In New Spins on Standards 2017: Culinary Trend Tracking Series, Packaged Facts identifies more than a dozen foods, beverages, and ingredients that will trend in 2018.

Each year around this time, food experts of all types publish their best guesses as to what culinary trends may hit the scene in the coming year. As trend-spotting is a combination of science and art, “trendologists” not only gather underlying data and insights from other credible sources, they also layer knowledge of food, flavor and cooking technique to arrive at more than just a list of the most “googled” foods of the year. 

The crackers category is, without a doubt, in transition. Previously a vehicle for cheese and a garnish for soup, the humble cracker is transforming into a snack that can stand on its own in terms of nutrient profiles and flavors.

In the consumable consumer packaged goods market, clean label is having a growing influence. Among the areas where ingredient suppliers have noted clean label’s impact, color solutions are near the top.

Although green might be the symbolic color of nature, red is definitely the color of the Back to Nature flag. This has nothing to with leftist politics; natural reds have been at the forefront of the tidal shift from artificial to natural colorings in foods and beverages, pushed ahead to replace the now-spurned Red Dye #40 and bug-derived cochineal colorants.

There’s no doubt that 2018 will be the Year of the Probiotics. Yes, 2017 was already given that sobriquet, but both the eruption of science behind probiotics and health, and the rapid expansion of probiotic-enhanced products is showing no signs of slowing—or even pausing for breath.

Younger shoppers, in particular, continue to drive experimentation and innovation with new dimensional flavor combinations and textures. 

Retail sales of nutritional shakes and bars reached $9 billion last year after rising at an annual rate of almost 10% over the preceding five years, reports market research firm Packaged Facts in the study Nutritional Shakes and Bars: US Retail Market Trends and Opportunities.

With something like 7 billion flavor preferences in the world, accurately forecasting what upcoming flavor trends will be in 2018—or any year—can be considered something of an exercise in audacity. A flavor trend can explode out of nowhere, fast, and be completely spontaneous.

This extensive online offering presents related consumer insights as well as retail and culinary trend lines.