Dive Brief:
- Maple is poised to take over as fall’s most popular flavor,according to Market Watch. The seasonal favorite flavor pumpkin spice may be leveling out — new items with the flavor are flooding the market, but sales aren’t keeping up. The number of pumpkin spice products sold online have jumped 49% year-over-year, but sales have only grown 21%.
- Conversely, maple is booming in the beverage market. It's up 85% in nonalcoholic beverages and up 14.6% in alcoholic beverages in the last year.
- Seasonal items and limited time offers are increasingly important for sales, as consumers are on the lookout for the next big thing. Dunkin Donuts has already tapped in to the trend by adding maple pecan iced coffee to its fall menu.
Dive Insight:
As kids head back to school and leaves start changing colors, food flavors are switching from summer’s light fare to fall’s comforting notes. Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Lattesofficially went on sale Sept. 5, signaling an unofficial start to fall for many consumers. This year, though, pumpkin spice is getting some seasonal competition from maple.
Pumpkin spice is the clear market leader. Thevariety of pumpkin spice food确实是惊人的。创建一个new pumpkin spice bar, General Mills released pumpkin spice Cheerios, Lindor made pumpkin spice truffles, and the California Fruit Wine Company even produced a pumpkin spice wine. Maple hasn’t inundated the market to the same level, but it certainly has the potential to do so. On the show floor at Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore last week, many startup companies offered maple beverages, snacks, syrups and confections.
Maple has seen tremendous growth in beverages. Maple water — sourced from the sap of maple trees— is having a moment, and has thepotential to triple its market share by 2020. In the hard drink category, there is nowmaple vodka produced by Vermont Spirits. This is in addition to the plethora of maple whiskeys, produced by big brands such asCrown Royal,Jim BeamandKnob Creek.
As far as food goes, you can find the sweet ingredient inRXBAR’s maple sea salt bars, a number of yogurts —including Maple Hill, and evencheese.
品牌拓展到枫smart to tout its overall nutritional value, with 40 antioxidants and low calorie level for a sweetener. In addition, making a a limited-time seasonal item would add to its allure. One of the reason’s Pumpkin Spice Lattes have such a following is because there are precious few months when they can be ordered.
If marketed wisely, maple could also help pumpkin spice stay relevant. As a rising tide lifts all boats, a new interest in maple could sustain the popularity of other fall flavors.
