A variety of factors inspire use and choices of sauce. Kraft Heinz ANZ Head of Marketing Foodservice Lisa Barclay takes Convenience World through a number of them.
“We continue to see world cuisine influence sauce trends in Australia with sauces taking inspiration from across the globe,” she says. “This is often through spice or heat [and] with siracha or chipotle now being mainstream sauces, consumers will look to foodservice for new, innovative solutions when it comes to hot sauce.
“We’re also seeing more interest from younger consumers as they’re attracted to indulgence and have more of a ‘foodie’ mentality. This is making sauces very popular.
“Finally, alcohol is seeing an increase in this space with alcohol infused sauces providing a more sophisticated, complex flavour profile that’s aligned with more premium menus. Dark spirits such as bourbon and whiskey are popular in America and Canada. They can be paired with barbecue or hot sauces to target adult consumers.”
Looking ahead, Ms Barclay expects that over the next few years, the inspiration of travel on changing tastes will be modified as consumers are likely to alter the way they travel, due to recession and a slow recovery of the travel industry.
“As a result, cooking shows such as ‘MasterChef’ will play a bigger role in influencing macro foodservice trends,” she says. “For example, we’ve seen native ingredients put in the spotlight due to the ‘MasterChef effect’.
“Consumers are looking for a sense of escapism through global flavours. Foodservice businesses should look to varied sauce solutions to help take consumers on a flavour journey. They should also consider creating visually appealing dishes or even include theatrics to give consumers content to post on their social media.”
Read more about sauce, including the single-serve debate, in the October issue of Convenience World.
