If you’re in the business of ingredients or flavors, you know things are changing fast. It’s not just about what goes into a product anymore; it’s about what the product stands for, how it tastes, how it makes people feel, and the story it tells.
Today’s food and beverage brands are trying to check a lot of boxes at once: clean-label claims, regional authenticity, wellness benefits, craveable flavors, and fast turnaround times. It’s a tall order. And they’re turning to their suppliers—both ingredient partners and flavor experts, to help them deliver.
That’s where the real opportunity lies.
Brands don’t want vendors. They want partners.
Let’s be honest: no one’s shopping for “raw materials” anymore. They’re looking for collaborators who can help them move faster, make smarter choices, and confidently launch products that hit the mark. That means bringing more to the table than just great taste or high-quality ingredients; it means providing insights, clarity, and ready-to-go solutions that reduce friction in the development process.
So, what’s shaping the conversation right now?
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest trends we’re seeing here at BrandAction in 2025—and what they mean for how you market your solutions.
Clean-label and natural? Yes, but with proof.
Everyone’s chasing cleaner labels, but brands still need help navigating how to actually deliver on that promise. Plant-based, vegan, recognizable ingredients? All in demand. But just saying it’s clean isn’t enough.
Want to build trust? Consider incorporating some of these ideas:
- Create sourcing videos or mini case studies showing where your ingredients come from
- Publish explainer videos that break down clean-label terminology or regional regulations in simple language
- Use gated white papers to share third-party certifications or sustainability data in a format sales teams can use
Bold, experiential flavors are everywhere.
Today, flavor is entertainment. Spicy mango candies, bourbon cola marinades, lavender cold brews, nothing’s off limits. Thanks to AI and social listening, brands are chasing the next big thing before it’s even mainstream.
If you’re leading innovation, don’t just describe flavors, bring them to life. This could be accomplished by:
- Launching a quarterly “Flavor Forecast” email with bite-sized trend insights and creative applications
- Running limited-time flavor concept campaigns with free sample kits tied to emerging trends
- Hosting short-form video demos featuring chefs or mixologists using your flavor systems in bold, unexpected ways
Use trends as a lead magnet, then give brands the tools to act on them quickly and creatively.
Global flavors need to feel real.
A generic “Latin-inspired” or “Asian fusion” label doesn’t cut it anymore. Consumers know the difference between vague and authentic. They want ingredients and flavors that feel true to their origins—whether it’s a tamarind from Oaxaca or a spice blend from Tamil Nadu.
Flavor houses and ingredient suppliers that can tell a deeper story, like where it comes from, how it’s traditionally used, and why it matters, will win. Ways to get at this could be:
- Co-creating content with regional chefs, local farmers, or cultural consultants
- Launching a “Story behind the flavor” content series with videos or interactive maps showing origin, application and traditional use
- Creating ready-to-go campaign toolkits (recipes, POS copy, social posts) your customers can use to promote your ingredients to their audiences
By elevating your global flavor offerings with stories, you’ll deepen the emotional and cultural connection.
Function is great, if it still tastes good.
We’ve officially entered the age of functional flavor. Think focus-enhancing mints, stress-relief teas, and gut-friendly gummies. But performance alone isn’t enough. These products still have to deliver on taste and experience. If you can help developers translate a health goal into a craveable product, while backing it with nutritional science and flavor performance, you’ll quickly become an essential part of their R&D process.
Win them over by:
- Offering a build-your-own wellness guide that maps popular functional ingredients to trending flavor profiles
- Collaborating with a nutritionist for a co-branded blog or video series on flavor + function pairing
- Developing a digital tool that allows formulators to input a wellness goal and receive viable flavor pairings from your portfolio
Nostalgia sells—especially with a modern spin.
Comfort food is having a moment. But today’s comfort food has a twist. Dairy-free root beer floats? Plant-based banana pudding? Yes, please. These flavors stir up good memories, but in a way that aligns with modern values like sustainability and wellness.
Use that emotion in your marketing. Don’t just list the flavor, tell the story by:
- Building a seasonal campaign around retro flavors reimagined, complete with product concepts, trend data, and packaging inspiration
- Running a paid social campaign tied to nostalgic moments (e.g., “Back-to-School Bites” or “90s Snack Comebacks”)
- Using first-person storytelling in your content that highlights real people behind the ingredients or share consumer reactions to throwback flavors
By reminding your audience of the joy those flavors spark, you’ll be showing them how they can bring that joy to life in better-for-you formats.
Customization is the new standard.
Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ingredients. Brands want options. They want the ability to tweak, test, and tailor flavors to different audiences and formats. And they don’t want to wait months to do it— especially in today’s ultra-competitive market. You’ll stand a good chance of getting ahead if you:
- Promote your customization capabilities with interactive product builders or “flavor configurator” tools on your website
- Share real examples of how you’ve helped customers rapidly iterate and launch—especially under tight timelines
- Offer fast-turnaround flavor kits for R&D teams to test personalized blends in real-world formats
By marketing your agility as a competitive advantage, you’ll demonstrate that your systems enable customers to go from idea to shelf faster.
So, how do you stand out?
Being a great supplier in 2025 isn’t just about having great products. It’s about being a strategic partner. The kind of partner who makes things easier, faster, clearer.
At BrandAction Agency, we work with flavor houses and ingredient suppliers to help them do just that, using a framework we call BrandDemand MarketingTM. It’s a smarter way to reach buyers with the right message at the right time, and it’s designed to help your sales team shorten the path from interest to action.
Whether it’s helping a product developer navigate clean-label regulations or inspiring a marketing team with the next big flavor trend, we believe your marketing should work as hard as your ingredients do.
