How produce retailers, suppliers can join the 'Girl Dinner' TikTok trend

Any produce supplier, marketer or retailer selling tomatoes that missed the boat on the TikTok viral tomato feta pasta recipe — listen up.

While loaded with possibly problematic nuances, #girldinner is the latest summer trend to use for marketing your fresh produce on social media.

Produce marketers, dietitians and experts at the Consumer Connection Conference hosted by the Foundation for Fresh Produce (formerly Produce for Better Health Foundation) have stressed what an opportunity social media trends can be for increasing produce sales.

Hop on that boat, I say — but with a little bit of caution. At first glance, the phrase made some of our female staff members a bit uncomfortable.

So, what is a Girl Dinner, anyway?

It’s a buzzy new social media trend of preparing a delicious solo, no-cook, personal charcuterie board after work, according to a news release from Bronx, N.Y.-based FreshDirect, an online grocery retailer.

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The simple dinner idea of basically grabbing different ingredients to spread out on a plate, cheese board or cutting board to nibble on is basically a twist on the past year’s board trend.

The difference: Not much, except Girl Dinner is meant for one person, and often it’s pretty — an accompanying glass of rosé completes the summery, feminine vibe.

“The phrase was coined on TikTok by a woman named Olivia Maher, who posted a video in May discussing how much she enjoys the simple pleasure of a meal of just light snacks,” Stephanie McNeal wrote in a July 22 Glamour article. “The beauty of the trend, like many things that go mega-viral online, is that Maher gave a cute and catchy name to something that is relatable to so many. Cooking sucks sometimes, and it can feel like a real treat just to indulge in whatever you can find in your house that you feel like eating … The fun is in the lack of effort, the deliciousness of indulging in your laziest instincts.”

This is a chance to offer your cherry tomatoes, blushing peaches, crunchy celery, colorful peppers, cool cucumbers, glistening berries — anything easy to grab and assemble with cheese, dips, meat, pickled produce and crackers, if you like. The beauty of the trend is its flexibility, ease and lack of rules.

However, it’s unclear why this trend focuses on girls rather than women, or how it’s not appetizing for men and boys.

Experts in a USA Today article say the trend can trigger eating disorders and perpetuates misogyny: Would a “boy dinner” be a steak and potatoes? Is it considered a “girl dinner” because it’s so delicate and small, the way females are encouraged to be?

Regardless of gender or age, this a great meal solution after a long day at work on a hot and humid summer day, when firing up the oven is just not an option, says FreshDirect.

In the first TikTok post by Maher, she showed a torn-up baguette, butter, cheese, fresh grapes, pickles and wine. She also called it her “medieval peasant” meal.

@liviemaher #girldinner #medievaltiktok ♬ original sound - Olivia Maher

Back when I was single, my best friend, also a single female, would do this kind of snacky dinner because she didn’t feel like cooking for just herself. My current partner would do his own version of this dinner occasionally when he was single, using mostly charcuterie, baguette, cheese and pickled vegetables. As he hails from Holland, I called it his "European Dinner."

Now that we are a household with a picky-eating, preschool-aged child and two full-time working parents, I think this Girl Dinner is a great idea. I am uneasy about the name, but the idea is indeed a welcome no-pressure, easy meal solution — even if the Girl Dinner premise is for a simple solo meal, rather than for two or more.

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The food experts at FreshDirect love this fast, convenient trend and offer their own more substantive twist to the selection.

To ensure this is indeed a filling, good-for-you weeknight meal and not just a “tide-me-over” tactic, FreshDirect recommends including a right-sized mix of power proteins, prime produce, delectable dips and savory and sweet bite-size snacks. This kind of take on Girl Dinner aligns with what the dietitians advise in the pop-culture articles.

FreshDirect’s ideal Girl Dinner ingredients include many items in its inventory for grocery delivery:

• Organic cotton candy grapes.
• Pita bread from Brooklyn Mills.
• Sea salt and lime tortilla chips from Late July.
• FreshDirect’s guacamole with spicy salsa.
• FreshDirect’s 18-month aged prosciutto.
• MOMO Edamame Dip.
• Top Seedz Crackers.
• Rustic Bakery’s handmade cheese coins.
• FreshDirect’s Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds.
• Essex St. L’amuse Gouda.
• Loi Feta-Yogurt Spread.
• Nora Seaweed Snacks.
• Sohha Savory’s Baba Ghanouj.
• Sugar snap peas.
• Hardbite’s Parsnip vegetable chips.
• FreshDirect’s local ciliegini.
• Snacking Lupini Beans.
• Sea Monsters Seaweed Puffs.
• Family Tree Farms Jumbo Blueberries.
• Urban Roots multicolor baby carrots.