
Consumers today are more open than ever to trying adventurous foods and flavours, with a significant increase in interest across various demographics, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z. According to Innova Market Insights*, one-third of global consumers express intrigue in new and unique flavours, and around 61% are now willing to try new and unique dishes, up from 54% last year.
This trend is especially apparent in the popularity of international and fusion flavours. Consumers are seeking cultural variety with their food, allowing them to be transported to countries across the world, and be immersed in new cultures in an economic and tasty way. According to Bidfood’s 2025 trends*, 55% of consumers look to explore new and exciting flavours, particularly when eating out.
Forever favourites such as Italian, American and Mexican, are still trending. Americana, and southern style in particular, is gaining traction in the UK. Canadian brand Mary Brown’s Chicken and Texan chicken wing experts Wingstop have both recently opened more new stores in the UK, and Greggs reported a 7.4% jump in sales over 19 weeks following the launch of their Southern-fried chicken goujons, Southern-fried potato wedges and other hot food lines.
Our ready-to-use Southern Style Gravy is a perfect accompaniment to this cuisine, and can add the finishing touch to your burgers, fried chicken, wings, loaded fries and nachos to name but a few dishes that offer customers that added indulgence when enhanced by this lightly-spiced gravy.
A big factor for ‘forever favourites’ continuing their dominance in the food market is their adaptability, and the ability to apply a modern interpretation on classic concepts. Thanks to our products being extremely adaptable, classic concepts can be tweaked and transformed into unique formats for different tastes.
Chinese food continues to boom in the UK, with as many as 48% of consumers voting Chinese as their favourite takeaway meal in 2023, according to Statista*. With pizza claiming top spot, it only makes sense to combine the two to create the ultimate Chinese style pizza, topped with curry sauce, chicken balls and chicken chow mein.
And whilst Italian food remains a comfort staple for many consumers, unique twists and hybrids are rising in popularity. Tiramisu, the traditional Italian dessert, has enjoyed a resurgence recently and is being adopted into other categories, most notably bakery. In a recent survey nearly 40% respondents cited tiramisu as their favourite dessert, and it features on 25% of restaurant dessert menus.
By combining with our Brownie Mix and Mactop® Traditional, you can create these tiramisu brownie bites, which are a good accompaniment with post-meal coffee or an eye-catching delight on any bakery counter.
Combining seemingly unrelated ideas to create new dishes aligns with the hybridization trend that consumers highly value.
We are also beginning to see new and emerging cuisines enter the frame, such as Asian.
Bao buns, which are popular throughout the region, have journeyed across the world into Europe in recent years. Also known as steamed buns, bao buns are made with sweet, white dough, and stuffed. Whilst very similar to dumplings, they differ on sweetness level.
When it comes to filling bao buns, almost anything goes. Historically, savoury fillings (such as jackfruit) have been the popular choice, but in recent years, sweet bao buns have surged in popularity. By adding on-trend flavours, you can give your sales a boost. Why not try this s’mores version.
Sandos (which is short for sandoitchi in Japanese) are another popular culinary delight, which originated in Japan. They are a unique take on sandwiches, with the bread being the key differentiation, as it is typically milk bread, which is light and fluffy, but can also be made with cake.
One of the most famous and well-known variants is the fruit sando, which can be enjoyed as a dessert. The fruit is intricately cut and positioned to create very neat, eye-catching creations. Here’s our take on it.
What’s key to creating global dishes is the ingredients. No longer are these simply components; they are a gateway to discovering flavours from every corner of the globe. The versatility of Macphie products give our customers a passport to explore foreign flavours, without having to leave the kitchen or bakery.
In addition, our products work well with inclusions, allowing exotic additions to take customers on a flavour journey through far-flung climes.
In recent years, matcha has crossed cultural boundaries to gain worldwide popularity. Its popularity can be credited to a combination of health-conscious consumers, the impact of social media, and creative culinary trends.
Despite originally trending due to its success in beverages, matcha has found its way into a variety of food concoctions, adding a unique flavour and eye-catching colour to offerings, particularly baked goods.
By mixing through shortbread mix, you can transform classic millionaire shortbread into vibrant, attractive goods.
Or for something a little different, try adding to our Crème Brûlée along with white chocolate to create this tasty tart.
And our savoury sauces are no different. Take Macphie Hollandaise Sauce for example; by adding inclusions from around the world, such as harissa, you can create a spicy sauce which transports the tastebuds to Middle-Eastern Europe – with breakfast continuing its popularity we suggest trying it on eggs benedict.
Macphie is the perfect partner to be your travel companion whilst you taste the world. For more inspiration as to how you can take your customers on a global journey, visit www.macphie.com/recipe-categories/taste-the-world