The birds are tweeting. The puffy winter parkas are going back into storage. Patio season is around the corner. Believe it or not, spring has just about sprung – and it’s a great time for your brand to freshen things up, too. Limited-time offers, or LTOs, are one of the easiest ways for food brands to drive traffic and boost buzz. In fact, nearly 60% of consumers say limited-time offers make them more likely to visit a restaurant (Technomic).
If you’re interested in launching an LTO but aren’t sure where to start, sauces and dips are a low-cost, high-impact way to freshen up your menu. LTO sauces and dips can transform comfort foods like sandwiches and shareables, delivering a completely new consumer experience.
Below, we’ll dive into the latest sauce and dip trends for LTOs. We’ll also explain why sandwiches and shareable apps are two of the most common menu categories for LTO experimentation.
Sauce and Dip Trends for LTOs
Sandwiches and apps are perfect for LTO sauce innovation for a number of reasons.
First, there’s a strong consumer demand for dipping sauces in both categories. (Picture a juicy French dip served au jus, or a fun and festive appetizer spread with queso, hummus, and pico de gallo.)
Second, sandwiches and shareables are perfectly situated for consumer convenience. Sauce pouches, drizzles, spreads, and dip cups are easily paired with grab-and-go or frozen items, delivering a gourmet experience in an instant.
Additionally, sauce-led LTOs offer huge advantages for foodservice operators because they require minimal operational changes yet deliver high perceived innovation. Consider, for example, a frozen chicken tender appetizer. By pairing the tenders with a Creamy Ranch Dip, you’re delivering nostalgia and comfort. By pairing them with a Gochujang BBQ Mayo, on the other hand, you’re satisfying the consumer demand for global experiences at home. It’s a totally different flavor experience with the same core product.
LTOs are also flexible across menu items. A single sauce can be used as a sandwich spread or topper, but it can also be implemented as a dip for appetizers for easy cross-merchandising.
Now, let’s dig into the trends.
Trend 1: Sweet + Heat Mashups
Sweet and spicy (“swicy,” if you’re feeling wild) flavor combinations are some of the fastest-growing flavor pairings on menus. This unexpected mashup is a fantastic LTO for fried comfort foods and playful shareables, including crispy chicken sandwiches, fried chicken bites or tenders, and loaded fries. Below are a few examples if you’re looking for your next sweet and spicy sauce:
- Hot Honey Mustard: Sweet, tangy, and spicy, all at once, this grown-up spin on honey mustard adds a level of intensity to chicken sandwiches and a playful twist to dippable apps.
- Maple Chipotle BBQ Sauce: Add this sauce, which features rich maple sweetness combined with smoky heat from chipotle peppers, to chicken, pork, beef, or veggie sandwiches.
- Chili Crisp Honey Aioli: Umami-rich and sweet with just a hint of a kick, this one’s great as a dipping sauce for fries or tots.
Trend 2: Global Street Food
Global flavors continue to drive menu innovation, especially among younger consumers. Transform chicken sliders, sandwich spreads, or fried appetizers with these globally-inspired sauces and dips:
- Gochujang BBQ Mayo: We’re loving this creamy, spicy, and smoky condiment created by mixing mayonnaise with Gochujang Sauce, made with a popular Korean chili paste. It offers a touch of tang, with spiciness that’s softened by the mayo. It’s the perfect way to elevate chicken sandwiches.
- Peri-Peri Cream Sauce: Can you tell consumers are loving the rich, spicy-sweet effect of combining global heat with indulgent cream sauce bases? Best as a drizzle or dip, this chili-based sauce delivers fiery heat derived from Mozambican cuisine.
- Thai Sweet Chili Ranch: Consumers love Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. They also love classic Ranch. Why limit them to one or the other? Combining the two creates a fabulous dip for wings or veggies.
- Harissa Honey Dip: Smoky, spicy North African Harissa Sauce. Sweet, earthy honey. Need we say more?
Trend 3: Elevated Creamy Dips
Fun shareables like mozzarella sticks, onion rings, pretzel bites, and fried pickles all pair perfectly with creamy dips. Deliver a touch of the gourmet by elevating these dips using trending flavors, like these examples:
- Roasted Garlic Parmesan Dip: Garlic dip is a classic for a reason. By deepening the flavors and adding nutty, savory parmesan, you can create something unforgettable.
- Smoky Bacon Ranch Dip: Gone are the days of lackluster party dips dumped from a can. By taking traditional ranch to the next level, you can create a gourmet experience tailored to playful settings like summertime block parties and sporting events.
- Jalapeño Popper Cream Sauce: By now, you know we love shareable apps. So why not put jalapeño poppers, a beloved app, directly into a sauce to jazz up burgers and sandwiches?
Trend 4: Crunchy & Textured Sauces
Consumers increasingly crave texture, reaching for layered flavor experiences that pack a punch and defy expectations. Use textured sauces to elevate smash burgers, chicken sandwiches, and loaded fries. Below are some of our favorites:
- Chili Crisp Mayo: Chili crisp is a spicy, crunchy, and savory Chinese condiment made from chili peppers, crispy fried garlic, and onions. Not only is it a flavor explosion, but it also adds a layer of crunch and complexity to everything it touches.
- Fried Shallot Aioli: Rich, garlicky aioli gets a touch of crunch with fried shallots, perfect for hoagies, cheesesteaks, and smash burgers. It also works well as a chicken sandwich sauce.
Trend 5: Nostalgic Flavor Twists
Nostalgic flavors – think ketchup, mustard, and ranch – are comfortable and familiar, but they can still deliver novelty when combined with trending flavors. Consider the following for appetizer dipping sauces and sandwich spreads:
- Everything Bagel Cream Dip: Everything Bagel seasoning is a perennial favorite for a reason. It’s nutty, salty, and satisfying – no bagel required. Mixed into a creamy dip, it’s a great pick for veggies. It also works well as a spread for grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches.
- Dill Pickle Ranch: Savory, sour, briny pickles excite the palate and elevate dippables like fries and wings.
- Spicy Ketchup: You shouldn’t mess with perfection, but you can always spice it up a bit.
Nearly 70% of consumers say sauces and condiments significantly impact their overall meal satisfaction (Datassential). Let that be the proof: If you’re ready to enliven your sandwiches and apps, sauce-forward LTOs are the way to go. Deliver a tactile, lighthearted, and indulgent experience; test-drive new flavor trends; and, finally, scale successful sauces by tapping into these trends.
Ready to explore how custom sauces can help elevate your next limited-time offer?
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