Flavor trends for 2008
If flavor trends for the new year can be summed up in a single word, it’s complexity. Flavors must extend beyond fusion. A single spice isn’t enough: It needs to be combined with additional spices and flavors. Fruits aren’t simply fruits, they’re superfruits. Fruit flavors must be unique, exotic, varietal and chock full of naturally occurring antioxidants.
As foods become more complex, so does flavor. Flavors overlay each other, introducing more and more flavor notes. These foods are so interesting that overeating occurs less often, accomplishing (eventually) the real No. 1 food industry objective of holding obesity at bay.
One of the biggest current societal pushes is to prevent obesity from childhood on. This calls for tasty foods for kids that keep caloric content under control. Many flavor companies currently have a great deal of research under way studying children’s preferences in an effort to encourage kids to eat what they ought to. The resulting products are seen in breakfast cereals with fruity bits, yogurt flavors and cinnamon (not sugary) notes. Interestingly, they test well with kids while sounding like flavors Mom would approve of.
But eating healthy doesn’t mean eating boring. As flavor technologies have improved, sophistication decrees that simple flavors aren’t enough. Flavors mimic the trendy foods appearing in restaurants and on grocery shelves. Food trends lead to flavor trends; both get more complicated and sophisticated by the week. As consumers become more widely traveled, they are accepting of new cuisines, and therefore of flavors from places that American’s haven’t always visited.
Spices are hot
Among spice preferences for the past few years, hot has been, well, the hottest trend. Starting with ethnic foods and growing into the American mainstream, chili peppers of all varieties have bonded with vegetable flavors, cheese notes and often chocolate to wake up lazy taste buds.
With a much lower level of heat, ginger is showing up in baked goods, beverages, and ethnic foods. Its use as a phytochemical isn’t unnoticed. Both chili peppers and ginger are being married with other, somewhat unexpected, partner, such as cheese, tea, tomatoes and smoke. “Chili, curry, garlic and spicy are top flavors for condiments and sauces,” says Bento of Mastertaste. “Tamarind, truffle and honey and bourbon are also seeing some interest. These are being driven by trends of no additives/preservatives, organic and all natural.”
Cheese remains popular, but not American. Even cheeseburgers are now made with bleu cheese, goat cheese and Asiago. Artisanal cheeses add new flavors, and cheese and smoke flavors appear to go together. “Specialty cheeses are growing in popularity, with double digit growth,” Bento continues. “Hispanic types like queso freso and cotija are showing a strong following. Domestic artisan and farmstead cheeses are hot. We have been receiving more and more flavor requests for specific brands and types.”
“Consumers today are moving beyond the basics and looking for more interesting flavors,” says Mike Chapter, corporate chef at Kraft Foodservice, Glenview, Ill. “There are so many delicious specialty cheeses produced domestically. Food manufacturers are also appealing to the needs of consumers with new varieties of flavored, blended and shredded cheeses.”
Not a flavor, a lifestyle
A big trend with far-reaching implications is organic. Sure, it’s not a flavor, but its stamp is being sought on just about all flavors.
Organic is a lifestyle, and one that’s growing, according to Simon Poppelsdorf, vice president for flavor research at Bell Flavors , Northbrook, Ill. For flavor suppliers and processors alike, organic requires spending a lot of time and effort on sourcing of ingredients and keeping up with the latest regulations vis-à-vis organic.
“What’s organic today may not be organic tomorrow,” says Popplesdorf. Sourcing means building a provenance for the flavor ingredients, making sure the documentation is there for all of the components of a flavor system so that it can be labeled organic.
Joe Swetra, application technologist for savory flavors at Mastertaste, agrees with organic but adds “healthy” as another lifestyle trend affecting flavors, especially in terms of a healthy ingredient or flavor replacing a less healthy one. “Olive oil is big as a healthy replacement for butter in cooking, and new flavored olive oils will be showing up on the market. The flavors we will be replacing and creating during the coming year will be in the areas of organic, vegetarian, salt replacers/reducers and extending our flavor line that includes organic compliant flavors as well as allergen restrictive requests.”
Non-GMO is emerging as an important part of the lifestyle trend. Dave Booth, director of strategic alliances for Edlong Dairy Flavors, Elk Grove Village, Ill., notes his firm has developed several milk, cream and masking-type flavors as part of their expanding Ed-Vance line that can be used in non-GMO applications. Some of the many uses include creamers, soy milks and enhanced functional products. They are particularly useful in the international market, he says, where companies want to present the same flavor profile worldwide
