Is that type of year where everyone is talking about a trend for 2026?
Every flavour house is announcing their flavour of the year, every report is predicting what consumers will want next.
And if you are a food-entering brand planning for the next launch, you may be wondering, "Should I follow this trend?"
The answer is, it depends.
And today I'm going to walk you through the biggest flavours and consumer trends for 2026, but most importantly, I'm going to show you how to evaluate whether they are actually right for your product or not.
So let's dive into what's happening in the market, and then I will give you a framework for deciding which trends actually make sense for your brand and your product.
The biggest flavour trend of 2026, which I'm quite excited about, is bold global flavours with regional specificity.
So I love it because I have the feeling I'm learning something whilst tasting something, if that makes sense.
So we are going beyond the classic Asian-inspired to actually specific regional profile.
And I have to say, Indian cuisine, for example, has been a huge learning for me since I'm living in the UK because in France, it's not necessarily a cuisine that you see very often.
So I went to a lot of Indian restaurants, but when I started to go to specific regional ones, I saw a huge difference.
It really opened my mind and my palate, let's say, to so much more specific flavour profile.
That was so interesting.
So we've been seeing products with more and more gochujang, but some of those are coming along.
So I'm going to be very sorry for my pronunciation through the entire episode.
I'm just going to say it now.
So we are seeing things like "Achi amarillo" from Peru.
We are seeing West African spices like "Grain of Paradise".
These flavours have so much more depth and complexity and also a story behind them.
It's the same with peppers.
So if you see different black peppers, white pepper, sorry, my pronunciation is terrible as well for pepper.
The different type of salt or black peppers with more fruity woody notes, that is incredible.
When you get outside of the classic black pepper that you get on supermarket, you discover a whole new world of flavour profile and complexity.
White foods are getting bigger and bigger and bigger and finally have that moment.
So think about miso, kefir, kombucha or kimchi.
they bring their deep umami and savoury richness that consumers want more and more.
And the good thing is they obviously tie with the gut health trend, which is obviously going to get bigger and bigger.
I have to tell you this story.
The first time I had kimchi, my brain wanted to spit it out.
Not that the taste was wrong, it was just because I never tested anything like that before.
My brain was in safe mode, protection mode, and just thought I never tasted anything like that before.
This is not in our repertoire.
So just spit it out just in case it is not safe to eat.
So I had to force my brain and I keep on trying it and now I'm just loving it.
So I think consumers are more and more familiar with this fermented taste and they want more in their product.
Then they are the botanical flavours.
I know what you're going to say, yes botanical flavours have been trending for years.
But I think now we are moving away from the classic rose and then the flower.
But again, we are adding more complexity and regional specificity with botanicals like m-what, sorry for the pronunciation,
palo santo, gentian root.
This is something we start to see more and more, especially in functional beverages and low alcohol drinks.
Next, every year, flavour houses announce their flavour of the year.
And in 2026, we are seeing some interesting choices.
One of them is a dark sweet cherry.
A dark cherry flavour profile is supposed to be a bold and dominant sweetness with light sourness to provide a balance between some of the earthy notes and a little bit of almondy notes but not as much as all of the cherry flavours that you can see on the market which are most of the time, cherry flavours that are really almondy.
So we're talking about like authentic, richer, deeper cherry than what we are usually seeing.
And the second one which was announced was pineapple, tropical pineapple.
And this is supposed to be a really bold dominant flavour profile with this like bright acidity.
And this is supposed to evoke the sunny mood and freshness.
Next trend, the flavour trend for 2026 are the nostalgic flavours that are coming back with a big twist.
Think about brown butter, brown sugar, salted caramel, brown caramel, chai spices, all of those flavours are back.
But rather than just doing those flavours, we are really adding this nostalgia with a premium elevated twist.
So we're really talking about higher-quality ingredients with more complexity.
For example, brown butter is making such a comeback and brown butter has this incredible nutty richness with caramelised notes which is used a lot in savoury and in sweet application.
Next we have confectionery inspired flavours and I'm very excited about this one.
So they are bringing childhood joy to adults and actually Gen Z also and that is incredible because again it's nostalgia but it's also about the experience and products that taste fun.
So think about crunchy cookie butter, candy-like flavours, melting chocolate sensation.
It's really trying to replicate what you have when you eat those products but in beverages or in other applications.
And it's all about texture play and I love, love this one.
Next we have the functional ingredients trend which is going to keep going.
And I'm very happy to see it's no longer just about protein and caffeine, it is really going deeper.
It's about longevity, mood and gut health.
So some that we are seeing more and more is ingredients like lion's mane, ashwagandha, reishi, saffron, collagen and a lot more.
And these are ingredients that you may have seen in supplements or in functional beverages.
But now we start to see those more and more in food products.
So obviously as I mentioned earlier, functional ingredients do come with challenges because they are going to have really strong earthy, bitter or fishy notes.
And so you need to approach your flavour strategy with a lot of care.
Because you cannot mask everything, you have to be clever about your flavour pairing and your flavour profile that you choose to pair with these strong notes.
Next trend is clean label and longevity.
Consumer, well, longevity actually is one part of the functional.
So I talked about the mood, the gut health, and then you have the longevity, which is really to protect your body, your cells, protecting cognitive function, protect immune function, and that's the growing trend.
And we have the clean label which is not going away and I'm very happy about that.
Consumers are reading labels more than ever and they are rejecting ultra-processed foods.
And I think one of the big push for that is all of this information about ultra-processed food, the studies showing what ultra-processed food does to your body, how it affects your hormones, your brain, your everything.
So consumers want better for you products.
So ingredients that they recognise, shorter ingredient lists and nothing synthetic if possible.
And it's really important that food and drink brands understand that having a functional product with a lot of health claims won't be enough if your product is full of additives and artificial flavours.
Because consumers are not going to believe you if you say "yes, this is going to be good for your health" and you have a list with 200 ingredients that nobody knows.
So focus on balancing the functionality and your clean label values together.
And obviously, the more natural or the less ingredients, the less additives you have, you're going to be dealing with a lot more challenges in terms of flavour and texture.
And that's why I think that's the exciting part of food science is trying to figure out how can you have a natural wholesome ingredient list that performs really well from a texture and a flavour profile that consumers want.
And that's what I love helping food and drink brands doing.
And obviously, something that I need to mention is that you cannot say to a consumer, just add this functional ingredient and your problem will be solved.
So I hate when I hear supplement brands or functional food and drink brands that will only say "yes, if you have this amount of vitamins and minerals or collagen, you'll be fine."
Obviously, we know that it has to be part of a holistic lifestyle of making sure you do exercises,
you do a little bit of cardio exercises,
your diet is diverse and healthy.
So those are the major trends for 2026.
If we recap, we have bold global flavours with specific regionality, we have nostalgic comfort with a premium twist,
we have confectionery with multi-sensory experience, we have functional ingredients, we have clean label and longevity.
But here's the most important part of this episode.
How do you decide which trends are right for your food and drink product?
Because trendy is not necessarily going to be right either for your brand, your product and your target consumers.
So for example, if you're developing a plant-based protein with earthy notes,
this amazing pineapple flavour of the year may clash rather than compliment your product.
Again, if you're working with functional ingredients, there are definitely some most challenges.
So many are going to be bitter, earthy and sometimes fishy.
So you need a flavour strategy that actually mask or compliment this of note without fighting your base.
that, I have a simple three-step framework that I use with my clients.
Step 1.
Does it fit your base?
This is the most important question.
If you have, again, a plant-based protein and you want to try this dark sweet cherry, it may clash completely.
But instead, a rich caramel flavour may work better.
Your base dictates your flavour strategies.
Always.
Does it fit your brand value and image?
So for example, if you're a food and drink premium sophisticated brand and you want to follow every single TikTok viral flavour trend, that may just clash with your brand identity.
But the more elevated and premium nostalgic flavours, for example, that could be a better fit for your brand.
So make sure the trends align with who you are as a brand and the image you want to regulate.
Step 3.
Does it fit your target consumers?
Just because Gen Z loves a certain flavour, does it mean your target audience will?
If you're targeting, for example,
health-conscious professional, functional botanicals may resonate more.
If you're targeting families with kids,
nostalgic comfort flavour with a twist may work better for you.
Know who your target consumer is and what flavours they like.
So if a trend doesn't tick all of these three boxes, it is probably not a match for you.
But that's okay.
every trend.
You need to make strategic decisions, especially around flavours, based on your product, your brand, and your target consumers.
That's all for today's episode about the 2026 trends.
I hope they give you an idea of what is coming, what is growing, but also a framework for evaluating which trend is actually relevant for you.
And if you're launching a new product in 2026 and you're not really sure you'll be lost which flavour direction should it be for your product, that is exactly what I help my food and drink customers with the Choose packet.
and if you're launching a new food and drink product in 2026 and you're not sure you'll be lost which flavour direction you should choose for your product, this is exactly why I help my food and drink customers with my Choose package.
We run structured testing, we identify the flavours that will actually work for your specific product, and we create a flavour strategy together.
And if you found this episode helpful, please leave a review on whatever platform you're listening to this podcast.
Your review genuinely helps this podcast grow and makes it more visible to other food and drink brands who are struggling with the same challenges you may be facing.
And I will see you in the next episode. Bye!
