admin Experts have predicted the most dominant flavors for the upcoming months of 2021. With the raging pandemic and travel restrictions, the food choice of people were severely restricted among other prevailing limitations on mobility. However, the dawn of the New Year entails the promise of returning to some level of normalcy and with it the possibility of exploring new flavorful delicacies.
Trends to Look-Out For
Flavor innovation is being cautiously ideated by various food and beverage developers as most consumers have been trying to find comfort in the classic and nostalgic flavors during the pandemic. However, market trends now suggest a steep desire among customers to return to a certain semblance of normalcy. To fulfill their flavor cravings, innovators in the food industry are creating global flavors and adventurous mashups.
The focus on health and wellness is heightened, and consumers are looking to food and beverage to further their goals. Brands have an opportunity to combine healthy ingredients with comforting flavor profiles. To encourage innovation in the space, flavor houses are investing in botanical flavor extraction.
The Tried and Tested Flavors
Limited-edition products are also being created to capitalize on this food adventure drive. Similarly, the domain of comfort foods is also expanding as people continue to work from home and engage in remote learning. This will increase their consumption of the staples and comfort food items. Thus, this is set to fuel the nibbling-all-day-long trend. Conagra Brands Inc., Chicago, has made snack innovation the focus of its agenda this year. But rather than being highly adventurous in flavor development, the company has cleaned up ingredient labels and is offering more varied pack sizes for many of its meat snacks. Larger formats are for those following a low-carb lifestyle, while smaller sizes satisfy savory cravings any time of day.
Keera Perumbala, Marketing Manager at Sensient Flavors asserted the significance of comfort foods sating, “A world that is perpetually going through changes makes us all lean on the past for comfort, and for most of us, childhood favorite foods and flavors trigger nostalgia. Biologically, our brain reacts to happy memories by firing neurons that create a flood of positive feelings through the release of feel-good chemicals that is akin to being rewarded.”
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