Dive Brief
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Sales of seasonings and spices are up at the nation's grocery stores, with dollar sales growing 6.3% between October 2015 and this year, according to research from IRI reported on in Supermarket News.
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Retail buyers told Supermarket News that consumers are interested in bold, ethnic and international flavors. Some retailers have started organizing their seasoning options by ethnic cuisine in order to serve this interest.
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Other dietary trends are being echoed in the seasonings category. Retailers reported a marked interest in spices that comport with the paleo diet, are organic and natural, and are spicy.
Dive Insight:
Spices and other seasonings got into their popular groove in 1964, when a Buffalo NY bar deep-fried some chicken wings and slathered them with Frank's RedHot sauce, creating both buffalo wings and an awareness among Americans that spice is nice.
Half a century later, supermarkets are giving a lot more space to spices.
Product manufacturers haven't uniformly caught up to this thinking even as they turn out variations of tried-and-true favorites of mac-and-cheese, steak in different kinds of sauces, and assorted vegetables.
It's high time product developers look a bit further afield and follow consumers' tastes as they come to crave prepared dishes with Thai, Indian, Korean and Chinese flavors. It's not like the spices aren't available.