With more than 8 billion flavor preferences in the world, trying to craft a single formulation that appeals to a successful majority of them can be considered something of an exercise in audacity. After all, flavor trends can be completely spontaneous and explode out of nowhere, fast. Prepared food and beverage makers need reliable sources of seasonings, spices, herbs, salts, flavorings, and extracts to stay on top of product development flavor trends. Growing strong in the market recently are fruit powders (especially tropical and exotic examples, such as yuzu) and vegetable powders (such as green Hatch chili powder).

Heat and spice continues to lead the current US flavor wave. In fact, heat is now so ubiquitous and mainstream that it will always be “in.” But today’s consumers are seeking heat that adds complexity. East and Southeast Asian flavors continue to play strong, with Thai, Vietnamese, and Korean fairly mainstream, as are the flavors from the Middle East and North Africa. There also is a resurgence in Indian/South Asian cuisines, regional Chinese, and Japanese culinary influences. Accelerating in popularity are African, , Filipino, and South Asian flavors.

Herbs and spices are riding a wave of consumer interest for the health aspects as well. With extracts of tart cherry, rosemary, and celery now common replacements for preservatives, and cloves, cinnamon, ginger, fenugreek, and turmeric among the dozens of herbs and spices touted for their combination of flavor and health, product developers are seizing the opportunity to expand their creative envelope with seasonings, spices, herbs, salts, flavorings, and extracts. Even coffee, cocoa, and tea are being incorporated into foods and beverages to serve this important and attractive dual purpose.

Although successfully translating taste trends into food and beverage productss always involves risk, research chefs, developers, and manufacturers—with expert and insightful suppliers involved—can feel confident pushing the envelope on flavors.

In this section, you’ll find detailed listings for suppliers of seasonings, spices, herbs, salts, flavorings, extracts, and concentrates as well as ancillary ingredients to support the development and manufacture of products using them. Click below for references by company name, headquarters, and website. And remember, we update these listings frequently, so keep checking back.