Take a cue from the changing leaves! Update your menu to reflect autumn’s distinctive flavors and tempting ingredients. Pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, pecan . . . where will fall flavors lead you this year? It’s time to take advantage of the beloved seasonal flavors your consumers expect and crave, offering LTO launches with trending ingredients. But even as you look to the future for flavor ideas, consider hearkening back to nostalgic menu items to evoke sweet memories. Finally, don’t forget about consumers who lack a sweet tooth. Find a balance between sweet and savory, and leverage fall flavors to give all your consumers something scrumptious to eat this autumn, celebrating the simple joy of sweet treats.
The sweet dessert and savory baking landscapes are evolving quickly to meet consumers’ changing lifestyles. Fortunately, our culinary experts can help you achieve any type of bakery flavor, from sumptuously sweet glazes and sugar-free drizzles to savory dipping sauces. Let us help your team develop some unforgettable unguilty pleasures this autumn.
Shine a Spotlight on Trending Seasonal Flavors
Autumn provides a beautiful and flavorful canvas for culinary innovation. For an LTO launch that will spark some invaluable word-of-mouth, look to trending fall flavors and ingredients.
- Ever-Popular Pumpkin: Pumpkin spice remains a sought-after choice for refreshing cold drinks, savory soups and pastas, and compelling compound flavors like pumpkin chai, pumpkin marshmallow, and pumpkin s’mores. Plus, pumpkin pancake entrées have seen a 25% increase in popularity over the past two years! (Technomic 2023) Fall simply isn’t fall without pumpkin spice!
- Fall Fruits to Feature: Companies are launching their fall menus earlier and earlier in the year. Fortunately, autumnal fruit flavors perform well even in warm weather, especially when stirred into refreshingly cold drinks. This year, consider offering specific varieties of apples, especially green apple, and creating flavor mash-ups like apple cranberry and apple chai. While classic apple cobbler desserts are having a moment, with a 25% menu increase over two years, exciting reinventions of the traditional apple pie are also popping up: apple pie egg rolls, apple pie fries, and more! (Technomic 2023) Other fruits to keep an eye on include blood oranges, dates, and cranberries.
- Rich and Irresistibly Sweet Flavors: As the temperature dips, consumers will seek out rich flavors that provide depth as well as sweetness. Trending ingredients like toffee, brown sugar, and pecan can enhance a variety of desserts, from sticky toffee pudding and brown sugar milk tea to pecan pie topped with a salted caramel drizzle. Yummy!
Embrace Nostalgic Desserts This Autumn
Our sense of taste is powerful. One bite can transport us back to a special birthday, a Halloween party, or a cozy dinner at grandma’s house. By using beloved ingredients your consumers likely enjoyed in their childhoods, you can encourage nostalgia that evokes fond memories. Pair these childhood favorites with trending fall flavors to create crowd-pleasing desserts that will get your consumers talking — and, most importantly, eating! Take a bite of these scrumptious ideas:
- Cinnamon-Maple Sauce adds even more ooey-gooey goodness to cinnamon rolls.
- Pumpkin Spice Drizzle gives a seasonal flair to traditional tres leches cake.
- Cranberry Glaze adds a tart punch of flavor to creamy cheesecake.
- Cinnamon-Chocolate Sauce elevates snackable s’mores bars.
Add Spice & Global Flair to Savory-Leaning Bakery Items
Savory-leaning bakery items can help you reach a larger audience, including those people who tend to avoid sweet desserts. Plus, the delectable combo of sweet and savory ingredients can provide a balanced flavor profile that delights all sorts of palates. Adaptable flavors like butter, salt, popcorn, and maple are showing growth on dessert menus and give a unique spin to traditional dessert items.
- Sensational Spice: Spicy flavors are fall mainstays. A classic warming spice, cinnamon works well in both sweet and savory applications and continues to increase its prominence on dessert menus, especially during the colder months. Other popular spice options include cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, and even chiles. When whipped into the right recipe, these ingredients can build layers of sweet and spicy flavor that surprise and delight your consumers.
- A Different Kind of Hot Chocolate: Embracing the classic sweet flavors of chocolate is always a good idea – 90% of consumers say they love it (Mintel 2023). Fuse its beloved sweetness with the fiery kick of chili peppers to craft a winning yet balanced combination. Sauces like Chocolate Habanero, Chili Chocolate Fudge, Scotch Bonnet Chocolate, or Mole Poblano will undoubtedly satisfy your consumers’ savory tooth. And if you’re seeking a touch of sweet-heat, look no further than Hot Honey Vanilla – it’s a perfect pairing for scones or muffins!
- Exotic Fruits: Consumer interest in international cuisines has grown over the years, leading to curiosity about the fruits and vegetables offered by these regions. International flavors and ingredients give a bold, exciting, and appealing twist to already-delicious desserts. Exotic fruits provide visual vibrancy, unique yet approachable flavors, and versatile flavors that pair well with familiar favorites. Global fruits like dates, figs, dragon fruit, and guava are all having a moment, making a splash on menus.
Autumn is the perfect time to cozy up at home with a sweet treat. By partnering with a private label sauce manufacturer like Giraffe Foods, you can satisfy your consumers’ sweet tooth and tempt them to try bold new flavor innovations this season. Let our culinary experts take you from collaboration to customization to creation — it’s what we do best!
And while you’re here, please take a moment to fill out our quick and simple survey about the simple joy of sweet flavors. We want to know your thoughts – yes, you specifically! We need your expert insight to guide our culinary creativity. If you could take a few moments out of your day to complete this survey, we would be extraordinarily grateful.
Are you ready to explore simply sweet fall flavors? Partner with Giraffe Foods to discover a world of delicious possibilities.
