Last December, we cataloged the new froyo flavors that were introduced in 2019. In that post, we talked about two major trends, dairy-free, plant-based alternatives and cookies. Now it’s time to look ahead at emerging flavor and product trends. The major trends for 2020 are plant-based foods, superfoods, exotic or unusual flavors and ingredients, and nostalgic sweet flavors.
Plant-Based
Tastemakers all agree that the popularity of plant-based foods is not going anywhere and will continue in 2020. Last year could be characterized as the year of oat milk. The array of dairy alternative milks is staggering and includes rice, hemp, flax, coconut, sesame, tiger nut, peanut, pea protein, walnut, hazelnut, etc. Yogurt consumers have been demanding dairy-free alternatives beyond sorbets for years. The most common dairy alternatives in froyo are shifting away from soy and almond milk to cashew milk, coconut milk, and oat milk.
New Superfoods
Whole Foods comes out with an annual list of food trend predictions. This 2020 list predicts that superfoods will remain popular, with the rise of lesser known, African superfoods and earthier flavors (e.g., peanuts, ginger, lemongrass, tamarind and moringa), alternatives to refined sugar from fruit sources and starches, and superfood butters and spreads. Who knew that they made butter out of watermelon seeds? Those superfood butters and spreads would make delicious froyo flavors. Imagine combining dairy alternative milk with superfood butter, like almond butter froyo made with almond milk. Yum!
Asian Flavors
Comax Flavors, a New York-based leader of flavor technology and innovation, relies on primary and secondary market research to identify flavor trends. For 2020, Comax sees the continued popularity of healthy, plant-based foods and beverages and Asian flavor influences. It’s interesting that while Whole Foods is predicting the rise of African flavors and ingredients, the examples they gave are also found in Asian cuisine. For example, moringa is from Southeast Asia.
We’ve also noticed a surge of interest in yogurt drinks, i.e., drinks at boba shops made with real yogurt.
Floral Infusions
Yelp’s approach to trend forecasting relies on looking at the words and phrases that reviewers use and identifying those that are rising the fastest and most significantly between 2018 and 2019. Their food trend predictions for 2020 include floral-infused drinks and dishes, ube, Korean food (e.g., Korean rice hot dogs), and Japanese souffle pancakes. Floral infusions are less complicated to offer than CBD infusions. There were a few floral flavors last year, including Strawberry Rose from Pinkberry Canada, Rose Green Tea from Yogen Fruz, and Blueberry Lavender light ice cream from Yogurtland.
Nostalgic Sweet Flavors
Comax sees cookie dough as a nostalgic flavor. To make it more trendy, imagine cookie dough combined with nut butters and/or nut milks. 16 Handles did it last year with Cookie Dough Craving vegan soft serve made with cashew milk Cookie Dough Craving vegan soft serve made with cashew milk.
Gummy candy is currently seeing a surge of popularity as a dietary supplement, according to Gold Coast Ingredients. They predict that more gummy candy flavors will appear in foods. Orange Leaf introduced Sour Raspberry froyo made with Sour Patch Kids last year.
We look forward to seeing all the new froyo flavors that come out this year!
