Classic flavours dominate new product launches in packaged foods

Chocolate leads in staying power.

Nearly three in five businesses are focusing on expanding through their existing product lines, according to Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Industry Survey 2023.

Despite a wave of new flavour innovations, classic tastes like chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry remain top choices in packaged foods.

“Amidst an ever-growing array of flavour experiments driven by R&D, aimed at capturing the attention of increasingly distracted and busy consumers, certain classic flavours consistently stand out,” the report noted.

Based on Euromonitor’s AI-led Innovation dataset, these flavors were featured in 33% of new product launches from January 2022 to May 2024.

Chocolate stands out with over 71% of its new introductions still available for purchase online as of May 2024, surpassing vanilla and strawberry.

The enduring popularity of chocolate can be attributed to its broad appeal and perceived health benefits, supported by cocoa's flavonoids and flavanols.

Whilst chocolate dominates overall, flavors like strawberry and vanilla excel in specific segments such as snack bars. 

Moreover, the dataset emphasises the importance of sub-category analysis in understanding flavor performance. Whilst chocolate excels across packaged foods, strawberry and vanilla exhibit stronger staying power within specific segments like snack bars.