RESTAURANT ASK Italian is offering free gifts to anyone celebrating any of their ’modern milestones’.

Studies have shown that ‘milestone anxiety’ is common amongst the millennial and Gen-Z generations, as they compare themselves and their achievements with others.

In response, ASK Italian has researched the key moments in people’s lives that deserve more celebration, by using Google search data across September 2021 to September 2022.

They are giving away free gifts, for the month of October, including a round of cocktails for deleting a dating app, a vegan blood orange and chocolate tart if you’ve made it a month eating plant-based, or a round of Prosecco for leaving a toxic job.

According to their research, over 35,000 people in York searched for ‘how to go plant-based’ in the last year, more than those living in Manchester and Oxford.

York also saw large numbers of people searching for planning solo trips and over 21,000 people searched for ‘how to start a side hustle’.

Corinne Prior, Marketing Director at ASK Italian said: "We’re all for encouraging people to celebrate the things that matter most to them, which is why we are inviting customers to enjoy a night at their local ASK Italian and receive a little gift to celebrate their own modern milestones."

Across the UK, ‘dating burnout’ searches increased by 100 per cent, how to leave a toxic job increased by 67 per cent, and the term ‘plant parent’ increased by nearly 200 per cent.

Here are the 10 modern milestones:

  1. Deleting your dating apps
  2. Leaving a toxic job
  3. Keeping your houseplant alive for 6 months
  4. Reaching a month plant-based
  5. Hosting a bon voyage before a solo trip abroad
  6. Reaching 1 million views on TikTok
  7. Celebrating your first Etsy sale
  8. Moving out of your parents’ house 
  9. Relocating to a new city
  10. Reuniting with old friends