Rubix Foods, a culinary innovation specialist in providing flavor and functional ingredients for restaurants, has officially announced the release of its NEXT Flavor Report.
Going by the available details, this first-of-its-kind flavor insights report happens to actively combine proprietary data, third-party research, and exclusive findings from Rubix’s NEXT Flavor Network, which is a collective mix of three influential taste-making social media creators and Gen Z audiences, to reach upon the flavor trends that will shape restaurant menus in 2025.
Talk about the lowdown on a slightly deeper level, we begin from how the report found a large proportion of Gen Z saying ranch is overrated. You see, when provided with an open-ended question, 21% of Gen Z said ranch was overrated. Not just that, the flavor was, in fact, mentioned nearly two times more than the next closest flavor.
Having said so, ranch remains a familiar favorite that offers plenty of room for creativity, with more than 43% of survey respondents revealing their desire to see more variations of the flavor. Two of the three flavors Rubix taste-tested with Gen Z at in-person sampling were also variations of ranch. In fact, upon being asked, nearly 92% of taste testers said they would go to a restaurant specifically for those sauces.
Next up, we must dig into a finding, which revealed that many individuals from the Gen Z contingent are currently looking for a pickle sauce. Here, in response to “What food/beverage do you want to be turned into a sauce,” 1 in 5 Gen Z returned with pickle as an answer. Beyond that, no more than 2% of respondents in Rubix’s influencer flavor polls said pickles were “overrated,” suggesting the flavor hasn’t yet peaked.
“Understanding Gen Z is one thing, but adapting to this generation’s evolving and experimental palate is critical for restaurants to drive meaningful traffic,” said Shannon O’Shields, vice president of marketing at Rubix Foods. “On top of partaking in little treat culture and being exposed to diverse tastes, they are the generation most excited to try new food + beverage items and are quick to share what they love with social media. The goal is that this data gives restaurants the courage to innovate and try something new with their flavor offerings, ultimately meeting the demands of this influential group.”
Moving on, the report also shed light on Gen Z’s growing interest in “Swalty.” You see, while sweet heat, or swicy, led the way this year, Rubix’s proprietary research discovered that Gen Z now craves sweet and salty (‘swalty’) almost 5% more than they do swicy. Such a finding also aligns with wider anticipated flavor trends, as swalty is projected to grow by an estimated 32% before the conclusion of 2028, as compared to 10% worth of growth projected for swicy.
Complementing the same would be how the surveyed Gen Z group was also found to be least likely to let cost be a consideration in the context of sweets, meaning their purchase intent is primarily driven by cravings.
Talk about how Rubix achieved these results, the company’s Flavor Network engaged their combined Gen Z audience of 2.6M social followers, back in July, through Instagram polls, where they posed questions that aimed to identify gaps in the current flavor offerings at QSRs. All in all, the stated survey is understood to have entertained more than 45,000 unique responses.
