It’s no surprise that operators cooking for college-age palates are tapping into different flavor profiles than those creating dishes for senior living. What is surprising, though, are some of the common flavor threads. For example, hot and spicy appears across the segments but is manifested in different ingredients: Poblano and Sriracha lead in C&U, while jalapeno is a favorite in hospital venues. B&I and senior living operations go for more general hot-flavor descriptors: spicy and chili, respectively. Fruity flavors also pop up in all operations, with watermelon trending in C&U, apple in B&I, grape and apricot in senior living, and raspberry in hospitals.
To pinpoint the other sweet, savory, sour and ethnic flavors that are gaining traction on today’s menus—along with the dishes where they are showcased—we went beyond hot peppers, sauces and fruits in mining the database of Technomic’s MenuMonitor, powered by Ignite, to find the fastest-growing flavors in each segment.