- Fricy launches span from kombucha and cocktails to ice cream and snacks
- Brands are embracing sweet-heat flavours
- Mexico remains a key influence, inspiring products from Tajín to tepache-based drinks
- Asian flavour traditions continue to showcase the long-standing appeal of fruit-and-chilli combinations
- Fricy is appearing across multiple food and beverage categories
As summer temperatures rise, so do consumer appetites for the ‘fricy’ – fruity and spicy – trend that’s hotting up on social media and recipe sites.
Blending the sweetness of fruit and the heat of chilli, it’s a science-backed flavour combination that’s hitting the spot for food and beverage. Here are some of the brands, big and small, that have nailed fricy…
Encona – West Indian Papaya Hot Pepper Sauce
How it’s nailed it: Known for sauces with a serious chilli kick, it has paired mangoes with habanero peppers. This one is four out of five on its heat scale, but it’s wisely got a gentler offering with the Indian Mango Chilli Sauce with a heat rating of one for those who don’t want their eyes watering.
Marks & Spencer – Flamin’ Fruit Hawwwt Sauces
How it’s nailed it: New for summer 2026, multinational retail giant launched three sauces that capture fricy in a Habanero, Mango & Turmeric flavour; Chipotle, Pineapple & Garlic, and Jalapeno, Bramley Apple & Lime.
De La Calle – Mango Chili Tepache
How it’s nailed it: With its roots in Mexico, tepache is a traditional drink made from fermented pineapple. US brand De La Calle has layered in mango and lime with chilli extract in its Mango Chili Tepache for a picante treat.
Tajin – Classic seasoning
How it’s nailed it: This iconic seasoning has been around since 1985 and brought Mexican flavours to the world with lime, chilli and salt. Proving that the flavour combination works for sweet or savoury, it can be sprinkled on fruit salads or avocado and poached eggs.
Perry’s Ice Cream – Tropical Chili Lime
How it’s nailed it: A US brand known for its adventurous flavours, it has mixed the creaminess of ice cream with fruit and heat in its Tropical Chili Lime flavour, a space not many ice-cream brands have experimented with.
Absolut – Absolut Tabasco
How it’s nailed it: New for 2026, the global vodka brand teamed up with Tabasco for a chilli-pepper flavoured tipple with a fiery kick. It doesn’t have fruit in it, but its Spicy Piña Highball recipe is the very definition of a fricy cocktail.
Montezuma – Mango and Chilli Milk Chocolate
How it’s nailed it: The ethical chocolate brand has just launched a new Flavour Fusion range and it’s bang on trend by combining the sweetness of freeze-dried mango and the heat of chillies.
Heinz – Sweet Sriracha Tomato Ketchup
How it’s nailed it: Tomatoes are a fruit and Heinz has got the right idea of adding heat to the sweetness.
Health‑Ade – Strawberry Mango Chilli Kombucha
How it’s nailed it: This limited-edition kombucha was released by the functional drinks giant in 2026 – it taps into both the functional and fricy trends, with its gut-health credentials.
Buzzballz – Chilli Mango Cocktail
How it’s nailed it: Loved by Gen Z and now in the top 100 alcohol brands in the UK, these individual servings of cocktail embrace the trend with a lively version for those who like a fiery aftertaste.
Blue Dragon – Mango Chilli Sauce
How it’s nailed it: Fruit and heat is an integral part of many Asian cuisines and Blue Dragon’s Mango Chilli sauce is a gentler, sweeter dipping sauce for those who like mild heat.
Moth – Spicy Margarita
How it’s nailed it: Its Spicy Margarita in a can - lime layered with chilli - feeds straight into summer refreshment, Gen Z and fricy.
