Because flavors may impact the colors a company uses on food and beverage labels, changing flavor preferences may call for new packaging too. Candy Industry recently posted Foodchannel.com’s list of the trends most likely to emerge within the food industry in 2016. This includes practices in sit-down restaurants, as well as some of the new ingredients and tastes that may become popular.
As far as food types go, the source noted the prevalence of “superfoods,” natural options that pack a lot of nutritional value into a single item. The source also noted a preference for “tangier” flavors, stating that “what used to be sweet, now is savory,” and an increased use of coffee as a flavoring in various foods. The latter trend can include coffee-flavored beer, something already noticeable on the market.
Jenn David Connolly of Jenn David Design recently wrote about the different color associations consumers can bring with them, and they don’t always come from nature.
“For example, the signature flavor color on many cookies-and-cream flavored product packaging (such as ice cream) is dark blue because consumers have learned to subconsciously associate that color with the Oreo cookie brand,” she said. Connolly warns against choosing the wrong color based on a product’s flavor, saying that “if the color contradicts the flavor, such as a purple package for an orange-flavored product, the disconnect can even work against the product as a deterrent.”
Keeping a color label printer in-house lets companies of all sizes produce labels that work based on the latest consumer preferences. Producers can start with label types they are familiar with and expand as their strategy changes.