Rest in peace, vanilla. You’ve served the hungry consumer admirably for eons. But menus and palates have evolved, and “plain” doesn’t have much of a shelf life among snack lovers these days. Taste buds are waking up to new cravings and curiosities seemingly faster than chefs and flavor experts can invent them—from tangy, burnt and smoky to bitter, pickled and oaky.
To parlay palates into proits, snack makers are in a prime position to test new products at relatively low risk. With Chicago-based IRI projecting snack sales to be a $200 billion business by 2020, it’s no surprise to see packaged-snack manufacturers embrace the flavor menagerie, seeking to buoy a relatively static c-store category into a center-aisle cornucopia.
Swelling Taste Buds
The good news for retailers and brands alike is that consumers are always looking for something new, different and delicious, on which a uniquely flavored snack is positioned to capitalize. A study from Chicago-based Mintel published last year reported 57% of Americans regard themselves as adventurous eaters, and 82% are willing to try new flavors. And a 2014 survey from Packaged Facts, Rockville, Md., found that 53% of consumers seek out bolder flavors.
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“Today, food is more than consumption—it’s a relationship,” says Justin Kukura, senior manager of snacks research and development for The Hershey Co., Hershey, Pa. “Food brings people together, and increased globalization and the growing millennial population have resulted in an increased desire for flavor exploration and discovery, particularly from cultures different than your own.”
In short, the world is getting smaller, and flavors from different parts of the world are spreading at a rapid pace—from miso, kimchi and vinegar to cracked pepper, Meyer lemon and blood orange.
Moreover, the ongoing rise of cooking shows, best-selling cookbooks and food-obsessed folks on social media are spurring more Americans to open their mouths to new things.
Flavors of the Moment
Experts identify a number of current trends happening in flavors:
- A 2015 report by IRI reveals that consumers still prefer snacks within the sweet and savory (aka umami) realms, with total sweet and total savory making up, respectively, a 35% share and 27% share of total dollar change vs. one year ago; the total for all other flavors combined is 38%.
- Mark Spedale, chef and founder of Austin, Texas-based Primizie, says consumers are gravitating toward more unique flavor profiles, “including creative combos that push the conventional, such as watermelon habanero, Chimayo Belgian and elderflower thyme.”
- Multiple snack flavors—jalapeño pepper jack, flaming hot and cheesy mix, taco, three-cheese, ginger wasabi, dill pickle, sea salt and vinegar, salsa verde and s’mores—have shown strong growth over the past year, according to IRI’s Market Advantage New Product Launch.
- Driving the spicy trend, says a 2013 Technomic study, are 18- to 34-year-olds. Respondents across age segments also enjoy tomato-basil (53%) and honey-ginger (40%), as well as chipotle-lime, mango-habanero and rosemary-orange.
- In confectionery, salted caramel is among the biggest trends, while another salty-sweet combo, bacon-flavored chocolate, did not become a huge success, says Marcia Mogelonsky, director of insight for food and drink for Mintel. “Other big flavors are dessert-inspired, with some, such as red velvet cake, more successful than others, like birthday cake,” she says.
- One important trend is the blending of sweet and savory flavors, “which offers yet another flavor experience—indulgence—for consumers,” says Susan Viamari, vice president of thought leadership for IRI. “This is important, since 59% of consumers seek indulgence when they are snacking,” based on IRI’s 2015 Consumer Snacking Survey.
- Unexpected, “bold” flavors are doing well, too, as judged by the popularity of Pop Tarts Gone Nutty, Cheez-It Grooves and Tostino’s Bold rolls.
Sour-flavored snacks and sweets are also making major inroads. Consider that dollars sales for sour gum grew tenfold last year, according to data provided by Chicago-based Wrigley, which recently introduced sour and sweet/sour flavors in its Extra, Juicy Fruit, Skittles and Starburst brands.
Cross-Cultural Flavors
Consumers want more savory options today, not just sweet; and longer-lasting energy delivery beyond carbs and sugar, says Jay Jacobowitz, president and founder of Retail Insights, Brattleboro, Vt. “They crave bolder flavors, drawing on worldwide ethnic cuisines and built on plant and animal protein variations,” he says.
To tap into this craving, Jack Link’s recently rolled out an Eastern Asian cuisine-inspired flavor: Korean BBQ Pork Jerky, featuring the flavors of garlic, white onion, ginger, peppercorns, soy sauce and sesame seeds.
As consumers continue to embrace cross-cultural flavors, food companies have more room to expand current lines with edgy, unique flavors, says Michelle DeLamielleure, global consumer insights senior manager for General Mills Convenience & Foodservice, Minneapolis. She cites General Mills’ new Food Should Taste Good bars, which come in coconut, chai and macadamia nut flavors, as a relevant example.
Simplified ingredient lists represent another trend, as demonstrated by the success of SkinnyPop, which boasts “no artificial anything” and has sold on average at a price that’s 72% higher than the average in its category, according to IRI.
Snackers continue to seek out natural flavors as well. “There is a real negative to having a long list of ‘chemical-sounding’ ingredients on a package,” says Mogelonsky.
Also, the industry has seen a resurgence of naturally flavored snacks that include elements of wellness, such as ancient grain quinoa, plus kimchi and antioxidant-rich fruits such as blueberries and acai berries.
The most surprising snack flavors are often ones that showcase a stark contrast between other products in the category. For example, multigrain bars tend to have more sweet and nutty flavors, while salty snacks tend to stick to savory and spicy formats; consequently, recent product innovations such as Kind’s Strong & Kind Savory Roasted Jalapeño and Honey Mustard Bars and Combo’s Sweet & Salty Vanilla Frosting Pretzels may bring in incremental consumers, DeLamielleure says.
Flavor Secrets Revealed
Mary Chapman, senior director for product innovation for Chicago-based Technomic, says snack flavor ideas and trends come from all directions, including restaurants, ethnic cuisines, nonsnack consumer packaged goods and Food Network.
To identify current trends and forecast flavor prospects, vendors:
- Conduct extensive research and studies, including focus groups that test prototype items.
- Identify who the consumer is and the flavor profile he or she wants.
- Ask if a new flavor profile is delivering the taste consumers expect for that particular product.
- Invite the consumer to collaborate.
For example, Frito-Lay’s annual contest, Do Us a Flavor, asks everyday people to submit recipes for new Lay’s potato-chip flavors for a chance to win a $1 million prize. Through Oct. 18, Americans can vote for their favorite among this year’s four new chip flavor finalists, which have already been introduced on store shelves: Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries, Southern Biscuits and Gravy, New York Reuben and Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro.
At Primizie, manufacturers of thick-cut crispbreads, every snack flavor originates in founder Spedale’s kitchen, where he constantly tests new flavors and offers them to his team. Spedale’s newest flavor is Dolce Caramel, a salty-sweet taste that blends sea salt with Italian sweet cream.
Steep Challenges
Introducing tasty new snacks isn’t as easy as adding a dash of this and a pinch of that. A flavor is only as good as the marketing behind it and the customer demand.
“You can’t really assume there is a formula for a flavor you develop to go from limited-time only to a staple item in the set,” says Pervez Pir, chief operating officer for Vintners Distributors, based in Fremont, Calif. “The flavors that continue to exceed demand will become their own line or extension of a line.”
Generally, Viamari says, flavor trends in snacks tend to be line extensions meant to appeal to new consumers or re-energize a category, which can make sense for a brand if it is offering a new flavor profile that differs from its current offerings or what the category is offering. Last year, across all CPG categories, 85% of new launches were extensions, per IRI research.
Another difficulty for snack makers is avoiding cannibalization. “Some of the new flavors arise from legacy brands and legacy flavors, and others take share away,” Mogelonsky says.
Introducing new brands that drive overall category sales is challenging, but innovation definitely helps. The food sector grew 4.7% in 2014, compared to salty snacks, which grew 8.4% due to higher innovation, Viamari says. Successful recent launches in this segment include Keebler Townhouse Pita Crackers and Cheetos Mix-Ups, she says.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is keeping boomers and millennials engaged. These two demographics account for an estimated 40% and 24% of snack spending, respectively, which translates to more than $14 billion and $8 billion annually.
To resonate with both groups, marketers must ask questions to understand these consumers as individuals: What is their appetite for experiential eating? How do price and convenience intersect? And how are these groups using social media to learn about products and share their product experiences?
Tapping into New Tastes
It’s not easy to look for clues amid the salt crystals at the bottom of the bag, but the prognostications are plentiful when it comes to forthcoming flavor trends.
“There will be more growth and spicy flavor profiles across salty snacks, nuts and seeds, and meat snacks,” DeLamielleure says.
Spedale foresees a future that incorporates superfoods, such as acai and goji berries, kale and coconut oil, and where gluten-free, vegan and non-GMO become stable labels.
Terri Madar Jennings, associate director of innovation and base for Oreo and belVita brands for Mondelez International in East Hanover, N.J., suggests keeping an eye on interesting flavor fusions that could take off in the near future, including:
- Dairy fusion, combining a wider variety of fruits with yogurt/cream
- Fruit-fused florals
- Expanded fusion of sweet with savory, with maple bacon, chocolate chili and mango chipotle trending higher
- Spicy savory ethnic flavors such as barbecue, black pepper, Buffalo and Asian.
Also, the trend toward ingredient transparency will remain important. “A great new flavor design with artificial ingredients will have a very narrow audience and likely not develop into a trend,” Jacobowitz says.
Pir agrees that a stronger focus on healthier ingredients is coming: “If they kept the same flavors but improve the ingredients, that is what I believe is the low-hanging fruit and what the current c-store consumer is waiting for.”
Snack and Flavor Facts
- Snacks sales are projected to grow to $200 billion by 2020.*
- Eighty-six percent of consumers prefer flavorful snacks, 84% fresh snacks, 68% savory snacks, 68% sweet snacks, 66% crispy and 64% crunchy.**
- Fifty-three percent of consumers seek out bolder flavors.^
- Salty snacks, chocolate, cheese, cookies/biscuits and fresh fruit are the top snack categories in the United States.***
- Snacking categories experiencing the most growth include salty snacks, natural cheese, chocolate candy, fresh eggs, dried meats and bakery snacks.**
- Snacking product types experiencing the most growth include sushi, jerky, carob/yogurt coated snacks, doughnuts, nuts and seeds and granola bars.**
- Most recent snacks eaten by North American consumers polled are chips/crisps, 63%; chocolate, 59%; cheese, 58%; cookies/biscuits, 56%; fresh fruit, 55%; bread/sandwich, 48%; crackers/crispbreads, 48%; vegetables, 44%; peanut butter, 44%; and popcorn, 43%.***
Sources: *2015 IRI data; **2014 IRI consumer survey data; ***Two separate 2014 Nielsen surveys; ^2014 Packaged Facts data
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