Nostalgia, authenticity, and adventure - The flavours trending in 2025

Flavours this year range from traditional to adventurous, sweet to spicy. (Getty Images)

What do consumers want food to taste like this year?

Flavour is at the absolute heart of what consumers look for from food. As the old adage goes, “taste is king”.

And in order to understand what to aim for in new product development (NPD), manufacturers must have an idea about what consumers want from their food. Though this, of course, is constantly changing.

This year, consumers are looking in multiple directions. Some want flavours that evoke the comfort of nostalgia and authenticity, while some have a lust for adventurous flavour combinations and global tastes.

Nostalgia and authenticity

One trend for this year is, according to Innova Market Insights, eating in order to inspire emotion, what they call ‘sensory therapy.’

In an extension of the old saying ‘eat your feelings,’ explains Mimi Bonnett, senior director of insights at Innova, “it’s really people who are eating for their feelings. So, they’re eating and choosing flavours to help create or inspire the emotion that they want to [have].”

Some brands are putting an emphasis on familiar flavours, as many consumers are interested in nostalgia.

“We see a lot of brands that are attaching collaborations to their product development, taking familiar flavours from two different organisations and merging [them].”

Some of the flavours linked to this trend, according to Innova, are espresso, toffee and forest berry.

Perhaps similar to the trend in nostalgia is the trend in authenticity. People want ‘authentic’ flavours, although not necessarily everyone agrees on what ‘authentic’ actually means.

“Things that are authentic to me might not be authentic to you,” explains Bonnett.

category include bulgogi, onagiri, gochujang lemongrass, harissa and Japanese dashi.

What a consumer considers 'authentic' or 'traditional' is highly subjective, Bonnet points out. (Dougal Waters/Getty Images)

64% of consumers, she says, want to see more ‘traditional’ foods in the supermarket, but that in itself means different things to different consumers. Brands are, of course, taking advantage.

“The way that brands are playing it out is attaching their brand identity to it.” Brands, she explains, talk about heritage and their connection to it to invoke an image of authenticity.

“They [are] conveying the idea of authenticity through their nomenclature, in the words that they use to describe where their sourcing is coming from, where they got their ingredients, and how they use their 100-year-old recipes that came down from their grandmother to attach that feeling of authenticity to something that may or may not really be authentic.”

A focus on texture

This is an article about flavour trends. But flavour always goes hand-in-hand with texture. This year, texture isn’t on the back foot but is a key consideration of consumers alongside flavour.

Regina Maiseviciute Haydon, principal analyst at Mintel Food and Drink, explains how central texture is to food, especially as consumer focus on it increases.

Mmmmm creamy! Some textures can evoke comfort for consumers. (Jonathan Knowles/Getty Images)

“Savvy brands understand that texture can tell a story. For example, hand-stretched dough or air-popped grains offer a unique selling point, connecting consumers with the artisanal effort behind a product. Enhancing textures strategically can create products that feel both indulgent and wholesome, satisfying diverse consumer needs.”

Texture has a variety of roles, from elevating indulgence to conveying a food’s healthfulness, she suggests.

Texture can also play a role in the emotional impact of food. “Younger consumers, especially Gen Z and millennials, are actually seeking out more texture with flavours,” explains Innova’s Bonnet.

Texture, she points out, contributes to the emotional state of consumers in much the same way as flavour.

“For example, creamy and smooth are textures that people would seek out to find comfort in food - things like peanut butter and ice cream and other things that [the] indulgence space [is] leaning into.”

Unusual taste combinations

Perhaps the opposite of the comforting nature of the previous trends is the trend in imaginative and adventurous flavour combinations.

Consumers are, according to Innova, seeking out weird and wonderful flavour combinations, such as for example the combination of sweet and spicy (‘swicy’). Some trending ‘adventurous’ flavours are, they say, spicy maple, hot honey, and pickle.

AI can also play a role in the development of unconventional taste combinations. “AI’s role goes beyond product development, offering opportunities to personalise flavour experiences to meet individual tastes. This technology is opening doors for more efficient, experimental, and tailored innovations, transforming how brands bring products to market,” Mintel’s Haydon explains.

Global flavours

Consumers are also being more adventurous with global flavours, suggests Bonnet, and African and Indian flavours are growing in popularity.

These kinds of international flavours are “nothing new, but what happens is that the flavours themselves and the cuisines themselves grow.”

Many consumers have a keen interest in cuisines from around the world, including Africa (pictured), Asia and Latin America. (narvikk/Getty Images)

Consumers are inspired by the cuisines of Africa, Asia and Latin America, says Mintel’s Haydon.

“Ingredients like yuzu, pandan, and tamarind are not only adding layers of complexity to dishes but are also providing brands with avenues to engage curious and culturally-aware audiences.”

Consumers, she explains, don’t just want tastes; they want the story behind the taste.

“Highlighting provenance and the cultural significance of flavours helps foster authentic connections with an audience eager to experience the world, one bite at a time.”

Healthy indulgence

We saw last year that the ‘healthy indulgence’ trend isn’t going anywhere, and that is just as true in 2025.

“Consumers have really, really high expectations for quality. They want things to be cheap, taste good, be good for you and have some complexity to them,” Bonnet suggests.

Consumers want health, but they also want ‘indulgent’ tastes.

“Protein bars, nutritional drinks and things like that tend to be very, very indulgent. They’re not often fruit flavoured, they’re usually caramel or chocolate or coffee or vanilla. And so this [is the] idea of blending that approach to health but also having very, very indulgent flavours that can take the bite out of being better for you.”

This trend goes beyond areas like fitness, however, to encompass food in general.

“Health-conscious consumers increasingly expect their food and beverages to deliver more than just flavour—they want functional benefits. At the same time, there’s growing enthusiasm for bold, indulgent treats that offer moments of pleasure and comfort. This creates a dual challenge for brands, calling for products that can deliver healthier profiles without compromising on indulgence," explains Haydon.

Specifically, some of the flavours attached to this trend are sticky toffee, cinnamon roll and salted caramel, according to Innova. Furthermore, low-sugar snacks with a rich cacao taste and dairy-free yogurts with a creamy taste and texture are doing well, Mintel’s Haydon states.