CHICAGO -- Consumer tastes move in cycles, with some flavors coming into favor while others recede into the background—for a time, at least. These flavor trends tend to be pioneered by fine-dining restaurants, according to Mark DiDomenico, director of client solutions for Chicago-based research firm Datassential. The menu cycle then moves these flavor preferences through midscale chains and finally the most successful flavors find a home in convenience stores.
To understand the flavors consumers want today, it helps to look at leading flavor trends from the past few years. Several industry watchers—including the food and restaurant consulting firms Baum + Whiteman, Datassential and Technomic—follow flavor-trend developments from year-to-year. Here are some of the big flavors they have identified from the past few years that are now relevant at the c-store level:
A Long, Slow Simmer for Mexican Cuisine
Several years ago, Mary Chapman, director of product innovation at Technomic, identified the growing consumer desire for Mexican flavors at the casual-dining level. "The rise in popularity of Mexican food is the culmination of a number of factors all converging in foodservice,” she said. “Consumers are also calling for authentic ethnic-dining experiences and spicier, more flavorful foods, so Mexican concepts and menu items are on-trend in a number of ways."
Consumers have now had the time to make these tastes a part of their regular consumption habits, so their desire for bold and exciting Mexican flavors is now part of what they expect from retailers.
Wild Flavors from Around the Globe
“The wilder, the better. After all, if your new car’s parts come from around the world, why shouldn’t your sandwich ingredients?” That’s how Baum+Whiteman described the global mash-up of exciting and exotic flavors happening on menus everywhere, particularly in casual dining, in recent years.
By blending novel regional flavors, operators continue to create sales-driving excitement among consumers, because, as Baum+Whiteman say, “gastronomically, everything goes.” This desire for wild, global flavors continues to radiate out onto c-store shelves.
Heat Meets Sweet
Between 2011 and 2013, Technomic observed a steady increase in spicy flavors on menus, and often, this heat is balanced by a touch of sweetness. This sweet-and-spicy trend has been fueled by two very distinct players: At the higher end, by fine and upscale-casual dining operations, where flavors such as Sriracha and chipotle have been showing their strength for years, and also from the snack-foods market, where manufacturers such as PepsiCo with Frito Lay Doritos see the potential in the craveable balance between sweet and spicy.
The progression is clear: As more consumers encounter bold, spicy, Mexican flavors in fine- and casual-dining settings, the demand for these same tastes at the c-store level steadily increases.
Companies such as Fernando’s Fine Mexican Foods continue to leverage these trends, creating items with exciting and bold Mexican flavors to meet these demands head on. Operators who offer these and other fun and exciting foods that serve customer cravings will find themselves riding this flavor cycle to increased traffic and greater profits.
This post is sponsored by Fernando's Fine Mexican Foods