Vegan and “healthier” confectionery trends spotlighted, while fun and floral flavors command attention

20 Mar 2024 --- “Healthier” innovation in confectionery historically has meant “less sugar” being used in an ingredient list. However, recent innovations center more on replacing some of the sugars with other natural ingredients. In the world of sweet treats, innovation is limitless, and with a wealth of choices at their fingertips, consumers are looking for exciting flavor experiences that boast healthful and multi-sensory textures.

Food Ingredients First speaks to several key players in the confectionery space who share insights on the fun and flavorful market trends and the drivers behind them. 

Inspired by nature 
According to Olga Liash, business manager for confectionery at dsm-firmenich, one of the key themes at the moment is “naturally exciting.”

“Clean label, nature-inspired confectionery colors and flavors have been a hot topic for over a decade, but now we’re seeing the trend evolve in fresh directions. Cocktail-flavored candies are a great example, as they often combine the ‘grown-up’ sophistication of alcoholic spirits with natural fruit juices — just like in real mixed beverages.”

Organic and vegan are also climbing up the list of top confectionery product claims as consumers search for treats that fit neatly into their lifestyle goals, she flags.

Vegan claims are rising as consumers opt for products that fit within their lifestyles. For brands, tapping into this trend means centering quality and of course — naturalness, remarks Liash. “Powerful ingredients like our innovative natural red and purple pigments derived through fermentation, along with our broad spectrum of carotenoids, can help confectionery producers unlock this lively take on the clean label candy trend.”

Elizabeth Lenihan, manager of snacks and bakery applications innovation at Ingredion, agrees that there continues to be significant new “healthier” product introductions formulated using less sugar using a combination of low-calorie bulking ingredients and plant-based, high-potency sweeteners like stevia. 

“Companies are looking for ingredients to clean up and shorten ingredient labels, which help people along their health and wellness journey and have less environmental impact while keeping indulgent, multisensorial experiences,” she says. 

Guilt-free indulgence 
Notably, consumers want recognizable and healthier ingredients in their food products. Lenihan believes this poses a challenge for confectionery manufacturers to meet these demands while maintaining the indulgent nature of their products. She believes consumers want “better-for-you” confectionery products that are still indulgent.

Confectionery is typically a treat category, so an indulgent taste is still a central purchase factor. 

Increasingly though, dsm-firmenich is seeing consumers demand more from their moment of “me time,” whether that’s choosing reduced sugar confectionery so they can indulge in guilt-free or functional gummies fortified with active ingredients for an added health halo, Liash tells us. 

“In fact, over the last five years, more and more confectionery brands have been adding vitamins and minerals to recipes and flagging this as a claim on-pack.”

Embracing seasonal traditions & nostalgia
Liash says another exciting theme is the popularity of seasonal and limited-edition confectionery. “For some people, holidays aren’t complete without a specially-themed treat to get them in the mood to celebrate. We urge brands to respond by pairing classic flavors with novel formats to offer shoppers the nostalgic experiences they crave with a modern twist.”

Meanwhile, Naveen Pessani, technical category manager for Chocolate & Confectionery at ofi, also flags the “newstalgia” trend, where manufacturers bring a new twist to classic flavors and formats. 

“According to Innova Market Insights research, New, Niche and Not For Long: Trends in Global Limited Time NPD, 48% of consumers seek out familiar nostalgic flavors in food and beverage purchases, but they want some excitement and innovation too. This is where natural ingredients such as nuts can switch up the taste profile.”Consumers want “better-for-you” confectionery products that are still indulgent.

“It’s no secret that hazelnuts and almonds are staples in many chocolate and confectionery products, but we are increasingly seeing other nut flavors, like pistachio, becoming more popular,” notes Pessani.

Fun & fruity flavors
Meanwhile, through its AI-powered research tool, ofi has identified floral flavors as growing in the confectionery category in markets worldwide. 

Pessani says: “In the UK, one of the top emerging flavors in confectionery is key lime, from the famous key lime pie. Dessert flavors such as sticky toffee pudding, lemon posset, banoffee pie and crème brûlée are also making their way into chocolate collections.”

“Elsewhere in Europe, interesting floral flavors, such as lotus in Germany, are growing,” he continues. “And if we look to the Asia Pacific region, this budding trend continues with cherry blossoms in Indonesia and chamomile in the Philippines.”

When paired with the right cocoa, Pessani says these create “a light and bright treat with floral and fruity notes.” Additionally, he explains that a high-fat natural cocoa powder pairs well with citrus flavors because of its rich and rounded chocolaty flavor that brings out fruity and caramel notes. 

Anja Brand, brand manager at Uelzena Ingredients, also highlights that “caramel and salted caramel will continue to be a strong trend” throughout 2024. 

Vegan confectionery & plant-based proteins 
This year, in particular, dsm-firmenich is helping confectionery brands respond to the demand for colors and textures that are natural yet fun, bright and playful and perfect for vegan confectionery. 

“Our natural red and purple colors have been especially popular this year, driven both by consumer demand and regulatory changes surrounding the use of synthetic red colors in some countries. We are happy to support this trend by allowing producers to unlock visually appealing treats that imbue the entire confectionery eating experience with a sense of indulgence,” states Liash.

In a similar vein, ofi’s research into plant-based products found that over a third (35%) of the consumers polled were dissatisfied with the plant-based dairy products they tried. 

“In fact, 61% of current users of plant-based alternatives say that bad taste and texture prevent them from consuming more plant-based products,” says Pessani. “At ofi, we’ve been investing in different plant-based alternatives that deliver the same indulgent taste as dairy. We found that chocolate made with our cashew or almond protein powder displayed the most similar qualities — outdoing rice and oat powder that are typically used in the current vegan chocolates available in the market.”

So, when creating a creamy, rich, plant-based chocolate, ofi recommends including cashew or almond protein powder as the most effective way of replicating the real thing, he asserts. 

Ingredion is currently exploring plant-based proteins as more sustainable options for sugar and milk solids replacement in chocolate and compound coatings. Matthew Park, senior associate sugar reduction applications at the company, says: “We also have PureCircle Clean Taste Solutions, which use stevia to improve both sugar confectionery and chocolate applications to enhance sugar-like sweetness in reduced sugar applications. Maintaining a sugar-like sweetness profile is vital in confectionery applications, where sugar makes up the majority of the formulation.”

Exploring “multi-sensory” unique textures
Ingredion is also leveraging its global texturizer expertise to create new, unique textures in confectionery applications. 

Ofi has identified floral flavors as growing in the confectionery category.“We are also advancing in gelatin replacement, in combination with sugar reduction to meet the consumer ask of ‘health.’ We are combining low sugar/calorie bulking agents with stevia-based sweeteners and flavor modifiers to create optimized sugar reduction formulations that allow for deeper sugar reduction levels, which can be quite challenging to achieve in confectionery applications,” says Park.

Finally, Lenihan observes “lots of innovation happening within the confectionery category,” especially related to creating multi-sensorial experiences through texture and taste.

“There will be an increase in sugar confectionery products with new, unique textures as well as re-imagining current products to have different textures. A recent example of this is Skittles gummies,” she highlights. 

By Elizabeth Green