Skip to main content

Kerry Predicts Consumers’ Top Flavours And Ingredients For Coming Year

-

www.kamcity.com

Research by taste & nutrition company Kerry has uncovered the flavours and ingredients that are set to inspire innovation across the food and beverage landscape in the year ahead. 

In its annual Taste Charts study, the firm found a trend towards familiar and nostalgic tastes, which resurged during the pandemic. This is anticipated to continue over the coming year as people seek comfort from their food and beverages. Consumers are gravitating toward comforting and familiar tastes, with classic desserts such as banana split, apple pie and custard are featured as flavours in different categories – including those in the ‘sweet’ and ‘beverage’ categories. 

In Europe, restrictions on movement in 2020 have led to consumers travelling the world with their taste buds. This is reflected in the Taste Charts, with a rise in Korean, Indian, Thai, Greek and Spanish cuisine, as well as exotic notes like Calamansi and Acerola. Trends around health and wellbeing continues to gather pace and interest among consumers, while sustainable sourcing is also growing in importance.

“2020 has been a year like no other. During the lockdown period, consumers stayed connected online and continued to share the food that excited them, augmenting the need for playful textures and exciting flavours,” said Christina, Marketing Manager for Taste in Europe and Russia. 

“Fermentation emerged across several product categories, with vinegar and pickled becoming a top trend and flavour note. The traditional citrus, vanilla, chocolate and BBQ flavours will remain relevant in 2021, but consumers expect these tastes through flavours that are more sustainable or have provenance claims. Meanwhile, botanicals such as lavender, turmeric and basil can meet consumer needs across food and beverage products that support the quest for holistic wellbeing.” 

The Taste Charts utilise consumer purchase patterns, retail product performance, foodservice influences, and endorsements from the company’s internal culinary, beverage, and mixology experts to predict tastes for the coming year. 

Matrozou added: “The Taste Charts supports manufacturers by providing an expert overview of key, mainstream, up-and-coming and emerging flavours and ingredients across categories. This helps accelerate new product development times by making it easier to select flavours during the brainstorm and development phase. Kerry’s customers can harness these trends in a really exciting way, with plenty of room to innovate and create products that will resonate with consumers.”

The 2021 Kerry Taste Chart for Europe and Russia, can be downloaded here

Popular posts from this blog

Top 10 bakery trends to follow in 2025

-
Image
Are you looking for new ideas to attract more customers in 2025? Following up on our " top 7 bakery trends in 2024 ", and keeping in mind that several trends are still very much active (such as bakery as an art form, croissant 2.0, XL viennoiseries, or travel with food), we have been studying and monitoring hot topics that will drive the industry this year. And we are very happy to share with you the exciting  10 bakery trends  that will have an impact on the sector and help you spice up your offer and stay ahead of your customers' expectations by following them. What are the new trends in bakery (viennoiserie, pastry, bread, food...)? The world of baking is evolving in 2025, striking a balance between tradition and modernity to offer ever more indulgent and innovative creations. As consumer preferences oscillate between  authentic flavors  and  bold new experiences , the industry continues to explore new possibilities. From the ongoing rise of sourdough to inve...
Read more

Snacks to the Future: Health and On-The-Go are Key Trends in Ireland

-
Image
Thomas Gavin, Global Graduate, Markets, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board It feels to many of us that our lives are getting busier and busier, leaving us time-poor and trying to claw back minutes anywhere that we can. This is particularly true for our eating habits, with the traditional ‘three-meals-a-day’ routine evolving to people ‘grazing’ whenever they are hungry and can find the time. Consumers Are Snacking Often and On-The-Go According to a recent Mintel report on Consumer Snacking Habits in Ireland, 58% of Irish consumers are snacking twice or three times a day, with only 16% saying that they do not snack on a daily basis (Mintel, 2019).    A third of Irish consumers note that they often skip breakfast, with a further third highlighting that working through lunch is a common occurrence (Mintel, 2019). It is no surprise, then, that 31% of Irish people snack when they are commuting or travelling, with another 23% snacking whilst ou...
Read more

Inside Lidl’s strategy for in-store bakery (and how suppliers can help)

-
Image
Lidl is making a major play for in-store bakery and it’s not afraid to shout about it. The discounter – which is currently the sixth largest grocer in the UK by market share [Statista] – recently overtook Tesco to secure the biggest slice of in-store bakery (ISB). Data from Kantar showed that Lidl, which was crowned  Bakery Retailer of the Year  at the 2023 Baking Industry Awards, had pipped the UK’s largest supermarket  with 18.2% of the ISB market compared to Tesco’s 18%. Speaking at the British Society of Baking conference earlier this year, Holly Bleach, head of buying at Lidl, described bakery as “critical” to Lidl as it’s one of the categories that drives overall customer satisfaction. “We’re set up to be really successful in bakery in the UK due to the prominence of our bakeries in store. More often than not, they’re right by the front door so every customer that walks in has to pass the bakery and not many can resist stopping and obviously picking up an item,” she...
Read more