What’s the next flavor disruption?

America’s love affair with kale—who saw that one coming? How about the gluten-free movement? Asian noodle and rice bowls? Breakfast all day? (To be fair, waffles for dinner were pretty great when we were kids.)

As diners’ access to and interest in a wider variety of cuisines and flavors grows, it’s more important than ever for foodservice directors to keep a critical eye on what customers want right now—and next month. While sometimes restaurant trends can be the best indicator of where noncommercial tastes are headed, quite often it’s the other way around, says Restaurant Business’ Peter Romeo.

The responses to the future-flavor query also can vary wildly by segment; while all diners seem to want spicy, according to Technomic’s MenuMonitor, powered by Ignite, their key ingredients are nowhere near the same. So, while there’s no one answer to this question, we can promise the results will be tasty.

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