Significant growth in the market has come on the back of increased consumer demand for convenient foods and drinks in addition to a growing trend for stronger and more complex flavours, said RTS.
“Savoury flavours are arguably a neglected area of the flavours industry," said RTS director Jamie Rice."However, the rise of meal kits, gourmet salads and the innovative use of savoury flavours in sweet categories such as ice cream, bakery and soft drinks all point to savoury flavours’ growing importance.”
Indeed, data from RTS FoodTrending shows that the global market for savoury flavours and seasonings in food and drink is currently worth €6.44bn ($8.6bn US) having grown by €1.5bn ($1.9bn) in five years.
Rice noted that recent creative examples include mustard savoury ice cream by Heston from Waitrose (UK), a non-alcoholic herbal martini with bell peppers and tomatoes from Altar (USA) and spinach and feta gluten-free muffins from Muffin Break (UK and Australia).
“The success factor is identifying and focusing on categories and markets which will deliver growth for your business," he said.