Culinary Visions Panel Says 2019 Trends Show Millennial Influence

The adventurous palates of Millennials will continue to influence flavor and product trends in 2019, according to industry observers. As 2018 winds down, researchers and marketing insight companies are looking into their crystal balls to see what lies ahead in 2019. The Culinary Visions Panel, a food-focused insight and trend research practice, says in its “2019 Food and Flavor Forecast” that we’ll see more products with coffee and tea flavors.

“We have seen an increase in innovative drinks in coffee houses, and this innovation is expected to cross into other sectors such as snacks, bakery or dairy,” the company says.

Watch for a rise in coffee flavored chocolate bars, tea-flavored cookies and more, the company says.

Mintel’s Marcia Mogelonsky, Director of Insight for Mintel Food and Drink, agrees.

“While salty snacks have explored seemingly endless flavors, there is one relatively untapped combination that has yet to properly test the snacking market,” she says. “Tea and coffee have turned up in other food and drink products with their range of flavor notes and bases.”

Nuts and potato snacks are among those that could benefit from the “strong flavors currently popular in tea and coffee,” she says.

Among on-trend products she cites are Lebby Mocha Chickpea Snacks, dry-roasted chickpeas flavored with mocha, a coffee-chocolate blend.

The Millennial passion for authenticity and spicy flavors combines in another trend that the Culinary Visions Panel is watching. It anticipates that African and Mexican flavors, including berbere and new variations on taco seasoning, will be the hit of the 2019 market.

Kalsec, a family-owned herb and spice supplier based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, worked with Innova, the market research company, to look at trends in spicy foods. Their findings show that more than 550 new products featuring hot and spicy flavors debuted in 2017, up from just 100 a decade ago, and the companies expect that to continue to grow. Peri peri, serrano, guajillo, anaheim, pasilla and chiles de arbol peppers showed the most growth.

Last year, Whole Foods predicted a rise in flower flavors, and we saw a lot of new floral-influenced products at both the Winter and Summer Fancy Food Shows, including Haribo’s Flower Power candies, Black Medicine’s Lavender Latte cold-brewed coffee, and Danika’s Lavender Mustard.

Innova Market Insights says flower flavors rose 132 percent between 2015 and 2017, and predicts that rose, hibiscus, and elderflower will join lavender in the fast-growing floral flavors trend. Their natural appeal and exotic notes make them a winner for new product launches in any application, from cookies to drinks and snacks, says the Culinary Visions Panel.