Kerry is excited to introduce its winter 2023 Art of Taste & Nutrition: Festive Edition research report that details key trends in new seasonal beverage flavours and formats across 14 key European markets.
The report provides inspiration for foodservice operators considering their seasonal beverage formulations, and how to get these indulgent offerings just right for the 2024 festive season.
Along with the emerging trends and influences unveiled in the report are approaches to reduce sugar content, improve sustainable nutrition metrics and innovate cost-effectively.
Applied strategically, these insights can provide a winning formula for product innovators that will lead to a 2024 festive beverage lineup that draws in customers and inspires repeat purchases.
Art of Taste & Nutrition: Festive Edition delivers perspectives on a number of key trends found in the 2023 festive season, identifying how beverage creators are evolving familiar offerings to give consumers safe options to explore new, more sophisticated flavours.
For something more adventurous, the addition of warming winter spices, such as cardamon and gingerbread, as well as cinnamon, has become much more apparent.
And of course, seasonal indulgences remain a fixture, with plenty of flavoured hot chocolates, mochas and frappés appearing on the menu — topped with additional treats.
Despite the usual need for winter warming, an interesting development has been the year-on-year increase of 7% in launches of iced beverages — now accounting for 23% of all festive new-product launches — with hot beverages comprising the balance.
The Benelux and German markets led the way in iced beverages, with 50% and 45%, respectively, of launches in those regions. Cold beverages are quickly becoming a year-round menu item.
Daniel Sjogren, Vice President of Food Service for Kerry Europe, commented on the new report: “Our research shows that the shift toward simultaneously enhancing both indulgence and nutrition has influenced menus across Europe this festive season, and in fact far more noticeably than ever before."
"With many foodservice operators still searching for ways to translate these trending recipe advances into their menus, for the time being this trend is being driven predominantly by leading innovators.”
