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From customized mayonnaise to a simple tomato concoction, savory sauces come in a variety of textures, colors, and — of course — flavors. Sauces provide the accent to the meal or a way to tie it all together. With sauces to suit even the pickiest consumers, it’s a category that can change quickly and often. Here’s a look at the newest trends for savory sauces.

Clean Label

More and more sauce products are adding natural credentials, in order to capture the “clean label” customer. Globally, in the 12 months prior to August 2015, 27% of new sauces and seasonings carried a natural claim. In addition, 18% of new product packaging explicitly mentioned the exclusion of additives.

MENU OFFERINGS:

• Lyfe Kitchen in Memphis uses sustainable and organic ingredients whenever possible. The menu specifies which items are vegan, contain nuts or are gluten-free. Their “Ancient Grain Stir-Fry” uses a chile-ginger sauce.

• Seattle restaurant Agrodolce serves organic and sustainable ingredients, including a fresh herb aioli with its pan-seared sockeye salmon.

• Savor, a new restaurant in North Canton, OH, serves organic and non-GMO ingredients. Their organic hummus plate features roasted red pepper, roasted tomato and crostinis.

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Chili Peppers Bringing the Heat

Chile pepper is the fourth most common flavor in new product launches in Europe, and the heat-seeking trend continues across the globe. Whether a gentle kick or a searing heat, new sauces include chile peppers like never before.

MENU OFFERINGS:

• The Rattlesnake Club in Detroit serves an ancho chile tamarind sauce with its Chickpea and Cauliflower Pakora.

• In Chicago, Frontera Grill’s Shrimp in Yellow Mole features a mole sauce using ancho and guajillo chiles as well as tomato, tomatillo and onion.

• Blue Ginger Restaurant in Wellesley, MA, serves Shiitake-Leek Spring Rolls with a three-chile dipping sauce.

Blank Canvas

More than 20% of Spanish, Polish and German consumers say that they are influenced by unusual flavors when buying condiments. With consumers growing more adventurous, customizable “base” sauces like mayo, aioli and hollandaise are ripe for customization. These simpler sauces serve as carriers to bring not-so-simple flavors to consumers.

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MENU OFFERINGS:

• In Charleston, SC, Peninsula Grill offers truffle-flavored hollandaise as a side option.

• Rialto Restaurant in Cambridge, MA, serves a red-pepper aioli with its parmesan fries.

• Uncle Ramen in Denver features a miso-flavored mayonnaise on the Fried Green Tomato Steamed Bun.

Fruit in Savory Sauces

According to Mintel Reports, 21% of UK consumers said they would be interested in trying fruit-flavored vinegars. The trend goes beyond vinegars, however, with many new savory sauces creating complex taste with the addition of fruit flavor.

MENU OFFERINGS:

• I Love Sushi in Seattle serves a mango-chili sauce on the Sweet Mango Chili Roll.

• Rio Café in Tucson Arizona includes a jalapeno pineapple citrus mojo sauce with the restaurant’s “Wild Caught Sea Scallops.”

• Vidalia in Washington, D.C., serves a chipotle-lime aioli with the chicken nugget meal.

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New Spins on Old Favorites

According to Mintel Reports, 21% of UK consumers said they would be interested in trying fruit-flavored vinegars. The trend goes beyond vinegars, however, with many new savory sauces creating complex taste with the addition of fruit flavor.

MENU OFFERINGS:

• Sparrow Bar and Cookshop in Houston serves red curry ketchup with its “Chick Fries.”

• San Diego’s Prado at Balboa Park Sangria includes a sangriaflavored cocktail sauce with its shrimp cocktail.

• Buttons Restaurant in Fort Worth, TX, serves a sriracha ranch sauce with its “Chicken Thangs” menu item (chicken gizzards.)

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FONA CAN HELP!

Let FONA’s market insight and research experts translate these trends into product category ideas for your brand. They can help you with concept and flavor pipeline development, ideation, consumer studies and white space analysis to pinpoint opportunities in the market. Our flavor and product development experts are also at your service to help meet the labeling and flavor profile needs for your products to capitalize on this consumer trend. We understand how to mesh the complexities of flavor with your brand development, technical requirements and regulatory needs to deliver a complete taste solution.

CONTACT OUR SALES SERVICE DEPARTMENT at 630.578.8600 to request a flavor sample or visit www.mccormickfona.com.

SOURCES

Mintel GNPD, Mintel Reports, GetFlavor.com, PRNewsWire.com, LyfeKitchen.com, AgrodolceRestaurant.net, RestaurantSavor.com