Our article, New Froyo Flavors of 2017, took a look back at the new frozen yogurt flavors introduced last year. In this flavor forecast, we look at emerging flavor trends. Many of these trends continue to be driven by millennials’ taste for the exotic, complex, and unusual flavors.
Floral Flavors
Whole Foods predicts 2018 flavor trends will include floral flavors, functional mushrooms, puffed snacks, dairy-free alternatives and super powders like “matcha, maca root, ground turmeric, and cacao.” Floral flavors that would complement frozen yogurt include rose, hibiscus, lavender, and elderflower. Tutti Frutti Canada came out with Lavender Crème Brulee frozen yogurt in 2017 and they were also on trend with their Chai Coconut Cardamom frozen yogurt. Yoga-urt’s Lavender Blossom flavor, introduced in 2017, has become one of their best-selling flavors. We like the sound of floral flavors mixed with fruit, like raspberry rose, hibiscus rhubarb, and apple elderflower.
Beverage Based Flavors
Multiple matcha cafes have opened in the Los Angeles area. Matcha soft serve has become popular even outside of matcha cafes. But matcha was one of the first frozen yogurt flavors offered by Pinkberry and Red Mango, and it wasn’t popular outside of Southern California in areas with a high concentration of Asian residents. So, matcha might not become mainstream but maybe turmeric and golden milk will have broader appeal. Golden milk is made with non-dairy milk, fresh ginger, peppercorns, and spices. Eb & Bean in Portland, OR created a non-dairy golden milk froyo flavor. We really enjoyed the Thai Tea soft serve at Matcha Matcha in Arcadia, CA and it would make a wonderful froyo flavor.
Coffee based frozen yogurt flavors always seem to be particularly tasty and there are so many good coffee roasters out there to partner with. How good do peppermint latte froyo and hazelnut latte froyo sound?
Edible Cookie Dough Flavors
The popularity of edible cookie dough opens up range of new froyo flavor ideas, such as peanut butter cookie dough froyo, oatmeal raisin cookie dough froyo, snickerdoodle cookie dough froyo, rocky road cookie dough froyo, etc.
Unicorn Froyo Flavors
It’s well known that millennials love unicorns, mermaids, and rainbows. Lip Smacker introduced Unicorn Froyo this year and Yo-Chi in Australia had Unicorn Week, featuring unicorn frozen yogurt, specialty toppings, and unicorn shakes. IceBurg in St. Petersburg, FL offers elaborately decorated unicorn cones. Unicorn froyo is usually pastel pink with multi-colored sprinkles. What would unicorn froyo taste like? Cotton candy? Frosted cookies? Check out our Pinterest board, Unicorn Froyo, for inspiration.
