instore - January 2018 - 37

"They combine the trends of
heat with the popularity of an
ethnic proﬁle."
Lacey Eckert, Kalsec, Inc.
Estates, Illinois, says there is an increasing
interest in what he calls sensory overload
in the food landscape. "Hot and spicy flavors connect with consumers in a way that
a standard flavor cannot," he says. "It's the
nose clearing, the tongue tingling and even
the burning on their fingers that gets them
excited about eating something spicy."

The next sriracha?
We've seen the rise and sustained success of
sriracha, but what comes next in the realm
of spicy flavors?
Well, perhaps more sriracha, for starters. "Sriracha is starting to morph," says Stern. "It used
to be that it was just red. Now you're starting
to see it in green formats as well. You're seeing kind of an evolution of sriracha."
Outside of sriracha, Middle Eastern flavors
are growing in popularity: things like baharat
and zaatar. Also trending are Korean flavors
like gochujang, a savory, sweet and spicy fermented condiment made from red chili powder and fermented soybean powder.

PHOTO: FOOD-PICTURES - FOTOLIA

And part of the rise in heat is a simple product of television and print publications.
"We've been saying it for a while and it really is true: there are so many cooking shows
and so much out there that are making these
trends seem more common to people. They
see it on Food Network and then they see
it in a magazine," Stern says. "It might be
something as simple as Self magazine talking about a light recipe that incorporates
heat and spice into it to make up for the fat
and other stuff that's not in it."

How hot is hot?
This exploration of heat has resulted in consumers' tolerance of heat improving during
the past decade. What qualifies as hot and
spicy continues to evolve.
"Americans have grown to love hot and spicy
food," says Andrew Hunter, foodservice and industrial corporate chef, Kikkoman Sales USA
Inc., San Francisco. "Ingredients that were

once considered cutting-edge and daring, like
chipotle chilis - let's call them 'Hot and Spicy
1.0' and sriracha - 'Hot and Spicy 2.0' - are
woven into our diets and our recipes. They're
an expected part of today's flavor pantry."
While companies may want to steer clear of
insanely hot recipes, Stern is remindful that
if the kick isn't evident, the end consumers
will likely end up dissatisfied.
"Generally, for us, when we make something that's spicy, we try to make it true to
the name. If you're going to name something
'Fire House Hotter Than Hell Chili,' it better
be hot," she says. "If it's just 'Hot and Spicy'
and we go middle of the road, you still need
to detect the heat. Consumers are going to
be disappointed if they can't detect it."
And a big part of that is the experience consumers are seeking when they go for hot flavors.
Roger Lane, marketing manager of savory
flavors for Sensient Flavors in Hoffman

"Gochujang and harissa are among the sauces most cited as 'the next possible sriracha,'"
says Lacey Eckert, market development specialist with Kalsec, Inc., in Kalamazoo, Michigan. "They combine the trends of heat with
the popularity of an ethnic profile."
Eckert also names the Middle Eastern condiment zhug - a combination of cilantro and
jalapenos with other spices - and sambal,
another Asian sauce incorporating chilies,
as flavors to watch.
Stern says the combination of spicy and
sweet, an ever-popular experience, is growing even more in popularity.
"You're finding heat and sweet blended together even more, things like honey sriracha
or maple and jalapeno," she says. "Next year
for our Global Flavors we're doing a honey
and buffalo. You're seeing the sweet and
heat complement each other. They just pair
really well together."

instore * JANUARY 2018 * 37

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