K moments as they would look if the product were in use. For example, a clip that looked like an early MP3 player ad with the company's drink in the foreground. The rhythm of these images serves as recognition and association over time. Lived experience does not have to be authentic, but commitment to style does.

Nostalgia in this category has nothing to do with age or history, but the transference of emotional memory into visual and sensory triggers. This might suggest an opportunity for new entrants if they concentrate on becoming familiar through cultural cues rather than posturing as a return to something never before created. In practice that means a company doesn't have to have a twenty-year-old snack heritage. It takes the discipline to pick three to five elements from the Y2K era, repeat them consistently across touch points, and anchor that to a product experience that feels new."

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