National Food Holidays

If you’re looking to market your restaurant, leveraging national food holidays on social media is a great way to do it. By posting content and offering promotions related to food holidays, you can make more sales and grow your online presence at the same time.

What are National Food Holidays?

Although the origin of these unofficial holidays is unclear, many days throughout the year have been declared “National Days” to recognize and promote different foods. There are hundreds of national food holidays ranging from National Strawberry Day (February 27) and National Egg Day (June 3) to National Gazpacho Day (December 6).

In spite of their unofficial status, online content creators often make relevant posts with related hashtags to celebrate the day. So, if it’s National Pickle Day (November 14), don’t be surprised if you see photos of pickles marked with the hashtag #NationalPickleDay on social media.

National Food Holiday List

Some national days are for very specific foods and may not be useful for your restaurant’s marketing strategy, so here’s a condensed list of some of the most popular national food days and their social media hashtags. For a complete list, visit NationalDayCalendar.com.

National Ice Cream Day would be the perfect opportunity to hold an ice cream social to promote your less-popular flavors.

January

National Buffet Day (January 2) – #NationalBuffetDay 

National Bagel Day (January 15) – #NationalBagelDay 

National Pie Day (January 23) – #NationalPieDay – Also observed on December 1

February

National Pizza Day (February 9) – #NationalPizzaDay 

National Cheddar Day (February 13) – #NationalCheddarDay 

National Strawberry Day (February 27) – #NationalStrawberryDay

March

National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day (March 1) – #NationalPeanutButterLoversDay

National Pi Day (March 14) – #NationalPiDay 

National French Bread Day (March 21) – #NationalFrenchBreadDay 

April

National Beer Day (April 7) – #NationalBeerDay

National Banana Day (April 19) – #NationalBananaDay

National Pretzel Day (April 26) – #NationalPretzelDay

May

National Beverage Day (May 6) – #NationalBeverageDay

National Barbecue Day (May 16) – #NationalBBQDay

National Wine Day (May 25) – #NationalWineDay

June

National Doughnut Day (First Friday) – #NationalDoughnutDay – Also observed as National “Donut” Day on November 5

National Egg Day (June 3) – #NationalEggDay

National Cheese Day (June 4) – #NationalCheeseDay

July

National Fried Chicken Day (July 6) – #NationalFriedChickenDay

National French Fry Day (July 13) – #NationalFrenchFryDay

National Ice Cream Day (July 17) – #NationalIceCreamDay

August

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day (August 4) – #ChocolateChipCookieDay

National S’mores Day (August 10) – #NationalSmoresDay

National Waffle Day (August 24) – #NationalWaffleDay

September

National Cheeseburger Day (September 18) – #NationalCheeseburgerDay

National Fried Rice Day (September 20) – #NationalFriedRiceDay

National Pancake Day (September 26) – #NationalPancakeDay

October

National Cinnamon Bun Day (October 4) – #CinnamonBunDay

National Dessert Day (October 14) – #NationalDessertDay

National Pasta Day (October 17) – #NationalPastaDay

November

National Sandwich Day (November 3) – #NationalSandwichDay

National Sundae Day (November 11) – #NationalSundaeDay

National Cake Day (November 26) – #NationalCakeDay

December

National Cookie Day (December 4) – #NationalCookieDay 

National Brownie Day (December 8) – #NationalBrownieDay

National Cupcake Day (December 15) – #NationalCupcakeDay 

Offering half-price pizza on National Pizza Day is sure to lead to more sales of other menu items.

National Food Holiday Promotion Ideas

National food days are great opportunities to make more sales. If you aren’t quite sure how to leverage social media holidays to increase profits, here are some ideas on how to use food holidays to promote your restaurant:

Sales on Related Items

Half-price pie on Pie Day or buy-one, get-one on Cinnamon Roll Day are good ways to increase sales. Besides, if guests buy a slice of discounted pizza on Pizza Day, many of them will also buy a full-price drink with their meal, leading to more profits.

Loyalty Program Offers

Although you could make discounts available to everyone, only giving them to members of your loyalty program is an option, too. These people are already your biggest fans, so offering them a discount on a food holiday will make them feel special, motivating them to make a purchase.

Special Events

If some of your ice cream doesn’t sell well, consider holding an ice cream social on National Ice Cream Day. Allow people to sample all your flavors, including the less popular ones. The fact that it’s taking place on a food holiday is sure to push people to attend your restaurant event.

Upsell Related Items

Research shows that suggestive selling is an effective way to increase restaurant revenue. So, simply telling guests it’s National Dessert Day and then asking if they’d like to get a slice of pie or cake would be a good tactic to increase sales.

Customer Posts on Social Media

Asking customers to post photos of their meals to social media won’t directly lead to more sales, but it can indirectly. The more photos of your food there are on social media, the more likely it is that one of those posts will go viral and introduce your brand to new potential customers.