ITS’s Flavours Trends for 2016 Forecast That Sport and Nutrition Will Lead the Way

FoodIngredientsFirst spoke with managing director, Mike Bagshaw: “We would say that anything related to sports and health nutrition will become a very strong trend, from high protein sports bars to salt, sugar and gluten free products.”

 

Bagshaw adds: “We think that it is very important to meet people's expectations and needs. Being sporty and healthy is popular, so companies need to get ready to offer products that meet this trend.”

 

Bagshaw explains how ITS research trends: “We develop a deep market research looking at new product launches, latest reports on flavour trends and put it together with our customers insights and requirements. All these data provides us with the main trends to be leading the market during the next year.”

 

He adds: “There is a strong influence from the USA trends. Normally, what is a trend there on a certain year becomes popular one year later in the UK.”

 

Here are the main trends that, according to ITS marketing and product development teams, will emerge during 2016:

 

1. Back to ancient times
Ancient herbs like thyme, mint, parsley, sage and rosemary have been making a comeback. Water plants and syrups –such as maple- will also predominate, and ancient grains will be used in breads and cereal mixes.

 

2. Food goes South-East Asian
Recipes from Malaysia, Vietnam and Philippines will enticeour palates. Flavours and spices such as sweet chilli or firecracker seasoning, and flavour combinations such as coriander and lime, soy with honey and ginger, or coconut with cardamom will be added to many dishes.

 

3. Ready for the Olympics!
South American flavours will take the stage in 2016. The Olympic Games, which are taking place in Rio de Janeiro (Brasil) next August, will bring South America -and anything related to it- to mind. The most popular flavours will come from Cuba and Peru. Ají (chilli) with lime, habanero chilli or passion fruit will become popular this year.

 

4. Hybrid treats ride the wave
Remember how big the cronut trend was in 2013? For those of you who are still new to hybrid treats, cronut is a mix of croissant and donut. New names - such as “townie” for tart and brownie, and “muffle” for muffin and waffle- showcase these trendy treats. Get creative and reinvent dessert and snack treats by crossing them. Need to get a crunchier or softer texture? The ITS development team have specific solutions to any challenge you may encounter!

 

5. Bread stays traditional 
The predominant flavours in bread aren’t exotic at all. Humble favourites such as cheese, garlic and butter will lead in the market, alongside grains such as sesame and sunflower seeds. Sourdough will also join the main bread flavour list. Salt reduction is becoming a must in the bread sector. ITS’s EnhancR Bread Range will help on that. Take note!

 

6. Protein, protein, protein!
Sports nutrition is a main trend in itself. The best-sellers product list will include energy bars, protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes. Protein is the main component. The main flavours in 2016 will be chocolate and its variations (white chocolate, dark chocolate) and combinations (chocolate brownie, chocolate & orange), coconut, and berries. Other flavours like strawberry cheesecake or cookies and cream will become popular. From an extensive experience, ITS’s team know that when adding protein to these products, the flavour can sometimes become unpleasant. To help its customers mask unpleasant flavours, ITS has created MaskEX. Click here or talk to the team if you want to find out more.

 

7. Yogurt with… vegetables?
Yes, that’s right. The dairy industry has started to experiment with adding vegetables to Yogurts. Now that you are already used to seeing rhubarb yogurt, you won’t be so surprised to see blackcurrant & beetroot yogurt, or orange & carrot yogurt in supermarkets.