A little excitement, please
When it comes to spices and seasonings, the basics such as pepper and seasoned salt always will have a place in the pantries of North American consumers. But the success of many other spices and seasonings – both new and existing – often is tied to current flavor trends.
In the latest of its annual Flavor Forecast publications, released last December, Sparks, Md.-based spice and seasoning supplier McCormick & Company Inc. reveals \"Global My Way\" as a leading trend for 2013 and beyond. The trend refers to consumers discovery and usage of formerly \"ethnic\" ingredients in dishes that go beyond the traditional.
\"Dont be surprised if in the next few years Japanese Katsu, a tangy cross between barbecue and steak sauce, and cajeta, a Mexican caramel, gain the broad appeal that once-regional tastes like Asian hot chili sauce have achieved,\" Kevan Vetter, McCormicks executive chef, noted in a press release revealing five flavor trends to watch.
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consider current flavor trends in spice and seasoning new product development.
Dont
be afraid to give old favorites a smoked, roasted or toasted spin.
In keeping with the ethnic-goes-mainstream trend, Jeffery Troiola, corporate chef, research & development for Woodland Foods, Waukegan, Ill., points to Indian Cuisine as a hot trend impacting the spice and seasoning category.
\"Indian cuisine has always been associated with complicated combinations of herbs and spices to meet a certain flavor profile,\" he says. \"Consumers now are very savvy and adventurous and are more than willing to attempt the combinations to experience more exotic tastes.\"
Peruvian cuisine and South American cuisine also are trending, Troiola notes. Of interest here are Argentinian chimichurri, South American dishes featuring various types of chiles such as aji panca and aji amarillo, and huacatay, or Peruvian black mint.
Linda Lee, manager, private label sales for C.H. Guenther & Son, San Antonio, agrees that ethnic flavors are in vogue, adding Asian and Hispanic flavors to the list of todays trends. Bold flavors, too, are growing in popularity, she adds.
Jeff Brinkhoff, president of Mount Vernon, Mo.-headquartered Red Monkey Foods, also notes the lean toward bold.
\"Chile peppers and spices with heat are big trends,\" he says. \"They are set by the flavor fatigue with the aging baby boomers and the adventurous Generation Y.\"
Consider alternatives to old favorites
But store brand decision-makers will need to pay attention to more than just flavor trends if they are to develop spices and seasonings that fit in with the wants and needs of todays consumers. Theyll also need to take a look at the trend toward new spins on existing spice and seasoning favorites.
One such trend, Lee says, is toward reduced-sodium versions of staple items such as brown gravy and taco and chili seasoning mixes.
\"Organic is still important,\" she adds. \"However, price point and shelf life tend to be a factor in slower sales.\"
Roasted, toasted and smoked versions of spices also are gaining in popularity.
\"The roasting and toasting helps to bring out the essential oils of the spice and gives it more depth of flavor,\" Troiola explains. \"And smoking adds a very nuanced exotic touch to some more familiar ingredients such as cinnamon, garlic and pepper. They can add another depth of flavor to a single dish or to a spice rub or seasoning blend.\"
Naomi Novotny, president of Woodinville, Wash.-based SaltWorks Inc., calls the trend toward smoked – be they smoked salts, smoked peppers or smoked spices – huge.
\"They are really taking off in the manufacturing/food processing sector, as well as the retail consumer sector,\" she says.
Go beyond me-too
To really boost excitement for – and sales of – store brand spices and seasonings, retailers also need to go beyond \"me-too\" in terms of both products and marketing.
\"Consumers are looking for new and exciting innovative items that stay on top of the culinary trends set by restaurants and the Food Network chefs,\" Brinkhoff asserts. \"It seems the best programs include seasoning blends that are indicative to the area or region and carry a certain flair to be unique to a store group.\"
In addition to regional offerings, retailers might want to consider developing unique spice kits for consumers who are hesitant to buy multiple jars of herbs and spices to make, say, an Indian curry blend, Troiola says.
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educate consumers as to the many non-traditional uses for ethnic or unusual spices and seasonings.
Dont
miss the chance to cross-merchandise spices and seasonings with complementary products throughout the store.
Another opportunity for differentiation lies in the offer of smaller containers and single-serve packets, Brinkhoff suggests.
\"It lowers the out-of-pocket expense and helps create more trial, especially when talking about seasoning blends,\" he says.
Speaking of packaging, Novotny notes that consumers are looking for both value and ease of use.
\"For high-end items, they may look for gift packaging during the holidays, but overall, value and convenience always win out, in my experience,\" she says.
But packaging sporting both the store brand and the manufacturers brand – cobranding – does present a potential means of differentiation, Novotny believes.
\"Consumers see the value of the store brand, combined with the quality of the artisan brand/producer, and it is a huge selling point,\" she stresses.
Retailers also might want to make education part of the marketing plan for ethnic or unusual offerings.
\"The more knowledgeable consumers become, they are discovering that ethnic ingredients can be used across various platforms, and they are not tied to their traditional uses,\" Troiola says. \"As they better understand more of the exotic global spices and herbs, they realize they can incorporate those flavors into their everyday eating.\"
And with so many uses for spices and seasonings, a bit of innovative thinking also goes a long way on the merchandising side, too.
For example, \"retailers that build meal solutions using seasoning mixes increase the total basket ring,\" Lee says.
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See sea salt soar In a 2011 study, Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc. found that 95 percent of surveyed households were at least aware of sea salt, and more than half of those households actually had sea salt in their kitchens. Many consumers are willing to pay a premium price for foods containing sea salt, Cargill notes in \"Why Sea Salt,\" a 2013 article in its Food Processing in Prospective online publication, because they perceive such products to be more healthful and as having \"artisan\" appeal. \"Specialty salts also continue to have a huge push behind them, and more manufacturers are listing sea salt as a marketing technique on their packaging and advertising than ever,\" says Naomi Novotny, president of Woodinville, Wash.-based SaltWorks Inc. Evidence of high consumer interest can be seen in SaltWorks recent sales performance. The worlds largest gourmet specialty salt company, which announced in June kosher certification for its entire line of smoked sea salts, noted in a January press release that sales of its gourmet salt in 2012 were up 40 percent from 2011 levels. From plain to flavored to smoked and flavored, sea salt is making an appearance seemingly everywhere today – in restaurant entrées, in packaged prepared meals, combined with caramel and chocolate, and in jars on store shelves. Retailers that havent yet tested the sea salt waters might want to weigh store brand product development here. |