Milling & Baking News - March 10, 2020 - 24

Food Ingredient Solutions

Emerging spicy flavors appeal to
adventurous snack consumers
Various peppers show promise in the category as does Indian street food

WIXON, INC.

haat, chipotle peppers and citrus all
could impact snack innovation in the
United States. Seaweed, salted caramel and sweet chili are other options as
people seek to experience ethnic flair and
intriguing flavors when snacking.
Gochujang and cayenne pepper are two
trending flavors in snacks, according to a
snack innovation 2020 report from Plano,
Texas-based Frito-Lay North America, a division of PepsiCo, Inc. Other trending peppers
are ghost, habanero, poblano, Hatch and
chipotle. Sour notes and citrus notes, including yuzu, grapefruit and blood orange,
are appearing in snacks as are flavor combinations like spicy dill pickle, according to
Frito-Lay.
Kerry, which has a U.S. office in Beloit,
Wis., includes salty snack flavors in its most
recent U.S. Taste Charts. Kerry analyzes pointof-sale data, product launches and menu
penetration as primary sources of data. Kerry
lists up-and-coming snack flavors as truffle
mushroom, cilantro, Hatch pepper, dark
chocolate and ancho pepper. Emerging snack
flavors are piri piri, seaweed, mango, chive,
salted caramel, kimchi, jerk, berbere and serrano pepper.
Horchata, chai, gingerbread and spice
cookie may liven up snacks, said Vincent
Tursi, master baker/principal technologist
for International Flavors & Fragrances, New
York. Examples of sweet-savory combinations are Thai sweet chili, honey barbecue,
coconut curry, chocolate chili, and caramel
and pumpkin spice.
"These flavors tend to be less sweet with
spice notes upfront with hints of vanilla or
chocolate, layered with baked, caramel and
sweet nuances," Mr. Tursi said. "These flavors deliver in traditional snack formats,
grain-based cereals and granolas, as well as
in more novel bases such as beans and veggie/fruit bases."
Savory snacks called chaat are popular in
India and could influence the U.S. snacking

Indian street food combines flavors from salt, spice blends, pepper and fruit.

category, according to Wixon, Inc., St. Francis, Wis.
"Our focus on chaat grew out of a couple
of parallel trends impacting the U.S. food
scene," said Becca Henrickson, marketing
manager. "There's the obvious snacking
trend, which just continues to grow and
evolve, and the steadily increasing interest
in Indian flavors among consumers over the
past three years. The flavor inspiration we
found in chaat melds with these trends along
with the consumer desire for authentic, ethnic flavors."
Chaat is found in Indian street food in
cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Many of these foods feature black salt, a
pinkish/gray rock salt with a tangy, sulfurlike taste, according to Wixon. Other Indian
street food flavors are cardamom, chilies, cilantro, mango, mint and nutmeg. Tamarind, a
tree fruit, brings forth a sweet and sour, and
sometimes tart, flavor. Turmeric has a bright
yellow color and musky, bitter taste. Masalas
are complex spice blends, and making chut-

shown to enhance the flavor of rye bread or impact the flavor of pumpernickel bread that gets dulled by the addition
of caramel color. Suralito makes tangy San Francisco-style
sourdough bread. Other flavor blends include Toscalito to
impart a subtle sour note, Pestolito for pesto flavor, and Salsalito for jalapeño and salsa flavors. Cheese flavor options
24 / March 10, 2020

Milling & Baking News

neys involves combining fruits, herbs and
vegetables. The jam-like consistency complements chaat.
Various ethnic flavors drew attention in a
2018 consumer insight survey from Innova
Market Insights, Arnhem, The Netherlands.
Two out of three U.S. consumers said they
"love to discover new flavors." Millennials
and Gen Z especially are looking for food
items with funky colors, shapes and flavors.
The number of global foods and beverages
with an ethnic flavor experienced a 65%
growth from 2014 to 2018, according to Innova. The largest growth came in Mediterranean and Far Eastern flavors.
"As our world gets smaller and people
travel and try new cuisines, different ethnic
flavors in snacks are a big attraction, flavors like Thai curry, za'atar and Herbs de
Provence," said Gladys Slovis, flavor application manager for Comax Flavors, Melville,
N.Y. "Seasonings contain ingredients like
ghost chili, serrano peppers, sumac and
truffles." MBN

include Quesolito for savory asiago-style cheese flavoring
and Parmalito for Parmesan cheese flavoring.
Brolite Products, Inc., Streamwood, Ill., offers sours and
cultures to enhance artisan bread. Popular flavors are bro
rye sour, deli rye flavor and butter burst. MBN
- Jeff Gelski
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - March 10, 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - March 10, 2020