Overseas
A phone on the table, an easy conversation bouncing between different cravings, the menu scrolling on the screen and that almost solemn moment when someone clicks “order”. Food delivery is no longer a last-minute solution nor a fallback for those who come home late. With an average of 1.5 orders per week, delivery has entered Italian life as a new daily ritual—something as natural as going out for dinner or inviting friends over. And within this new ritual, seafood—especially in its contemporary formats—has found a privileged space.
Delivery as a mirror of everyday life
The latest Just Eat Observatory, conducted with Toluna on a representative sample of 1,000 Italians, outlines a clear picture: ordering at home is no longer a matter of convenience—it’s an act of identity.
Some choose a poke bowl to feel light and aligned with personal wellbeing. Some pick sushi as a symbol of openness to the world. Others, with full honesty, simply choose what makes them feel good.
Delivery becomes a lens that magnifies emotions, social dynamics, family interactions and small personal pleasures.
A striking 92% of orders happen in company: couples, families, groups of friends. For Gen Z, it’s almost a collective ritual—often with different restaurants in a single order to satisfy everyone. Gen X, on the other hand, tends to remain loyal to their favourite spots. In all cases, delivery has become a way of carving out time: shared when possible, solitary when needed.
Inside the decision: taste, mood, and aesthetics
Taste remains the dominant driver—but not the only one.
Cravings, plate aesthetics and even mood shape the final choice. A rapidly growing phenomenon is the search for a complete sensory experience, involving sight, touch and—above all—sound.
The ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) trend has exploded in recent years. Italians show increasing interest in the sounds of food, capable of triggering an almost physical pleasure:
the snap of tempura, the crunch of a fish taco, the clean slice of a perfectly sharpened sashimi knife, or the soft rustle of rice pressed by a chef’s hands.
This is far from a niche trend. Today, nearly 20% of Italians pay attention to textures, and over 20% are influenced by the visual and acoustic aesthetics of a dish. Seafood—between crunchy crustaceans, light fried bites and delicate tartare—is naturally suited to this new way of experiencing food.
Pragmatic factors also count: delivery speed, fees and price. While Gen X is still comfortable calling to order, Millennials and Gen Z consider apps the only acceptable channel.
The seafood wave: sushi, poke and new habits
If one segment has thrived thanks to delivery, it’s seafood.
Sushi is now a stable presence among Italy’s most ordered cuisines—not a passing trend, but a consumption style that has reshaped the country’s urban food culture. Add to this the rise of poke bowls, ready-to-eat chilled seafood dishes, tartare, low-temperature cooked fillets and premium smoked fish.
Seafood has become a symbol of eating habits perceived as healthy, modern and sustainable. Delivery has played a decisive role in making these dishes accessible, even to those who, just a few years ago, would have considered ordering marinated salmon or perfectly crafted nigiri at home unthinkable.
At the same time, cloud kitchens have enabled restaurateurs and seafood entrepreneurs to test new concepts with minimal risk—dedicated delivery kitchens designed to ensure fish dishes arrive in perfect condition.
When delivery becomes a performance
Not everyone plays delivery openly.
Nearly four out of ten Italians admit to passing off a delivery dish as their own home creation at least once. Lasagna and baked pasta are the most frequent disguises—credible but laborious dishes. If someone asks for the recipe, a diversion strategy begins: a smile, a dramatic pause, a quick change of subject. The aroma filling the kitchen does the rest.
Seafood enters this territory too, especially in “wow-effect” plates: a flawless tartare, a silky salmon cream, a beautifully balanced tuna taco. Dishes requiring technique—ideal for gastronomic camouflage.
A fully mature ecosystem
The research confirms a trend that mirrors the broader seafood universe: delivery is no longer a service—it is a cultural, emotional and economic ecosystem, where:
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advanced technology and logistics
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new forms of consumption and social interaction
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increasingly conscious food choices
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and a constantly growing market
all converge.
According to Grand View Research, the global delivery market is expected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2024 to $1.8 billion in 2030. Seafood travels perfectly within this transformation. It conveys a lifestyle, supports experimentation, aligns with sustainability and is now part of a weekly ritual millions of Italians live without any sense of exceptionality.
Today, delivery is exactly this: a simple, ordinary—and profoundly human—way to put on the table what represents us, even when we are not the ones cooking it.
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