Kerry Predicts Consumers’ Top Flavours And Ingredients For Coming Year

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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