Speeding up product development | MEAT+POULTRY

BOWLING GREEN, KY. — Viral velocity has replaced traditional product development cycles, according to research by Bluegrass Ingredients. A TikTok video can create more demand in 48 hours than a two-year marketing campaign once did.

Further, supply chain disruptions, which can happen by something as unexpected as a bridge collapsing or an employee strike, and cost volatility are forcing companies to rethink formulations as a cost-containment strategy. Companies must be quick to stay relevant to today’s shoppers and profitable.  

“There’s been a collapse of traditional trend cycles under viral social influence,” said Peter Losee, vice president of marketing at Bluegrass Ingredients. “Companies that can formulate, scale and deliver trending ingredients in months — not years — will dominate in 2026 and 2027.”

Likely the largest flavor trend this coming year will be “taste-of-time travel,” Losee said. The trend includes global flavor exploration, as well as going back in time to flavors trending around Y2K, when people worried about if their computer would reset from 1999 to 2000.

“Flavor archaeology is driving billion-dollar growth in comfort foods,” he said. “In a world where options seem endless, tapping into familiar past food experiences can help new products feel recognizable.”

It’s also a sensible approach to get to market quickly. Having a great base product can serve as a familiar canvas for trending flavors. The opposite is equally valid.

“Traditional flavors — think mac and cheese and PB&J — serve as key innovation areas, particularly in sauces, seasonings, soups and bread products,” Losee said. “This way it does not feel trendy. It feels like a fond memory.”

Innovation ideas may include macaroni and cheese ramen and peanut butter and jelly energy bars. Product developers also are exploring combinations of flavors, like yuzu-gochujang hot wings, chamoy-tajin potato chips and matcha chocolate chip cookies.  

“These global profiles are not fading,” Losee said. “They are establishing permanent positions in the American flavor vocabulary.”   

What also will help brands get to market faster with new product innovations is formulating — and reformulating, if necessary — to help protect against the volatility of a single ingredient. The spikes in egg prices followed by cocoa and, more recently, coffee illustrate the challenges product developers face.

“The brands that win will be those that aren’t waiting for items to become cheap again,” Losee said. “They are using this moment to build more resilient, functional and premium product lines.”