Chewy, gooey, crunchy or creamy: do consumers value texture?

Texture in food overview: are consumers prioritising it?

• Most consumers value texture, especially within indulgent food experiences globally
• Around 56% seek interesting texture combinations in indulgent products
• Crunchy and creamy textures attract around a third of consumers
• Chocolate innovation focuses on multisensory experiences with texture gaining prominence
• Texture enhances differentiation but remains secondary to flavour in consumer choices

Texture is having something of a moment.

As a focus for new products, brands are increasingly using texture, alongside colour and aroma to differentiate their offerings, according to research by consumer analytics company Mintel. Brands want to defy consumer expectations.

Texture has been at the forefront of several recent food trends. The viral Dubai chocolate, for example, is famed for its crunchy yet gooey knafeh, as is its pink successor, angel hair.

But while big food may be embracing texture innovations, how much do consumers themselves actually value it?

Consumers value texture for indulgence

Consumers are increasingly valuing texture in food, says Michele Scott, director of insights at consumer analytics company Innova Market Insights.

Globally, more than half – around 56% – of consumers are looking for interesting texture combinations, at least in the context of an indulgent food experience.

In fact, texture and indulgence often go hand-in-hand. “Texture is often a sensorial cue that a product is going to be extra indulgent or enjoyable,” says Scott.

According to Innova’s research, about a third of consumers look for crunchy and crispy textures in an indulgent food and drink experience. Smooth and creamy textures are important to 35% of people and 21% look for chewy and gooey textures.

Multisensory confectionery

Texture already has a central role in confectionery innovation.

Attention to texture is seen particularly prominently in chocolate. “Chocolate brands globally are shifting from a flavour-first mindset to delivering a more multi-sensory eating experience, with texture moving into the spotlight,” says Honorata Jarocka, food and drink associate director at Mintel.

”This dual, indulgence-led approach is emerging as the next frontier of innovation.”

In the UK, for example, 36% of chocolate consumers are attracted to products by a combination of textures, compared to 48% drawn in by new flavours.

This is also reflected in product launches, with both ‘crunchy’ and ‘smooth’ or ‘velvety’ launches growing between 2021 and 2026.

Texture is also increasingly central to other confectionery products. For example, freeze-dried sweets offer a novel ‘crunch’.

The two have even been combined – freeze-dried chocolate is growing in popularity.

So, while texture will by no means overtake flavour in the minds of consumers, it is still a crucial part of what they look for from food.