Explore the US desserts and confections industry with an eye on flavors and ingredients. Which desserts do consumers prefer and why? How do flavors and ingredients drive interest? Answer these questions and more with this report.
Core Topics Analyzed
- Trended dessert and confection consumption.
- Associations with premium desserts or confections.
- Trended interest in flavor and ingredient styles.
- Drivers and barriers of new flavor trial.
- Dessert and confection flavor experience and interest.
- Flavor and ingredient innovation in desserts and confections.
US Dessert Consumer Behavior
Taste is just one factor in dessert choice
Dessert and confection flavors and ingredients play a more holistic role beyond simply appealing to taste buds. Around 1 in 2 dessert and confection consumers agree that texture and mood influence dessert experiences and flavor choices, suggesting that taste is just one of the senses part of the indulgence experience equation. Flavors and ingredients, then, have a more holistic role to play beyond just creating the end flavor at shelf.
Consumers show interest in new flavors
While around half agree that desserts and confections with familiar flavors are best, consumers generally don’t shy away from a range of flavors speaking to the fun nature of indulgent occasions. And – if they haven’t trialed yet, there’s interest in trying from many.
Younger generations are likely driving this as around half of Gen Z and Millennials reported trying more flavors compared to last year. Still, there are many ways to infuse new experiences with small tweaks, like quality ingredients, textural twists, or bolder takes on classics.
What encourages dessert trial?
Aside from increased exploration from younger cohorts, what actually encourages trial may be shifting, too. Away from home trial and discovery remains the top route for encouraging trial, but at a decreasing rate for younger explorers. In an increasingly digital world, digital domains will become the place for dessert and confection flavor discovery.
Report Scope
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel uses the following categories to define desserts and confections:
- Cakes, pastries and sweet goods
- Sweet biscuits and cookies
- Ice cream and frozen novelties
- Chocolate confections
- Non-chocolate confections
Meet the Expert
Kelsey joined Mintel in 2022 as a US Food and Drink Analyst. Kelsey uses her expertise to identify changing consumer behavior, industry trends, and innovation across packaged food and drink categories. Kelsey has a B.A. in Nutrition with a concentration in Food Studies and Business from the College of St. Benedict in Minnesota.
Sweets satisfy different cravings for comfort or fun, and flavors and ingredients are instrumental in supporting sensory experiences that fit these different moods.
Kelsey Olsen
Food & Drink Analyst
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Executive Summary
- What you need to know
- What consumers want and why
- Opportunities
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Market Dynamics
- Market context
- State of the industry
- Inflation boosts growth across many sweet categories
- Graph 1: market size of dessert and confection categories, 2022-24
- Sweet engagement steadily inches towards universal
- Graph 2: trended types of desserts and confections consumed, 2022-24
- Innovation and product development is still recovering across categories
- Graph 3: trended desserts and confection launches, by GNPD subcategory, 2019-23
- Market drivers
- Cooling inflation isn’t one size fits all sweets
- Taste doubles healthfulness in food and drink priorities
- Graph 4: overall food and drink shopping priorities – important factors when selecting food and drink , 2023
- One in three consumers report increased flavor trial…
- Graph 5: reported change in new food and drink flavor trial compared to last year, by generation, 2023
- Regularly sprinkling in indulgence
- Graph 6: associations with different sweet treats, 2024
- A sweet staple ingredient sees soaring prices
- Graph 7: global price of cocoa, US Dollars per metric ton, monthly, not seasonally adjusted, 2000-24
- Potential implications of rising cocoa prices on desserts and confections
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Consumer Insights
- Consumer fast facts
- Flavor segmentation through the desserts and confections lens
- Four consumer profiles divide dessert and confection consumers
- Flavor segmentation consumer profiles defined
- Flavor segmentation breakdown of the desserts and confections consumer
- Graph 8: flavor segmentation of desserts and confections consumers, 2024
- Dessert and confection consumption
- Treating inches closer to universal
- Graph 9: trended consumption of desserts and confections, 2023-24
- Smaller segments have space to diversify audiences with relevant flavor and ingredient trial opportunities
- Graph 10: consumption of desserts and confections, by financial situation, 2024
- Devoted sweet consumers seek flavor and exploration
- Graph 11: dessert and confection consumption, by flavor segmentation, 2024
- Premium associations
- Bring ingredients to the forefront of premium flavor positioning
- Graph 12: associations with premium desserts or confections, 2024
- Varied definitions of premium speak to different treating experiences
- Graph 13: associations with premium desserts or confections, by parental status, 2024
- Ingredients promise a delivery on flavor for Flavor Seekers
- Graph 14: associations with premium desserts or confections, by flavor segmentation, 2024
- Ingredient style interest
- Flavor and ingredient styles and descriptors can’t carry the weight of a product
- Graph 15: trended flavor and ingredient styles that encourage dessert or confection trial, 2023-24
- A sweet start to flavor exploration
- Graph 16: flavor and ingredient styles that encourage dessert or confection trial, by parental status, 2024
- Exposure can come in many forms to ease unfamiliarity
- Graph 17: flavor and ingredient styles that motivate dessert or confection trial, by flavor segmentation, 2024
- Drivers of new flavor trial
- Cultivate a sense of comfort and exploration simultaneously
- Graph 18: motivators to purchase a dessert of confection with a new flavor or ingredient, 2024
- A new generation of flavor and ingredient discovery
- Graph 19: motivators to purchase a dessert of confection with a new flavor or ingredient, by generation, 2024
- In-store sampling is more than just an opportunity for discovery
- Graph 20: motivators to purchase a dessert of confection with a new flavor or ingredient, by flavor segmentation, 2024
- Barriers of new flavor trial
- Ease the risk of new flavor trial by connecting back to comfort and familiarity
- Graph 21: barriers to trying a dessert or confection with a new flavor or ingredient, 2024
- Support Gen Z’s desire for more flavor exploration experiences
- Graph 22: barriers to trying a dessert or confection with a new flavor or ingredient, by generation, 2024
- Desserts and confections can bring an accessible route to foodservice flavors
- Graph 23: barriers to trying a dessert or confection with a new flavor or ingredient, by flavor segmentation, 2024
- Flavor experience and interest
- Overall approachability of flavor trial in sweet categories
- Graph 24: experience with and interest in flavors and ingredients in desserts or confections, mild, 2024
- Store brands delve into sweet innovation…
- Among the draw to familiarity, there’s openness to exploration
- Graph 25: engagement or interest in flavors and ingredients in desserts or confections, 2024
- Wide ranging texture and format opportunities for flavor innovation
- Attitudes and behaviors
- Texture appeals to the senses, enhancing the indulgent experience
- Graph 26: attitudes and behaviors surrounding desserts and confections flavors and ingredients, 2024
- Flavors and ingredients evoke the senses in generationally dependent ways
- Graph 27: attitudes and behaviors surrounding desserts and confections flavors and ingredients, by gender, 2024
- Flavor experiences can satisfy different cravings for familiarity or fun
- Graph 28: attitudes and behaviors surrounding desserts and confections flavors and ingredients, by flavor segmentation, 2024
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Innovation and Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
- Time for textural additions
- Global textures can inspire US innovation
- Graph 29: food and drink launch texture attributes, by region, 2021-24
- Brands pack in the protein among quality ingredients for premium experience
- Drinks spill into desserts
- Fake flavors take already bold flavors up a notch
- Product development: now – what’s trending
- Nostalgia isn’t going anywhere
- Strawberries and cream suggests the classics can be taken in many different directions
- The gateway from childhood cookie to nostalgic flavor
- Sweet on sour
- Product development: near – what to watch out for
- Adventure within reason
- Novel formats = blurred categories = blurred occasions
- Alternative alternatives enter the chat
- Sweet heat exemplifies approachable bold flavors
- Dates: a natural sweetener, BFY sweet treat vessel
- Cinnamon built a very strong foundation for other spices to build on
- Product development: next – what’s in the pipeline
- Herbal and floral flavors bring complexity and a bonus BFY touch
- Moving on up(cycled) from mixes to ready to eat sweets
- Sweet treats can be a fun, accessible route to explore tropical fruits
- Opportunities
- Create a holistic flavor experience
- Ingredients prove premium
- Digital domains are the place to be for flavor discovery
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Appendix
- Market definition
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Flavor segmentation demographic profiles
- Abbreviations and terms
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