Trend Alert: Tangy & Sour Flavors

At Fuchs, we track food and flavor trends all year round, and one trend, in particular, has caught our attention lately: tangy, sour and fermented flavors. Consumers are seeking out mouth-puckering flavors for a variety of reasons. In an age when bold flavor is highly in demand, it is no surprise that consumers are looking for flavors that deliver intense sensory experiences, powered by sour ingredients. Keep reading to get our take on this trend.

Fermented Fare & Functional Benefits

As consumers become more aware of their microbiome, they are seeking sour flavors and fermented and probiotic ingredients to help support a healthy gut. Fermented ingredients have seen rapid growth in both foodservice and retail. This is largely due to the perceived health benefits surrounding fermentation, along with a growing acceptance of sour flavors, driven by young consumers along with Black, Asian and Hispanic consumers.
Sour and fermented ingredients and menu items to watch for future growth thanks to their marketed health benefits or added health halo include kombucha, kefir, kimchi, natto, and drinking vinegars.

Sour Power

Last decade we developed a craving for bitter – coffee, dark chocolate, broccolini, brussels sprouts – and now we’re exploring mouth-puckering, saliva-inducing sour. This is, in part, due to the rise in ethnic cuisines that feature sour flavors. Korean, Filipino, and Persian cuisines are all in gaining steam in foodservice, all of which include tangy and sour ingredients in many of their popular dishes.

Exploring trendy Filipino dishes, we note various vinegars in braised dishes, in marinades and dipping sauce – even in their version of ceviche or vinegar-based chicken adobo. Persian restaurants are opening in the US, with the greatest concentration in LA. Iranians are particularly partial to sour: rhubarb, sour oranges, fresh and dried limes, tamarind and pomegranate fit the flavor profile.

Trend Influencers

Millennials are driving several of today’s food and flavor trends, including sour flavors. This generation of consumers tends to be the most adventurous eaters and are the most likely generation to say they enjoy trying new flavors in international cuisines.

Gen Zers are also much more likely than members of Generation X and older to say they’re eating more bitter and sour flavors this year than they were last year, boding well for the future growth of both of these flavors.
Men are also more likely than women to say they are eating more sour flavors now than they were last year, such as fermented foods or vinegars. This aligns with the finding that men are more likely than women to try a new ingredient or flavor because it’s functional since sour fermented fare is commonly prized for its digestive benefits.

Our Latest Collection

Given the rise of tangy and sour flavors, it made sense for us to introduce a brand-new collection of mouth-puckering seasonings. Our upcoming Limited Edition Tangy & Tart Collection features 4 snack seasonings inspired by trending pickled, fermented, sour and tangy flavors. To request samples, contact us.