This document summarizes five emerging flavour trends in Asia according to International Flavours and Fragrances (IFF): 1) Health and wellness trends like fermented flavours such as kimchi and kombucha that are perceived as healthy. 2) Natural flavours from natural production methods rather than artificial processing. Herbs, spices and botanicals are popular. 3) Globalization is driving trends like wasabi and sakura from Japanese influence and increasing cheese consumption from Europe. 4) Fusion flavours that contrast or complement each other such as sweet-sour snacks and incorporating local cuisine into snacks. 5) Consumers demand transparency so firms must build trust through reputation and

1. Beyond taste: Five emerging flavour
trends taking shape in Asia
Flavour firms need to keep up with the rapidly changing tastes of consumers and take a holistic
approach to innovation in order to secure success, according to the International Flavours and
Fragrances (IFF), which has highlighted five emerging trends in Asia.
The Hainanese Chicken Rice and Singapore Laksa flavoured potato chips from Singaporean start-up F. East are
examples of snacks that are infused with culinary tastes.
Understanding the shifts in consumer lifestyles was critical, Karen Stanton, the global marketing
and branding director of flavours told FoodNavigator-Asia.
“For example, we are looking not just at the ‘flavour of the month’, but are looking at consumer
lifestyle shifts - emerging themes that will help us understand the most important challenges and
opportunities shaping the consumer landscape,” Stanton said.

2. “Consumer needs are shifting more rapidly than ever before. In response, IFF has completely
changed its approach to innovation with a technology pipeline that can address cross-category
needs.”
“The research is cross-category (across all of our business units), in order to look beyond just taste
or just scent or just nutrition so as to have a broad fundamental approach to short- and long- term
innovation.”
At present, the firm is looking at six different areas for taste innovation, such as opportunities arising
from plant-based diets, culinary taste, taste modulation, natural ingredients, and sustainability
issues.
For instance, a drop in global citrus supply has inspired IFF to develop citrus flavours from
sustainable and renewable sources.
“Our response to this problem is twofold, which includes the development of technologies that
respect and extend existing resources through by-product revalorisation, backward integration and
sustainable sourcing, and also innovative natural citrus flavours from renewable, non-citrus,
non-agricultural sources,” she said.
She added that it was important to observe macro shifts in the global society in order to prepare for
longer-term opportunities.
“Whilst no-one has a crystal ball, without this far reaching insight (from macro societal shifts), we
will never be able to prepare technologies (which have long development lead times) to deliver on
new taste, scent, and nutrition frontiers.”
Five emerging flavour trends
From health and wellness to consumer trust, Stanton highlighted five emerging flavour trends that
were shaping demand for new food and beverage products in Asia.
Health & Wellness

3. With heightened interest in health and wellness, any flavours that were, or could be associated with
health were growing strongly, she said.
Fermented flavours, such as kimchi and kombucha, are examples of increasingly popular flavours
due to their perceived health benefits.
Indeed, in the case of kombucha, the market is predicted to grow 25% each year by 2020, due to its
image as a healthier option, while kimchi is recognised as a gut-friendly food.
Globalisation and product premiumisation have also driven the popularity of these flavours, she
said.
Natural
Consumers are looking for elements that are associated with natural, pure, and fresh.
“Any flavour or ingredient that can be associated with natural or positioned as pure, raw etc. is
growing,” she said.
This includes the use of natural production and processing methods, such as fermentation and
brewing, over the use of artificial processing methods.
The use of brewed ginger in beverages was an example of a beverage produced with natural
processes, while natural ingredients such as herbs, spices, and botanical ingredients including
turmeric, butterfly pea flower were also welcomed by the consumers, she said.
Globalisation
Globalisation is driving flavour trends in APAC.
The Japanese influence was particularly strong across Asia, with the wasabi and sakura as classic
examples, she said.

4. She gave the example of the sakura flavour, which was usually introduced as a limited edition
flavour during spring time.
She also observed the increasing use of cheese in Asia, due to influence from the European
markets.
Fusion
Fusion refers to combining flavours that contrast or complement one another, with sweet-and-sour
flavoured snacks a typical example.
There was also a rise in fusing culinary tastes into snacks, she said, pointing to the example of
salted egg yolk flavoured snacks in Singapore.
Adding to the point above, Singaporean start-up F. East is also another example of a firm that has
introduced locally-inspired potato chips flavours, such as Hainanese Chicken Rice and Singapore
Laksa flavours, into the market.
Also key was the ability to provide a different sensory experience, such as a sour-flavoured
beverage, as opposed to the usual sweet flavour, she said.
Trust and Transparency
Consumers have learned how to read product labels and are looking for greater transparency in the
food that they eat.
“There is a huge amount of distrust happening with consumers right now, across the entire food
industry and I am not just talking about the food industry either, but across many industries,
institutions, the decline of trust is a very big issue,” she said.
She pointed how consumers are seeking trust based on reputation, such as referring to consumer
reviews, a departure from institutional trust, before making a purchase. She thus urged firms to
devise ways on building consumer trust.

5. Source: Well to do global
Author: Laura Hill
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