“Superheroes of product success”: Innova Market Insights pegs new trends for colors and flavors

19 Dec 2019 --- The role of colors and flavors is highly significant in the development of successful new offerings. As highlighted in Innova Market Insights’ latest report, both a product’s taste and visual aesthetic are essential in conveying markers of indulgence and wellness properties. Among notable trends this year, botanicals are rising in popularity for their health halo associations, alongside bitter flavors, which are also synonymous with “better for you” properties.

In the Innova Trends Survey 2019, 74 percent of global consumers agreed or strongly agreed that they loved discovering new flavors, while 57 percent thought it was important to consume foods and beverages that are good for their bodies.

As a result, it is perhaps no surprise that functionally flavorful concepts are increasingly focusing on health and natural ingredients. For instance, botanicals are seeing rising levels of interest across many food and beverage categories, with floral flavors particularly in evidence. Spices and seeds, as well as herb flavors, are also gaining rising levels of use. One in two consumers in Innova’s research associated floral flavored drinks with freshness and herbal flavored drinks with healthiness.

At the recently culminated Fi Europe 2019 in Paris, France, on-trend botanicals associated with relaxation were heavily featured. These were wide-ranging and could be used for a morning energy boost, as well as for evening relaxation. Reporting from the showfloor, FoodIngredientsFirst caught up with Naturex, part of Givaudan, to spotlight its new range of concentrated botanical infusions. Tapping into consumer demand for tradition and wellness, the range can be labeled as “concentrated infusions” on pack, which further denotes the naturality of the product.

Meanwhile, as eating sustainably is moving mainstream, brands are also “greening up” their portfolios in order to attract the growing health-minded consumer group. This has seen “earthy” flavors spread across the industry with ingredients such as matcha, seaweed and mushroom. On the other hand, bitter flavors are also on trend as consumers seek to reduce sugar intake and increase consumption of green vegetables.

Bitter is back, with thanks to its health halo association.“Green juice is the poster child of a shift in taste of consumers. If you’re going to drink something green, you’re probably going to have to accept a bitter taste. If consumers continue to shift their taste and accept more bitter flavors, that will be a great opportunity to reduce the amount of sugar in products,” says Lu Ann Williams, Director of Innovation at Innova Market Insights.

Flavors such as spinach, kale, celery and Brussels sprouts are increasingly in evidence across a whole range of food and beverage launches. Bitter-toned beverages are also on trend, with gins particularly popular over the past few years and now seeing further differentiation via a growing variation in flavors, colors and formats.

Consumers are on a large-scale, broad journey of discovery, moving out of their comfort zones to explore new food and beverage experiences, with flavor playing a major part in this. The search for something new, different and exciting is also driving flavor developments in food and beverages, Adventurous and reimagined options are sought by trend-conscious consumers, who also enjoy an element of surprise on their plates and palates.

This theme is illustrated by the fact that six out of ten US and UK respondents in an Innova Market Insights survey agreed with a statement that they love to discover flavors of other cultures, although there is also ongoing activity in products of more local origin, with local ingredients and local recipes.

Adapting to this trend, brands are also increasingly launching mystery flavors, as well as reinventing classics with novel twists, alongside developing new and more unusual flavors and combinations. The holiday season is notably a good time to experiment within this space, with brands offering novel flavor combinations in line with the festive spirit. In this dynamic space, Sprite has recently launched its Winter Spiced Cranberry flavor variety, which infuses the crisp, lemon-lime taste of its soft drink with a warm spice blend and tart cranberry.

Colorful is craveable
With more focus on the beauty of food, often inspired by celebrity chefs, food bloggers and social media influencers, there is also a growing role for more colorful food and beverage products. Companies can also use colorful online marketing strategies to inspire interest. Apart from bright or unusual colors, including those not normally associated with that product, some color-changing options are also being introduced.

While Innova Market Insights indicates that the top color for food and beverage launches featuring colorings in both North America and Europe were red and brown, the fastest growing options over the 2014 to 2018 period were red and yellow in North America, and orange and purple in Europe.

The rise of social media and consumers’ increasing interest for clean label products have created the perfect storm for the proliferation of the natural colors trend, which is leading to the gradual phase out of artificial colors. Platforms such as Instagram have given the appearance – specifically color – of food extra gravity and industry is making strides to optimize their offerings targeting planet-aware consumers living and eating in an “Instagrammable” world.

By Benjamin Ferrer