The Best Blends for Butter and Oils

Butter and oil have been, and will continue to be staples found in every kitchen. As two ingredients crucial for baking, cooking, or simply enhancing the flavor of a dish, consumers tend to reach for these ingredients when preparing a meal at home. However, even as a kitchen classic, butter hasn’t seen much flavor innovation. There are typically two options for butter on retail shelves: salted and unsalted. Similarly, oils for both cooking and topping dishes are rarely seasoned and sold on shelves for consumers to purchase.

Compound butter and oils are quickly becoming in demand with consumers, and much like other food products, consumers have shown keen interest in bringing their favorite flavors to butter and oils. While innovation has only just begun in this category, brands have the opportunity to become trendsetters by incorporating some of consumers’ favorite flavors into these products. Keep reading for our experts’ insights on the best ways to innovate with butter and oils.

Better-For-You Butter

It almost sounds like an oxymoron! It’s widely believed that butter isn’t the best for your health, but that has not deterred consumers from buying and consuming butter regularly. It’s also true that consumers have been making more health-conscious decisions during their grocery trips, which is why creating a compound butter that is both delicious and beneficial to consumers’ health could be just what consumers have been looking for.

Functional ingredients in compound butter can include spices and herbs. Incorporating spices, like turmeric and cinnamon, or herbs, like rosemary and basil is the perfect way to move butter into the better-for-you product space. However, spices and herbs aren’t the only way that brands can innovate with better-for-you flavors and functional ingredients. Floral flavors have been a hit among consumers, and incorporating flavors like lavender, honeysuckle, and elderflower will appeal to both trend-conscious and health-conscious consumers.

Innovation with Cooking Oils

Olive oil, avocado oil, and sunflower oil each have varying purposes for many consumers. With convenience cooking becoming a regular habit for many consumers, creating a 2-in-1 product that can enhance flavor is one way to grab consumers’ attention. Rarely a dinner recipe doesn’t call for oil in some way or another, and most consumers incorporate spices and seasonings into many of their dishes during the cooking process, so pre-seasoned oils are exactly what these time-conscious consumers are looking for.

It’s no secret that many consumers can be hesitant to change, so creating a cooking oil that incorporates spices that are most commonly used during mealtime preparation, like black pepper, red pepper, or garlic powder, would be a perfect way to introduce flavored oils to the shelves. For more adventurous consumers, consider getting inspired by the latest trends in food service to find innovative ways of incorporating popular flavors into cooking oil.

Jump Start Your Innovation with Butter Board Blends

The butter board trend took off in 2022 and has been popping up on social media platforms and in food service establishments. Early last year, we released an innovative seasoning collection tailored to this trend. The seasonings featured in our Butter Board Blends collection were specifically designed for butter innovation, but each can be modified to also create a flavorful oil for dipping, topping proteins, or simply enhancing a dish through the cooking process.

Interested in trying the flavors from our Butter Board Collection out for yourself? Request your complimentary samples today!