While scanning articles this past month looking for interesting tidbits to share, I came across Archer Daniels Midland’s (ADM) 2024 Flavor and Color Outlook, a report on ingredients the global processor believes will drive new products in the food and beverage space this year. The report’s main takeaway was that “2024 will be a year of unapologetic choice for bespoke flavors and color experiences. The coming year will see consumers defiantly choosing flavors and colors that reflect on their personalized desires – with an unapologetic abandon for flavors they deem tasty and the shades that appeal to their aesthetics.”
The report’s authors – Jennifer Zhou, senior director of flavors for ADM, and Kelly Newsome, ADM’s senior global marketing manager for colors and savory flavors – added, “Consumers’ tastebuds will transcend tradition and geographic boundaries to challenge the expected with new flavors and formats. Whether to delight their senses or to embrace health in all its various forms, this year’s themes contrast and combine to bring innovation in all categories and all types of products.”
The report outlines four trends and the color and flavor inspirations that will bring each trend to life. First off is “Luxe Self-Expression.” In contrast to the trend toward affordability, consumers still want to express themselves through the foods and beverages they consume, the report says. ADS predicts this trend will take shape in AI-shaped experiences, in luxuriously indulgent flavors and colors, and the curated consumption of products that reflect their personal values.
The color inspirations for this trend include stormy blue, blue atoll, sparkling grape, fired brick, fiery red and apricot crush. Flavor inspirations include caramelized fruit, cinnamon sugar, sweet and umami.
This trend is being expressed in a few ways, according to ADM’s flavor outlook. While consumers have had plenty of digital experiences over the past several years, they are beginning to connect those experiences with versions “in real life” (IRL). This can mainly be seen through the expression of viral food trends making their way into packaged foods spaces. For example, #cinnamonroll saw 9.4 billion views on TikTok.
The luxe trend will also mean an unleashing of hedonistic taste and color in beverages, sweet foods and culinary/savory applications that “manifest consumer emotions and identities through the bold and satisfying foods and flavors they gravitate to.”
Trend number two in the report is “Dare to #dupe” which they say has moved from the personal care market to infiltrate food and beverages in a credible way. With more economical versions of their favorite products or reinventions of nostalgic products, consumers are empowered to be led to sensory experiences that are authentic to their memories, regardless of brand. Important in this trend are affordability, taste or shade replication and authenticity. According to the ADM report, there has been a 234 percent increase in daily Google searches for “dupe” over the past five years. By 2024, #dupes have evolved beyond just being knock-offs. With premium private label brands paving a way for innovation, there is room to bring consumers great experiences without emptying their wallets. This means we will continue to see new solutions for cost sensitivities or raw material shortages.
For the #dupe” trend color inspirations are pink power, magical marigold, playful blue and pistachio green, while the flavor inspirations are pistachio, cucumber, melon and grapefruit (growth of grapefruit flavor product launches grew by 5 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to Mintel GNPD).
Trend three is “Health Without Stealth” and the report predicts things like funky fermentation, flavors and colors being used in packaged goods to help functional products resonate and an explosion of better-for-you-concepts with an open and transparent view towards health. There has been a 54 percent rise of “minus” products on the market, with reduced/low/no fat/sugar/salt options. According to Mintel. With rising consumer expectations for taste without compromise, producers will be increasingly challenged to deliver on that promise when making healthier options.
The color inspirations for “Health Without Stealth” are spectra yellow, persimmon, pistachio green, olive oil, very violet and floral pink while flavor inspirations include blood orange and yuzu florals.
The fourth trend they identify is “Breaking Boundaries of Color.” Consumers are expected to continue embracing tastes and colors that were previously thought of as unconventional, and those will become the new norm and new favorites. With viral social media driving exploration, the conversion of new products to mainstream staples seemingly happens in an instant. Challenging traditions and geographic boundaries of taste is leading foods and beverages to new heights of innovative development.
“Breaking Boundaries of Color” trend expressions include experiential eating and drinking and flavors and colors that challenge the norm. Color inspirations include bold reds, rich purples, earthy greens and saturated yellows while flavor inspirations include grape, lychee and Chinese shacha. Again, citing Mintel research, there was an 8 percent increase in grape flavors product launches from 2022-2023.
Reading the report’s “Health Without Stealth” section and seeing that one of its color inspirations is olive oil, reminded me of something I wanted to share that I read recently on epicurious.com – a story about how to tell if extra-virgin olive oil is the real deal, which is to say not adulterated, mislabeled or flat-out rancid.
EVOO is simply the juice extracted from fresh olives without chemicals or further processing of any type. In fact, in order to qualify as EVOO, which is the highest grade, the oil has to pass lab analysis and sensory tests set by the Madrid-based International Olive Oil Council.
I learned on a trip 2001 trip to Greece hosted by that country’s olive growers, that olive oil extracted from olives grown in one country is often shipped to another, usually Italy, and then blended with olive oils from other places before being bottled and shipped off again. That means there’s ample room for deception along the production chain and could result in fake EVOO (thanks, Rachel Ray, that’s so much easier to type). Sometimes, higher quality olive oil is diluted with cheap soybean or seed oil, or mixed with lower grade olive oil that’s been chemically refined.
According to epicurious, the best way to know if you’re getting top quality olive oil is to taste it. Since it would be frowned upon for a shopper to pull a bottle of olive oil off the shelf and give it a try, epicurious shares some pointers that you should keep in mind when shopping for olive oil, courtesy of Larry Olmstead, author of “Real Food Fake Food.”
The first tip is to never buy anything that doesn’t say “extra virgin” on the label. That phrase on its own isn’t a 100 percent guarantee, but without it, you just won’t know. “Virgin,” “pure” or just plain “olive oil” will not do.
Tip number two is to look for a harvest date and an estate or mill name. Basically, said Olmstead, the most specifics the better and only the better oils will have a “pressed on” or “harvest” date. If the label includes the name of the producer or estate where the oil originated, it’s most likely the real deal.
Which brings us to Olmstead’s tip number three – ignore “best by” and “bottled on” dates. The “best by” date is arbitrary and lacks any legal standard and “bottled on” doesn’t mean much, either. As Olmstead put it, “It could have been in a tank for a year before it was bottled.”
Next tip is to look for a third-party certification seal. In particular, the European Union’s Protected (PDO) or Italy’s (DOP) or the “COOC Certified Extra Virgin” seal from the California Olive Council for California oils.
The next tip, which I found very interesting, is – if you see EVOO from Australia or Chile, buy it because it will be fresh and legit. Australia has the most stringent standards and a highly advanced tracing system, and neither country mixes carryover oil from the previous harvest, according to Olmstead.
Keep in mind that fancy packaging and a high price don’t necessarily guarantee top quality. Cheap is definitely a red flag, but expensive doesn’t automatically mean quality. If you keep Olmstead’s tips in mind, then you’ll have better luck than just assuming an expensive EVOO will be a delicious EVOO.
Of course, his last tip was, “Trust your senses. If it tastes good, it’s probably good.” Which takes us back to the original problem.
I’ve never tried Australian olive oil, but I think I’ll keep an eye out for some.
On a sad note, you may have seen the obituary on page two of this issue for Steve Leger, the Schmidt Baking “bread man” who died last month at the age of 67. While I didn’t know Steve that well, I bumped into him often over the last many years at various industry events, like the Children’s Cancer Foundation annual gala and the ADUSA Our Family Foundation golf outing each year. I can say without a doubt that Steve always had a genuine smile for me each time we met, and was always so gracious to me and a good friend of the paper. Jeff and I attended his memorial service and it was clear that Steve was kind to many, many people and made a difference in a lot of lives. I know he will be sorely missed by his family and many friends.