I.T.S released its 2026 Flavour Report, revealing a major shift towards food and drink that deliver both indulgence and functional benefits. With changing attitudes to health, weight management and “me time”, consumers, led by flavour-seeking Millennials, are demanding bolder, multi-sensory products that work harder for their wellbeing.

According to the report, everyday categories, from ready-to-drink beverages to sweet bakery, are now expected to offer added physical or mental benefits. “The boundary between functional nutrition and sensory enjoyment is disappearing,” says I.T.S founder Mike Bagshaw.

Meg Eade, dairy innovations specialist and Adam Cohen, senior marketing manager at I.T.S, sat down with Dairy Industries International to discuss the results of the study on consumer trends. Aside from health and wellness, consumers are leaning more into seeing what benefits they can get from dairy for protein and goodness, they say.

Q. What changes have you seen in consumer behaviour over the past five years, and what do you think is driving it? 

Meg Eade: From my perspective, there has has been for awhile, large consumer interest in the health and wellness side of it. Interesting one for airy in particular, last 10 years, rise of vegan and then health was non dairy, come all the way back around again, consumers identifying benefits they can get from dairy, cows milk, and the protein and the fat and everything associated with that. huge benefit to industry, people looking for lots of products and flavours within that space, pushing people to try different things, health and wellness space, kefirs, so many new launches, lot of these are driven by that have to taste good for people’s health and innovation alongside the wellness, pushing the change in dairy protein, increase launch of protein fortified, now, people are identifying standard dairy as that place to get this.

Adam Cohen: It’s about the power of social media, and people are having GLP-1 jabs, so there is a heightened awareness of the importance of protein diets, and not just eating chicken breasts. Sales of full fat Greek yogurt has gone through the roof, and it doesn’t have to be low fat now. It can be about good quality, tasty full fat Greek yogurt.

ME: Yogurt is definitely having a second wind, and for example, Marks & Spencer has launched new SKUs in the past few months, which are driven by social media. These include yogurt bowls, topped with fancy ingredients, and they look fabulous, on recipes and in social media. It is positioned as a healthy snack, with protein and everything you need nutrient-wise – it is an interesting one to see come back around. There are a lot of traditional favourites with new launches, with twists. These include fruity flavours, such as sun-kissed mango, red diamond strawberry, English gooseberry, hedgerow mixes, with all the links back to the premium type of familiar product. It’s familiar flavour but with a higher format.

Q. How will GLP-1 and other trends affect dairy products this year?

ME: This is an interesting one, while it is affecting and reducing the overall spend on what people are eating, it could be an opportunity for the dairy industry, as high protein or a source of protein. In a beverage, dairy has made its own way for these kind of products, with meal replacement shakes. With more launches into the dairy sector of versions of complete meals as drinks, I don’t see why that can’t be a huge opportunity for the dairy industry. The consumer knowledge of real dairy has that wellness benefit over non-dairy, but it’s hard to know whether it will continue to grow at same pace.

Q. Where do you expect the changes to be seen most geographically?

AC: Overall, the trends usually appear in the US and UK with food and drink and the American trends are a little more out there. They then speed up around media globally, but it works both ways. East Asian flavours are still being seen now in different countries, but adapted differently. For example, matcha is a part of the whole way life is lived in Japan, but it is trendier in the UK and aimed at younger consumers, who like the green colour and it looks good on Instagram. There is that split, with a lot of product launches across western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where they tap into the same trends from Japan, Korea and China.

Q. How long does the research last and in what countries?

AC: The data is brought together using Innova, to look at product launches worldwide, and to examine the US, U and globally. Taste wise, US and UK markets are seeing a lot of of trends going on there as well. ITS was really quick off the mark with Dubai chocolate flavour, working with an ice cream manufacturer on a limited edition ice cream flavour. Younger consumers have a fear of missing out, and so they’ll be looking at Instagram one minute and wanting to buy. We launched the flavour within a week, to go into the desserts category. While Dubai chocolate is slowing, pistachio as a flavour is still going strong. It doesn’t show any signs of slowing down and it’s green. If there’s a raw material that is unavailable or expensive, such as certain types of fruit and nuts, then we have a natural flavour to enhance the product, boost the natural fruit to get the flavour profiles right.

ME: We do a lot of work with customers to get the flavours they’re wanting. – the rich, indulgent tastes. They want flavours that taste like what’s promised, so we’re boosting flavour, particularly in dairy products where we can’t put loads of fruit, but instead help with the natural flavour, and get that delivery.

Q. What about your investments in the UK?

AC: I.T.S has purchased a new site for building one of the largest flavour manufacturing sites in the UK. It is quite significant, as we have two sites already. It is an 8.2-acre industrial estate west of Newbury close to Hungerford, with links to the M4 motorway. The company will be investing an initial £10 million into the site and its development. It is anticipated that completion will be in around 12-18 months’ time We want to be a one-stop shop as much as possible for customers.

For more information visit www.itstaste.com/2026/01/20/top-flavour-trends-2026-beyond/