2020 trends: classic tastes and mystery flavors
Kansas City Mysterious flavors are one of the top trends for the new year. Companies are putting consumers to the test by asking them to estimate the flavor of cookies, candies, chips, drinks, and more in exchange for prizes in some cases. Products with “mystery” flavors have been introduced in the past year by companies like Oreo, Mountain Dew, Dannon, and Pringles, among others.
According to Pringles vice-president of marketing AnneMarie Suarez-Davis, “We strive to create new, innovative flavors that excite fans and introduce even more flavor stacking combinations to continue to meet consumers’ desires for unique snacking opportunities.” “One lucky fan who correctly guesses the flavor will receive a reward from the mystery flavor, which will introduce a new, crazily accurate Pringles flavor to stores.”
On social media, people made guesses about things like peanut butter, chicken and waffles, mustard, and honey mustard. Cheese and ham was the right response.
“Our aim was to develop the mystery flavor in a way that all the ingredients work together to create a harmonious, tasty flavor,” stated Becky Wolfe, product development scientist at the company that owns the Pringles brand, Kellogg Co., located in Battle Creek, Michigan. “It was a lot of fun to develop the flavor because fans have to guess the taste exactly.”
Mystery tastes are being used by product developers to increase engagement and create brand buzz, according to Pamela Ocarson, consumer insights manager at FONA International Inc., Geneva, Ill.
She murmured, “We need to know what it is.” “We have to give it a try.”
Similar to this, seasonal and limited-edition flavors appeal to consumers’ FOMO. Innova Market Insights, located in Arnhem, the Netherlands, identified “New discoveries” as a top flavor trend. In a survey, two out of every three participants stated they enjoy trying different flavors.
Lu Ann Williams, director of insights and innovation at Innova Market Insights, stated that a barbecue potato chip 70% dark chocolate bar is one type of chocolate bar that would be appealing to this group. That embodies the concept of flavor stimulation as a whole.
“Ready-to-eat lobster meat that has’secret’ seasonings added, making it unclear exactly what it is, is another example. Of all Americans, 72% thought this was exciting.
Traditional tastes will appeal to customers in the upcoming year, according to Ms. Ocarson, even though taste innovation is being driven ahead by a need for adventure. She identified flavors to watch in 2020, based on data from print media, new product releases, restaurant menus, and hibiscus and elderflower.
“We’re seeing florals in a lot of different things,” she remarked, giving as examples a canned drink of sparkling vodka, pear, and elderflower and an orange blossom crème brûlée served in a fine dining establishment.
Middle Eastern spice combination baharat is considered a “up-and-coming” culinary trend. It’s a savory, more nuanced version of the seasonally popular pumpkin spice, according to Ms. Ocarson.
“While the name may be unfamiliar to customers, the content is unquestionably not,” she stated. “The ingredients are nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, cumin, coriander, and black pepper.”
Examples found on restaurant menus include butternut squash soup garnished with baharat pistachios, Greek yogurt with baharat granola, and crispy lemon baharat fried chicken.
Ms. Ocarson described it as “very familiar but offering a unique offering.” “It will most likely be available in a Trader Joe’s spice blend very soon.”
Rosé wine is another new flavor that’s making an appearance in non-alcoholic drinks, gummy candy, and jelly beans.According to Ms. Ocarson, “it’s no longer just a trendy sparkling wine.” “It’s being translated into various categories.”
Conventional is in.
Firmenich, Geneva, Switzerland, recognized classic blueberry as the flavor of the year because it is a flavor that is timeless, popular, and linked to health and well-being.
According to Jeffrey Schmoyer, vice-president of global insights at Firmenich, “this choice of a more traditional flavor as our ‘flavor of the year’ actually represents a more significant shift in the food industry toward more intentional and emotional design.” If a product is flavored in a way that appeals to their emotions, consumers are more likely to try something new, like kombucha or cashew yogurt. In the upcoming years, blueberries should play a bigger part in assisting product manufacturers in introducing novel cuisine concepts to a global audience.
According to Eric Tang, a Firmenich flavorist, blueberries have green and sweet components along with floral overtones and a “distinct tanginess.”
In addition to the traditional pairings with blueberries, he expressed his preference for matching it with less conventional tastes like black tea or habanero.
According to the brand, blueberries are also added to savory foods like pork, pizza, and grain bowls. They can even be added to noodles to give color and nutrients.
Previous winners of the “flavor of the year” prize from Firmenich include coconut, fig, cool cucumber, and hibiscus. As a new decade dawns, the food and beverage industry may place a wager on classic flavors after years of hunting for the next great thing, according to the business.
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Evolution of Flavor
Trending flavors have persisted and changed throughout the last ten years. More than a decade ago, trend experts anticipated chimichurri, lavender, and pomegranates would become trendy. 2010 saw the designation of bacon as a flavor to watch.
“Consumers always prioritize indulgence,” Ms. Ocarson stated. “They allow themselves to be indulgent. Their favorite foods are traditional indulgences like chocolate, donuts, and s’mores. The variety of donuts has increased significantly, moving beyond the classic glazed to include flavors like green tea and bacon. Ten or twelve years ago, I never would have imagined seeing maple bacon on a donut.
According to FONA International, sweet and salty pairings are still popular; current examples include Pop-Tarts with a pretzel-like flavor and a salted caramel coffee creamer. Calling attention to browned, robust, or smoked caramel notes provides a point of uniqueness, while using local salts like Himalayan or volcanic delivers on the quest for authenticity among consumers.
“People are going to be pushing the boundaries to make the next salted caramel or maple bacon—those are the products that people already adore, so how do we make the next big thing?” stated Ms. Ocarson.
Sweet and umami is a newly popular flavor combination that will likely become more popular in the next years, according to food trends forecaster Elizabeth Moskow of Boulder, Colorado. As Ms. Moskow put it, “sexy-ugly flavor mash-ups” are making an appearance on more menus. These pairings have already been adopted in a few questionable ones, such apple pie with cheddar cheese and the Chicago-style cheese and caramel popcorn mix, to name a couple. Fish sauce caramel and palm sugar are combined in an ice cream taste at Salt & Straw in Portland, Oregon. An indulgence offered at Chicago’s Fat Rice is a crispy rice confection flavored with pork floss.
“It’s definitely a space chefs will start exploring a bit more if you’re looking for a flavor pow and interesting dining experience,” Ms. Moskow stated.
Younger consumers are mostly responsible for the interest in unconventional flavor combinations; they also appreciate goods with unexpected textures and feelings. Mars Wrigley Confectionery, a branch of McLean, Virginia-based Mars, Inc., provided an example tailored to this market when it introduced Zombie Skittles for Halloween. The product was a variety of fruit-flavored sweets with a secret flavor—a “rotten zombie”—mixed in with each package. According to the firm, the research and development team was tasked with inventing a flavor that was both nasty and enjoyable.
Mystery tastes, which most likely have a familiar profile, will continue to provide safe exploration for consumers looking for an experience. The most recent Oreo cookie mystery flavor had a crème with a churro flavor. The flavor of Mountain Dew VooDew was designed to resemble candy corn. A kid-targeted Dannon Danimals smoothie had an unidentified flavor that led others to speculate on social media about flavors like cookie dough, cinnamon roll, french toast, and salted caramel.