Flavorman released its 2026 Beverage Trends Forecast, continuing the company’s eight-year streak of accurately predicting the flavors and innovations that will shape the industry for the upcoming year, it says. Drawing from extensive client project data, insights from industry partners, year-over-year consumer behavior patterns, and historical trend analysis, Flavorman’s Beverage Architects identified several key shifts expected to influence product development in the year ahead. For the coming year, Flavorman projects that consumers will lean even more heavily into classic, enduring flavors such as mango, strawberry, lemon-lime and vanilla. This aligns with a trend that the Beverage Architects predicted last year, where consumers have gravitated toward what is most familiar when choosing what to drink. Flavorman also notes growing interest in emerging fruits and decadent flavors, such as guava, sumac berry, churro and huckleberry cobbler, signaling that innovation will continue to thrive alongside the classics. “Our Flavor Laboratory has noticed that brands are beginning to capture unique variations of classic flavor profiles. For example, we’ve received an increasing number of requests for yuzu, which evokes a fusion of different citrus notes,” said Flavorman’s Chief Flavorist, Tom Gibson, in a statement. “Consumers are still craving the familiar favorites; beverage brands are simply finding creative ways to deliver that.” Reflecting on its 2025 predictions, Flavorman once again demonstrated its accuracy, particularly in predicting the surge of “sober curious” consumers and the rapid rise of Non-Alcoholic Spirits and mocktail categories. With demand continuing to accelerate, the Beverage Architects anticipate even greater innovation in 2026, including elevated mocktails with added adaptogens and more flavor profiles replicating the taste of traditional spirits.

Oterra, a leading supplier of natural colors and color solutions for the food and beverage industry, and Swiss innovator Seprify announced a strategic commercial partnership to market a plant-based white coloring that can replace titanium dioxide in food and beverage applications. By integrating Seprify’s patented cellulose-based technology, Oterra will be able to offer customers a clean-label and renewable alternative that matches the opacity, brightness and whitening effect of titanium dioxide while significantly reducing environmental impact, the company says. The partnership combines Oterra’s global market reach and application expertise with Seprify’s deep materials science and process innovation. The two companies have collaborated for more than two years, testing across more than 15 food categories — from bakery icings, confectionery coatings and sauces to plant-based dairy and meat, and powdered beverages. Seprify’s proprietary extraction technology produces particles inspired by natural structures that scatter light in a particular way to create a bright white surface. “Oterra has developed one of the largest portfolios of natural colors in response to growing consumer demand for alternatives to artificial colors. While we have good, natural raw materials to replace titanium dioxide in selected applications, this new source of white gives us better options for a broader range of food and beverage applications,” said Luc Ganivet, chief innovation officer at Oterra, in a statement. “The sustainability profile of the technology means that Oterra can also get closer to its goals of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released. Together with Seprify, we’re ensuring that performance, safety, and sustainability go hand in hand for the next generation of food formulations.” The new white is produced from microcrystalline cellulose sourced from FSC-certified virgin wood pulp. The wood pulp used is 100% renewable. It also is nano-compliant and food safe.

OSF Flavors, which specializes in custom food and beverage flavors based on natural and organic ingredients, says the influence of Asian street foods and the evolving Latin American fusion food trend will drive U.S. flavor innovations in 2026. The company’s trend forecast points to some key flavors that will move from regional favorites to mainstream innovation in desserts, beverages and snacks in the year ahead. The company highlights Asian street food influences such as ube, a sweet, nutty, and slightly vanilla-like flavor; yuzu, an aromatic citrus with the sour of lemon, the sweetness of mandarin oranges and the bitterness of grapefruit; pandan, an aromatic taste that is nutty and grassy with hints of vanilla, coconut and almond; and salted egg, a rich, creamy, buttery flavor. In terms of Latin fusion with American food and beverages, the company highlights chili-lime, the heat of chili peppers with the bright tang of lime; salsa macha, smokey and fruity heat, with a nutty richness and a hint of sweetness; and dulce de leche, milky caramel, with nutty and toffee-like undertones. Pierre Battu, managing director of Asia at OSF Flavors, explains that it is important to note that when global flavors such as these come to the U.S., the food industry doesn’t just copy them, but elevates them through new formats, fusions and applications. “The U.S. market is an initiator, rather than a follower, with brands turning these flavor inspirations into new platforms, not just replicas of original dishes,” he said in a statement. “These local flavors that are going global are being driven by the demand for authenticity we see in the market today.” The company successfully launched three globally inspired flavors in 2025: Dubai Chocolate, Angel Hair Chocolate and Caramel Miso Latte. These came as a result of their flavor trend identification model, which includes early detection in Asia and Latam along with social media listening and then translating flavors in their global R&D centers to produce a prototype, which is then tested and adapted into clean-label, compliant and scalable references, it says.