Flavours trending in Southeast Asia

Every year for the past 20 years, the McCormick Flavour Forecast has been sharing the trends that transform the way consumers cook, flavour, and eat. For the Southeast Asia market, we sought the input of Ms Annalee O’ Rourke, R&D Director Southeast Asia, McCormick and Tawinkarn Ariyavaradhorn, Culinary Development Chef Southeast Asia, McCormick provide more details on the region's diverse preferences. 

(From left) Annalee O'Rourke, R&D Director Southeast Asia, McCormick, and Tawinkarn Ariyavaradhorn, Culinary Development Chef Southeast Asia, McCormick

What will be new in Southeast Asia, a region with very diverse tastes?

The McCormick® Flavour Forecast® is a forward-thinking annual global report that identifies emerging flavour trends driving “what’s next” in flavour at restaurants, on retail shelves and in-home kitchens for the next one to three years. 

The four themes in McCormick® Flavour Forecast® 21st edition are very relevant to Southeast Asia (SEA) and we do see them developing across retail and quick service restaurants (QSR).

In Plant Pushing Boundaries, we see an increase in the use of local plants and flowers for taste, texture, and colour indulgence. Right now, social media is awash with vibrant images of bright blue and rich purple foods naturally coloured with butterfly pea flower and Ube. Butterfly pea flower is being used to give a beautiful blue shade to coffees, sodas, salads and more. In Thailand we see spicy Thai-styled salad with blue rice vermicelli, served with lime wedges on the side. When customers squeeze the limes to get the sourness they prefer, they can watch the dish magically transform from blue to purple. Ube the sweet yam from the Philippines has also become a social media darling, appearing in all things sweet from ice-creams to macarons. This is partly due to its photo-worthy purple colour but also its natural healthy nature.  

For Humble Nosh, the Pandan Kaya specifically featured in the 21st Flavour Forecast is a great example for this theme in SEA. Pandan is used in local sweets and desserts, or even adding its juice when boiling rice to infuse the fruity and floral aroma into the dishes. Pandan kaya can be found everywhere from street food stalls, QSR, convenience stores and bakeries.  It’s also a great example of a humble Southeast Asian ingredient that has made its way into global kitchens.  READ MORE