Flavoring trends add new flavors to the industry. What was once an obscure flavor like pomegranate joins the mainstream as restaurants bring them to their recipes to deliver fresh new ingredients. As the new flavor is seen and used more, the more popular it is. Suddenly, or so it appears, it plays a second horn to the next flavor that is popular.

Flavoring trends add new flavors to the industry. What was once an obscure flavor like pomegranate joins the mainstream as restaurants bring them to their recipes to deliver fresh new ingredients. As the new flavor is seen and used more, the more popular it is. Suddenly, or so it appears, it plays a second horn to the next flavor that is popular.

Progressive companies are always looking ahead. Some are trying to predict the next big break through in flavorings that consumers will crave, while others are hoping to establish a favorable trend that will ignite the popularity of a fresh new flavor.

The sequence is not very easy nor exact; however, it is right on! Predicting the future for what's coming next requires a systematic process that uses sources from the food, beverage and restaurant industry just to mention a few of resources. New flavors are continually reviewed until patterns develop.

Here's how new flavors transition from being a new flavor to developing into a mass appeal. As a new flavor becomes more popular in a wide range of industry vehicles, like being used on menus, in cocktails, in beverages and foods, its use is varied slightly to help each new product deliver a unique taste. That drives the flavor profile into the public's attention.

The more desirable attributes of the ingredient are highlighted, the more they will peak interests. Let's look at the pomegranate, a food that recently made the transition from an unfamiliar ingredient to a popular flavoring. Until 2002, pomegranate was relatively unfamiliar and not available in typical markets. Pomegranate was mainly for its functional properties in dietary supplements as well as hair and skin care products.

Pomegranate then began to gain notice as an ingredient in everyday beverages, juices and cocktails. From there, it its growth started to a more popular approved flavoring. It appeared in drinks, in recipes and in specialty sauces. It was usually mixed with more basic flavors such as blueberry. Using the new flavor with the old lets people build experiences with a new flavor and create a comfort level.

What's next on the radar for new flavor trends? Soon "yumberry", to mention one, will be displaying its new flavor in flavoring profiles.

For now, all the hot flavors like pomegranate, acai and blueberry are available in flavor concentrates that you can use to flavor water, beverages, foods and cocktails. One day soon yumberry will be popular in demand, and it will develop into a favorite flavor concentrate.

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