Drink to feel something – not just to get buzzed.

• Mocktails Get Sophisticated: “Dry January” has become a lifestyle, with 36% of Gen Z drinking less alcohol. Sophisticated zero-proof cocktails now feature aquafaba foam, bitters, and juniper distillates. RTD mocktails (faux G&Ts, whiskey sours with chickpea foam) are flooding shelves.
• Social Tonics Rise: Drinks with kava, L-theanine, ashwagandha, and ginseng deliver chill, focus, or euphoria. Kin Euphorics and Recess lead the category with sales up 45% YoY. Sober bars now serve drinks with purpose, not just placeholders.
• Prebiotic Fizz: Gut-friendly sodas from Olipop and Poppi posted triple-digit growth. Trader Joe’s joined with strawberry vanilla and cherry cola sodas. These drinks offer 2-5g of fiber per can and mimic classic soda flavors with wellness benefits.
• Protein Lattes & Functional Creamers: Coffee chains now serve protein-packed drinks (20g+), using whey or plant-based blends. Dunkin’ tested protein cold brew. Functional creamers add collagen, MCTs, or adaptogens.
• Mushroom Coffees & Herbal Elixirs: Reishi, chaga, and lion’s mane blend into earthy, smooth coffee alternatives. Mushroom brands saw 2x YoY growth. “No crash, just clarity,” one consumer review noted.
• Cannabis Cocktails: THC drinks are up 28% in legal markets. Terpene-infused mocktails (citrus + pine, grapefruit rosemary) mimic cocktail complexity. CBD sodas, sparkling waters, and THC-spiked tea spritzers are common in dispensaries and bars.
• Hop Water & NA Spirits: Hoppy sparkling waters emulate IPAs without alcohol. NA spirits like Monday and Seedlip bring botanicals, bitterness, and citrus into zero-proof bars. HOP WTR reports 300% growth as health-conscious drinkers look beyond soda.
• Ready-to-Eat Cocktails & Boozy Treats: Think cocktail popsicles, jelly shot cups, or Champagne-infused gummies. Convenience meets flavor-first fun. This category is booming with bar-quality presentation in playful formats.

Seasoned palates, bold origins, proud sourcing.

• Za’atar Chips & Gochujang Ketchup: 64% of consumers want international spice. Global condiments are crossing categories—gochujang aioli, harissa chips, za’atar popcorn.
• Heritage-Inspired Drinks: Mexican chocolate lattes with chili and cinnamon, hojicha-based horchata, and pandan-milk teas gain traction in national chains.
• Cross-Cultural Mashups: Butter chicken pizza, sushi tacos, birria ramen, and ube pancakes are everywhere. Fusion comfort food resonates deeply with Gen Z and Millennials.
• Authentic Sourcing: Ingredient origin stories matter. Shoppers now want to know if their za’atar came from Palestine, their turmeric from Assam, or their sorghum from Appalachia. Brands spotlight heirloom, fair-trade, or Indigenous suppliers.
• Fermented Funk: Chefs are layering flavor with kimchi mayo, kombucha reductions, and fermented garlic honey. Kombucha market continues growth (+15% YoY). Funk = flavor + health.
• Global Spice Blends: Blends like ras el hanout, dukkah, and berbere show up in rubs, sauces, and snack coatings. TikTok recipes using gochugaru or shichimi tōgarashi are trending.

Comfort food evolves, remixed with flavor science and cultural edge.

• Newstalgia & “Swangy”: Sweet + spicy + sour combos dominate. Think cola-glazed wings with guava and jalapeño. 2026’s buzzword is “swangy.”
• Cereal Milk Everything: Cereal milk sodas, protein shakes, and desserts are in. TikTok’s #cerealmilk hits 94M views.
• Black Currant, Cardamom, Pandan: McCormick crowned black currant its flavor of the year. Cardamom’s lemony warmth and pandan’s grassy-vanilla richness are used in lattes, cakes, and soft-serve.
• Cherry Comeback: Dark sweet cherry is trending in tea, cola, and cocktails. “It’s nostalgic, but not childish,” said one flavor house rep.
• Bacon Lives On: Whether in seasoning or vegan format, bacon-flavored products persist. The U.S. bacon-flavored market is projected at $9.7B by 2028.
• Gourmand Perfumes: Vanilla, salted caramel, espresso, and tiramisu are top notes in trending personal fragrances. Smell is the new taste.

Nutrition is indulgent, craveable, and stealthy.

• Fiber Rules: PepsiCo CEO: “Fiber is the next big thing.” Soda with 5g fiber, bread with resistant starch, and chickpea pastas are the new normal.
• Vitamins That Taste Good: Apple cider vinegar gummies now taste like peach rings. Protein bars come in birthday cake, red velvet, and cinnamon toast.
• Vegan Bakery Boom: Vegan doughnuts with matcha glaze or hibiscus sugar sell out. Voodoo Doughnut’s “Rock & Roll” vegan doughnut became a TikTok sensation.
• Insects & Algae Go Mainstream: Cricket flour bars and spirulina smoothies are expanding with flavor-led positioning. Chocolate + cricket flour = graham cracker-like richness, say taste panels.

Memory, mood, aroma, sound, texture – flavor beyond the tongue.

• Immersive Restaurants: “7 Paintings” and other dining experiences use AR, music, scent diffusers. 85% of diners said flavor felt enhanced.
• Smell Enhances Memory: Orange-peel and lavender diffusers used during sleep improve memory performance by 226%.
• Scent-as-Flavor Devices: Air Up water bottles trick the brain—2M units sold by 2025. Users say “it’s like drinking flavored water without the sugar.”
• AI Flavor Labs: McCormick’s AI-suggested chili-cocoa blend became a top spice rub. 73% of food R&D departments now use AI-assisted formulation.
• Synaesthesia & VR Taste: Chefs pair desserts with music and visuals. One fine dining dish is served with color projections and a corresponding soundscape to shift mouthfeel perception.
• Taste-Your-Music Tech: Lollipop-shaped devices convert audio into tongue vibrations. It’s part novelty, part assistive tech.

Texture is a top flavor driver in 2026.

• Chili Crisp’s Crunch Craze: Chili crisp sales surged 172%. Brands add it to popcorn, cookies, and even cocktails.
• Nitro Across Categories: Nitro cold brew now dominates 28% of U.S. ready-to-drink coffee sales. Nitro beer and tea are next.
• Chewy Drinks Go Viral: Aloe pulp juice, popping boba in lattes, and jelly milk tea are texture-first drinks embraced by Gen Z.
• Mini Indulgence: Mini desserts satisfy curiosity and guilt management. One NYC pastry chef: “It’s less calories but more excitement per bite.”

The future of flavor is science-powered and sensor-driven.

• Wearable Fragrance Tech: Moodbeam’s wearable scent device changes fragrance based on stress levels.
• Scent + Productivity: A 2025 workplace trial found 17% more task completion under peppermint diffusion.
• VR Dining Rises: Tokyo’s “Noodle Spa” experience combines thermal steam, scent, and visuals. Guests say “it’s oddly emotional.”
• Robotic Smell & Taste: E-noses now detect COVID, whiskey authenticity, and food spoilage faster than human testers.
• Olfactory Alzheimer’s Tests: Scratch-and-sniff tests for early cognitive decline show 86% accuracy in trials.

Brands are engaging all five senses to deepen loyalty.

• Scratch-n-Sniff Media: Magazines, product samples, and even wine labels use aroma patches to prime flavor expectations.
• Retail Mood Mapping: Stores use curated scents + lighting + playlists to guide customer dwell time and purchase behavior.
• Edible Packaging: Energy strips you lick, biodegradable soup wraps you eat, and flavor pods that melt – taste meets sustainability.
• Textured Labels = Quality Signal: Products with embossed, matte, or velvety finishes test 33% higher for perceived premium quality.