Macphie insights | From garden to garnish

We’ve seen a surge in edible flowers decorating our dishes in restaurants, cafes, delis and bakeries. With an air of sophistication, floral decorations can add a splash of colour to any meal.

field-1285112_1920As well as garnish, we’re now seeing a rising popularity for floral flavours. Inspired largely by The Great British Bake Off’s botanicals week, flavours such as rose, hibiscus, elderflower, lavender and matcha are showing up in cakes, cocktails, soft drinks and main courses.

Flowers promote a perception of health which appeals to consumers with a growing concern over what’s in their food and where it comes from. Using floral flavours is a fantastic way to maximise the opportunity presented by the growing preference for green themed, clean eating. As consumers also look to reduce their sugar intake, floral flavours and botanicals are a great way to add flavour but still align your products with consumers’ health and wellbeing priorities.

Europe is also taking inspiration from Asia with flavours such as cherry blossom and lotus set to take off in 2017. Consumers are willing and eager to try new flavours so don’t be afraid to experiment with unusual ingredients. We’ve included a few recipe ideas below for inspiration but we’d love to see what your team comes up with. Tag us in photos of your creations on Facebook and Twitter.