Cooking, baking and eating can be as everyday an activity for many as waking up in the morning and going to bed at night. Thankfully, trending gourmet dips, sauces and rubs can add spice back into everyday life and foods. But what kind of flavors, ingredients and cuisines are customers most interested in eating and cooking next year? The answer is a mixed bag, but in a good way. For 2024, consumers will be blending their favorite flavors and interests, making way for more experimental tastes, creations and flavor mashups.
Flavor Fusion
Thanks to consumers’ increased exposure to new flavors and cuisines online and in real life, crossover flavors and fusion recipes are becoming more and more popular. The Specialty Food Association’s (SFA) Trendspotter Panel at its 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show saw crossover flavors popping up across the show with snacks that feature cocktail flavors, teas with dessert vibes and even savory meat flavors in some sweets. Given those combos, panelists predicted that things like sweet-and-spicy sauces, sweet rubs for meats, and sweet-and-savory dips would all work to meet this trend’s demands in 2024.
Unique flavor fusion dishes are also on the rise, right alongside the globally inspired recipes and ingredients that make them possible. According to the SFA’s Top Food Trends of 2023 Trendspotter panel, many people are experimenting more regularly with different foods at home today and in the future because they stepped out of their pre-pandemic cooking comfort zone during the pandemic.
To hop on this trend in the future, look out for dips, sauces and rubs that make use of global ingredients like the East Asian citrus fruit yuzu and harissa, a North African red chili pepper paste. Trending international recipes for condiments, dips and more will also be popular. Products inspired by things like salsa macha, a nutty Latin American salsa variation; achaar, a South Asian pickled fruit and vegetable condiment; and chermoula, a North African marinade made of lemon juice and spices, all fit this trend.
Nostalgic Nibbles
For comfort-seeking customers, nostalgic flavors and comfort foods of the past are becoming more and more popular as people look to connect with childhood foods and feelings closer to home. Depending on your customer base’s age, the flavor interests may change with this trend. Gen Z and millennial customers may seek more 80s- and 90s-inspired flavors — think pizza bagels and sloppy Joes — in the future while older generations like Generation X may seek out earlier 80s- and 70s-inspired menus with things like sweet-and-savory barbecue meatballs and nut-and-cheese logs. Many potluck and holiday comfort food flavors will also cross generational divides
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