While culinary fads might grow and fade, one aspect is constant: Flavor will always trump any other aspect of a product. If the item is new, unusual, sports a specific benefit, or ties into the latest fad and sells a million units upon launch, if the flavor profile isn’t top-notch, purchases will plummet precipitously.

Keeping up with flavor trends in this globalized era of constant and viral information can be challenging. After all, these days a single online influencer can spur the interest of millions of consumers with a single tweet. Nowhere is this more evident than among the so-called Gen Z demographic, a generation of adults in their late 20s and younger, with some of the highest purchasing power and the strongest trend impact.

With the $30 billion-plus market for flavors and fragrances growing at a strong pace of more than 5% CAGR, according to a recent MarketsandMarkets estimate, it’s worth taking a look at some of these current flavor trends.

A report on “Gen Z Trends” published July 2023 by Innova Marketing Insights stated that “social media plays a significant role in shaping Gen Z’s food preferences, making them more likely to follow food and beverage trends on social media and share their experiences online.”

Innova further noted that this group often aims for social media posts on foods and beverages to “go viral,” something that “has driven increased demand for exciting and unique flavor combinations.” Specifically, according to the July Innova report, the “adventurous spirit” of these trendsetters “has caused a rise in exclusive and exotic flavors, particularly in beverage and snack categories.”

Global flavors are the key to today’s flavor preferences, and authenticity, as highlighted by Innova, “will remain a core part of future new product development.” The culinary influences of the Far East and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Levant (including North Africa and the Middle East) are expected to expand as they are explored further by culinarians.

The report was supported by an in-depth survey by Innova, “Favorite Consumer Flavors Across Global Cuisines,” and presented in the August issue of Prepared Foods. The results of this survey showed that “three out of five recent product launches feature Asian flavors, followed by Mediterranean and Latin American. Drilling down to specific flavors associated with ethnic dishes, we see fastest growth in Italian lasagna and Korean kimchi, followed by Indian masala and specialty masalas, Korean flavors in general, and various Asian flavors.”

According to that survey, “Top categories tracked with Asian flavors include numerous savory foods. Italian is the top Mediterranean flavor in several categories. More than half of all Latin American flavors in sauces, ready meals, and meat substitutes are Mexican.”

As movement between nations and cultures continues to become more and more fluid, not only will these ethnic flavors become more prominent but so, too, will the merging of components in a cross-cultural culinary pollination. With the blend of such food styles as Korean and Mexican already becoming commonplace, and so many ingredients having a foothold across regions and even continents (think cilantro and its prominence in Mexican, Vietnamese, and Indian dishes), new flavor trends can only expand exponentially.

David Feder has been a Prepared Foods staffer since 2011, which doesn’t seem long until you realize it’s almost 2024 and we’ve nearly completed the first quarter of the 21^st century. Being an old codger who grew up on 1960s sci-fi, this drives him to ask, “Where are the flying cars? The vacations on Mars? The personal robot servants?” Well, at least we still have real food and not Soylent Green. Feder can be reached at federd@bnpmedia.com should you wish to tell him legal flying cars are finally available for $150,000 but they only have a 20-mile range.