Flavorcast: Ingredients & Taste Trends For 2023

When all else fails, it’s time to go back to basics.

Let’s face it: 2022 was another grind of a year, an exhausting voyage across against economic headwinds and geopolitical tremors whose path ahead only promises more pain. Against that backdrop, ingredient suppliers, flavor specialists and the beverage makers that they work with are seeking to offer some relief by simply giving consumers the tastes that they crave: think indulgent desserts, crisp and refreshing fruits, and nostalgic candies.

Coffee

As far as ingredient trends go, this one has a relatively long tail. Dave Asprey’s homespun “bulletproof” coffee recipe helped bring Silicon Valley’s biohacking sensibilities to mass audiences, and while most Americans still aren’t adding butter to their morning joe, Asprey’s recipes helped inspire current emerging brands like Kitu Super Coffee and Koia.

But while consumers are asking for functionality, these brands are betting they still want flavor, and they’ve leaned into indulgent taste profiles like salted caramel and glazed donuts for their latest RTD coffee releases. That aligns with Flavorchem’s 2023 Flavor & Trend report, which cites premium coffee as an in-demand platform for “experimentation, wellness, and novel flavors,” including cookie butter, bourbon caramel, chocolate cayenne and brown sugar. In its own Flavor Trends for 2023 report, T. Hasegawa notes that nearly half (48%) of global consumers are interested in cold RTD coffee with indulgent options. Other examples include Dunkin’s new Iced Coffee Bakery Series, with flavors like Cake Batter Donut and Brownie Batter, and, on the more function-forward side, Pop & Bottle’s Vanilla Cold Brew Oat Milk Latte + Collagen.

Rolling out the Pumpkin Spice for a few months every year doesn’t seem to be a problem, either, as 77% of global RTD coffee consumers say they find limited-edition flavors most appealing, according to retail data group Mintel. T. Hasegawa notes in its report that 15% of consumers prefer coffee as the beverage they are most willing to try unfamiliar flavors, while nearly three out of four global consumers say they like to see new and unusual flavors in coffee and tea, per Mintel. More broadly, coffee as an ingredient and flavor is enjoying strong momentum across categories, including snacks and desserts, which bodes well for future growth in RTDs.

Exotic Fruits

The word ‘exotic’ may be a bit loaded; its pertinence to each individual depends on their experience. That being said, “dragonfruit” may not be the rarest of flavors for the seasoned RTD beverage drinker, but rising interest in the fruit — named Firmenich’s 2023 Flavor of the Year back in December — may indicate a widening path ahead for other taste experiences of a similar ilk.

“Dragonfruit may be still a ‘rare’ fruit flavor for CPG food & beverage brands, but it is no longer rare to consumers,” said Jeff Schmoyer, Firmenich Global Head of Human Insights. The prickly fruit, known as Pitaya in Latin America, is a low water-use crop that offers a “light, refreshing, sweet” flavor that has long been favored in natural juices and smoothies, but is now getting more shine in packaged drinks. The fruit has proved a versatile flavor for categories ranging from energy drinks (Rowdy, Red Bull) to kombucha (KOE) to sparkling waters and soft drinks (the recently relaunched Bossa Nova, Polar, Tractor Beverages). According to Firmenich, dragonfruit use in actually growing faster in foods than in beverages, where innovations typically appear first.

In its 2023 trend forecast, The Arthur-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) also cites the continued rise of “ripe, fruity citrus” like mango and passionfruit along with “juicy stone fruits.” Overall, citrus remains the “most classic” flavor profile, accounting for nearly 30% of all new product launches, according to ADM. Within a saturated sparkling water market in particular, pushing boundaries with bolder fruit flavors is critical to standing out, according to Tom Gibson, Chief Flavorist at Flavorman.

“Client requests have taken a 180-degree turn on flavor, especially where seltzers and sparkling waters are concerned,” said Gibson. “Whereas before, clients would be looking for a gentler spritz of nuanced flavors in their drink, we are now seeing more clients ask for loud and proud, single-note flavors.”

Candy & Sweets 

It may not seem like an intuitive pairing, but candy and fitness get along rather well, apparently.

Last year saw performance energy drinks C4 and GHOST expand their use of licenses with their respective partners; for the former, that meant launching a Starburst flavor to complement its existing Skittles branded SKU. Meanwhile, GHOST, which counts Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish and Warheads among its licensing contracts, has continued to circulate those flavors through both its RTD and powder drink lines. Beyond the taste, those products help tap into nostalgic feelings and retro vibes for millennial and Gen X consumers, according to a report from functional ingredient maker Prinova, which lists retro candy and fruity cereals as flavor trends for 2023. T. Hasegawa reports that 17% of consumers seek beverages with nostalgic flavors for new flavor experimentation, while 46% choose nostalgic flavors specifically for dessert or confections.

That approach isn’t without some risks, however. GHOST was recently the subject of a complaint letter from advertising watchdog group Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health at the University of Connecticut urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to act against the drink maker for using kid-friendly candy brands on drinks intended for healthy adults only.

Which makes one wonder – is it worse to package healthier products with indulgent flavors and sell them to adults, or to make bad tasting, less nutritious products, and sell them to kids? Stay tuned for flavor trends 2024.