Brands turn to comfort food flavors to create a sense of familiarity
Implications - Moving away from new and innovative flavoring, brands are turning to more familiar food tastes to create a sense of nostalgia. Referencing childhood delights like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, these products offer traditional treats in unexpected forms, combining the comfort of well-known flavors with a need to experiment with everyday cuisine.
Trend Themes
1. Nostalgia Marketing - Brands are using comfort food flavors and childhood favorites to create a sense of familiarity among consumers, thus boosting brand loyalty.
2. Creative Food Pairings - Soda-flavored soy milk and caramel cider popcorn are examples of creative food pairings that offer a unique taste profile, thus disrupting the traditional flavor combinations.
3. DIY Food Culture - Cereal cafes and homemade anime-inspired cookies reflect a growing trend of DIY food culture wherein consumers seek unique and innovative food experiences that they can create on their own.
Industry Implications
1. Food and Beverage Industry - The food and beverage industry can capitalize on nostalgia marketing and creative food pairings to offer unique products that cater to the growing consumer demand for familiar yet innovative tastes.
2. Diy/crafting Industry - The DIY/crafting industry can tap into the growing DIY food culture by offering unique food-inspired crafting supplies and ideas that consumers can use to create their own homemade treats.
3. Entertainment Industry - The entertainment industry can create tie-ins with nostalgic food products like Pokemon cookies to promote the latest movies or TV shows and appeal to fans' nostalgia.
