Synergy Flavors spotlights East Asia for Flavors of the Future
Synergy Flavors predicts that East Asian flavors will take centre stage for sports nutrition products, as outlined in its recent Flavors of the Future report.
Synergy’s research, which takes into account a range of factors from popular product launches to the impact of social media, has identified that emerging flavors such as salted egg custard, hojicha, Japanese plum, and ramune will become more prevalent across sports nutrition products, whilst already established and mainstream flavors such as dalgona biscuit, Japanese melon, jasmine, yuzu, and lychee are also likely candidates for popular future product launches. The flavor house’s report recommends manufacturers looking to innovate should turn their attention towards developing products that utilise these emerging flavor concepts.
Flavors of the Future 3, which offers more detail and insight into these upcoming flavor trends and how manufacturers can utilise these in NPD, is a sports nutrition-specific marketing report which highlights one geographical region every year, and identifies flavors from across categories in the chosen region which could offer opportunities for global sports nutrition launches. In previous editions of the report, flavor from North and South America have been showcased, and also flavors inspired by Mediterranean regions.
Chris Whiting, European Business Development Manager, comments: “Flavors of the Future is one of our most popular insight reports, which inform sports nutrition manufacturers on what flavors are poised to perform well based on current consumer interests. The newest report hones in on Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisine, and in generating this report we have come to realise that the impact of popular culture on the food and beverage industry cannot be underestimated. For example, record-breaking series such as Squid Game led to challenges that saw consumers attempting to recreate the now infamous ‘dalgona biscuit’, and it’s influences like these that help to shape the food and beverage industry and open up new areas and flavors for innovation.”
Regions are selected through a range of datapoints, which identify trending and influential cuisines based on size of country, diaspora, market penetration, social media, and Google search data. After a region is identified, Synergy works with data partners to generate a longlist of flavors that fit within this region. This longlist is then further refined based on research into recent product launches, social media listening, and mentions in content such as recent news items and blogs. When a shortlist has been created, the remaining flavors are split into four categories – Emerging, Growing, Mainstream, and Established, based on their position in the innovation adoption curve.
Once flavors of interest have been established, Synergy’s team begins to create flavor profiles by sourcing benchmarks which can undergo taste testing and profiling. Further analysis is performed by Synergy to identify key flavor pairings, whilst applications specialists work with the new flavors to create solutions that suit a range of applications such as vegan, whey protein, and clear protein. Research into market growth also means that emerging markets needs can be addressed, such as flavor solutions for functional energy beverages that target the expanding eSports consumer base.
Flavors of the Future 3 is now available to download for manufacturers looking to create sports nutrition products that stay one step ahead of the competition. For more information and inspiration about the flavors set to take sports nutrition by storm, download the report at https://uk.synergytaste.com/insights-innovation/insights/flavors-of-the-future-east-asia/
