Supermarket Perimeter - September 2024 - 22

Global cuisine
fusions, like
paneer tacos,
are increasing
in popularity,
according
to The Kruse
Company.
BRAND MASHUPS
By Russell Redman
Chaimberg referenced a few news headlines about Pepper X being certified
the new hottest pepper by Guiness World Records in 2023 as examples,
including, a " Hot Ones " YouTube video featuring YouTube content creators
Sean Evans, Chili Klaus, and Smokin' Ed Currie trying the new pepper.
Another example of a nuanced flavor Chaimberg gave was Hot Pockets
expanding its brand with unique flavors. In the past, Hot Pockets offered
a flavor simply titled " Spicy Pepperoni. " Now, Hot Pockets has a Hot Ones
branded Smokey Green Chili Cheesesteak featuring Hot Ones Los Calientes
Verde Hot Sauce. The packaging highlights that the heat level is medium but
plays into consumers' interest in ranking by adding that the heat level is 5/10.
Beyond ingredient credentials, authenticity and origin stories of brands are
also important to consumers. Chaimberg mentioned the Fly By Jing brand as
an example, referencing an LAtist article titled " Fly By Jing Wants To Shatter
Your Assumptions About Chinese Food, One Jar Of Chili Crisp At A Time, "
which details Gao's background and how she began her company.
Comfort and curiosity
In a June 23 session, Nancy Kruse, " menu maven and trend tracker " of The
Kruse Company, said consumers are craving community, comfort, and
curiosity. Kruse listed the following top five menu trends in 2024:
* World stews and soups, such as birria and ramen
* Global chicken wings
* International barbecue
* Incorporating social media trends
* Grilled/cooked cheese
Many of these trends take a classic comfort food item like soup, chicken
wings, and grilled cheese, and elevate those items with other global flavors
and formats that are interesting to consumers' curiosity.
Kruse also said that " nothing succeeds like excess, " which reinforces what
Chaimberg said about consumers wanting longer titles and more information
on product labels. Kruse added that consumers want comforting textures like
" warm and gooey " plus interesting textures like " crispy and crunchy. "
As excess sells, consumers are interested in fusions of multiple international
cuisines with many different flavors working together, Kruse said. Some
examples from foodservice she gave were Del Taco's Shredded Beef Birria
Ramen, First Watch's Elote Mexican Street Corn Hash and Carson Kitchen's
Mexican Street Polenta.
Two of the best examples of fusion foods with a lot going on were from
Velvet Taco - a Potsticker Taco, made with seasoned smashed pork, sweet
chile sauce, sriracha aioli, and kimchi slaw in a flour tortilla and a Fried Paneer
Taco, made with tomato chutney, tikka sauce, raita crema, and Thai basil in a
flour tortilla
As she concluded, Kruse said fusion never really went away but is back
even bigger, and mashups will " remain hugely popular. " She said authenticity
is also here to stay and for brands to " be prepared to back up your claim " with
certified labels.
22 - SEPTEMBER 2024
supermarketperimeter.com
The wave of co-branded, cross-category
products hitting the food and beverage market
in recent years has continued to surge, and
consumer packaged goods industry observers
don't expect the trend to crest anytime soon.
Why? These product " mashups " offer a winning
formula: pairings of popular and trusted brands,
innovative taste combinations, attentiongrabbing
packaging and - most important -
consumer intrigue.
" Brands are trying to push out a little bit,
move into new spaces, new adjacencies and
maybe completely new parts of the store, "
said Joan Driggs, vice president of content and
thought leadership at Chicago-based Circana.
" Co-branding is a great way to do that. The Oreo
brand is a perfect example. The Oreo cookie has
been in ice cream toppings and breakfast cereals.
Oreo now has its own line, through Froneri, of
frozen novelties and ice cream products. So
it's new spaces, new occasions, new ways of
extending the brand for maybe new audiences.
It's a great way of leveraging the trust that
consumers already have in a lot of these brands. "
Brand familiarity also spurs customers to try
something new or different. Twenty-six percent
of US adults surveyed by market intelligence
firm Mintel said they're more likely to try an
unfamiliar flavor from a brand they know - a
percentage that climbs to 32% of those ages 18
to 34 and 31% of those ages 35 to 44. Men also
are more apt (30%) to try a new flavor from a
familiar brand than women (23%), London-based
Mintel found.
" Consumers are interested in new things, but
there's still a risk associated with trying something
completely new, especially in the past couple of
years as we've dealt with higher prices of food, "
said Jenny Zegler, director of Mintel Food & Drink.
" So, if you are an adventurous consumer and want
to try new things, there's less of a risk in trying a
product that has a brand name or a flavor that you
recognize, because you're not taking a step too far
out of your comfort zone. And I think you feel like
you might get a better return on investment, or
the family might like it a bit more because they
already like one of those brands or formats. "
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