Global flavors have been taking the food industry by storm! Now more than ever, consumers are seeking out the foods and flavors of faraway places to satisfy their cravings for adventure. While it’s no secret that this has been a major trend of the past decade or so, it’s really taken off with a broader consumer base over the past few years. Between the pandemic and inflation, budget constraints and limitations on travel have meant that consumers have grown increasingly bored – and increasingly reliant on food to shake things up.
Snacks are ideally suited for globally flavors for many reasons. Familiar bases help unfamiliar flavors seem more approachable. Snacks, compared to meals, are also a much more affordable, lower risk option for trying something new. Better yet, consumers also expect a lot more innovation from snack products compared to products in other categories. So, how should brands incorporate global flavors into their snack products? Which global flavors are best for snacks? Keep reading to find out!
Get Inspired by Global
When it comes to bringing global flavors to snacks, brands have a lot of options. One option is look for up-and-coming cuisines and dishes for inspiration and to translate those directly to snack flavors. What typically begins trending in foodservice tends to eventually make its way to retail, so we suggest that brands pay close attention to emerging global flavors, dishes, and ingredients in foodservice. Right now, for example, Korean cuisine has been making waves in foodservice, making it ideally suited to translate to retail products that will generate a lot of buzz. Popular Korean foods like kimchi, bulgogi, and gochujang can all be translated to seasonings for snacks.
Another option that brands have is to incorporate global flavors and ingredients into more familiar flavor profiles. Adding a trending flavor or ingredient to, say, a BBQ or a ranch flavor makes the global flavor more approachable to less adventurous consumers. Look to trending global ingredients like five spice, harissa, and yuzu for inspiration for creating exciting international inspired flavor combinations for snacks.
Knowing your targeted consumer well is key for knowing how to offer global flavors in a way that will get them excited. Younger consumers tend to be more adventurous, so seeking out the most unique flavor combinations and exotic global cuisines to feature is how brands can grab these consumers’ attention. Older consumers, although more adventurous than they were just a few years ago, are still more hesitant about trying new global flavors than younger consumers. So, finding ways to make these flavors more approachable, like by pairing them with familiar, mainstream flavors, is going to be necessary for helping these consumers expand their horizons without forcing them to step too far out of their comfort zones.
Which Global Flavors to Feature?
When trying to choose a global flavor to feature on your snack products, you have a world of options – literally. We often hear from snack brands that it’s overwhelming trying to narrow down all of the global flavor options to just one or two. The good news is that when it comes to global flavors, right now, you can’t really go wrong. Consumers are embracing cuisines from just about every corner of the world and are excited to try anything new and different.
Understanding the desires of your target consumers is important here too. Gen Z consumers are expressing interest in the most exotic of cuisines, specifically seeking out African and Middle Eastern cuisines. If you’re looking to appeal to these consumers, look to classic dishes and spice blends from these regions for snack flavor inspiration. Think a doro wat potato chip or a berbere BBQ jerky.
Millennials are still quite adventurous, but not quite as adventurous as Gen Z consumers. Asian and Indian cuisines are very popular with these consumers right now. Think a tikka masala popcorn or a Pho kettle chip. Older consumers are less excited by the most exotic, but instead looking for new flavors from more familiar regions. Mediterranean and South American flavors may be more appealing to these consumers.
Ready to innovate with global snack flavors? Contact us today to see how Fuchs can help you make something special.