According to IBISWorld, the Seasoning, Sauce, and Condiment market reached $29.2 billion in 2022 and has grown 3.4% per year on average between 2017 and 2022. Condiments are heating up with new sophisticated flavors, unexpected applications, and limited edition collaborations.
Condiments Get Saucy
Home cooking has elevated the demand for seasonings and sauces. Condiment brands have taken notice and have upped their game with new products beyond traditional ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. Kraft Heinz has debuted The Heinz 57 Collection, developed in collaboration with chefs Lee Wolen and Joe Frillman in Infused Honey and Crunch Sauces. The Infused Honeys are offered in Black Truffle and Hot Chili while the Crunch Sauces are available in Chili Pepper Crunch, Mandarin Orange Miso Crunch, and Roasted Garlic Crunch varieties. Earlier in the year, Hellmann’s partnered with Frank’s RedHot on the limited edition of the Hellmann’s Spicy Buffalo with Frank’s RedHot flavor. In May, Hellmann’s introduced a Spicy Mayo flavored with a sriracha pepper blend and made with real chili peppers. In the UK, Hellmann’s launched Chilli Charger Mayo, Coronation Mayo, and Gravy Mayo. Also in England, Queen Elizabeth II introduced Tomato Ketchup and Brown Sauce condiments, sold in Sandringham’s gift shop. French’s, known for its Classic Yellow mustard, launched a new line of Creamy Mustard Spreads in three flavors: Creamy Yellow, Honey Chipotle, and Sweet Applewood. French mustard brand Maille has tapped Mike’s Hot Honey for the Maille x Mike’s Hot Honey Dijon collab. Truff and Hidden Valley Ranch have teamed up to infuse Truff’s Original Black Truffle Hot Sauce into the Ranch dressing. The Truff x Hidden Valley Ranch dressing “features the spice of red chiles, the umami depth of black truffles, and the tangy creaminess of ranch.” Texas running back Bijan Robinson created Bijan Mustardson, a “Dijon mustard with a Texas kick.” Florida-based Chef Pii, TikTok’s viral sensation known for her controversial Pink Sauce, has signed a deal with Dave’s Gourmet to put her sauce on “e-commerce platforms, in restaurants and on major food retailers’ shelves.” According to the press release, Dave’s Gourmet has formulated a shelf-stable version of the infamous Pink Sauce.
Betty Crocker introduced Sheet Pan Dinner Kits in Lemon Garlic, Mediterranean Style Balsamic, and Teriyaki flavors, which includes seasoning and a sauce. AWSM Sauce, an acronym for “Avoid Waste and Season Meaningfully,” offers sustainable sauces that are formulated using powder-to-pour technology. The sauces are available in Chesapeake Fire Sauce, Classic Ketchup, and Honey Hickory BBQ flavors. The brand sells starter kits, which include two jars along with two three-packet boxes of your choice of sauces. Ujjo creates Hot Sauce For Coffee in two variants: Ujjo Light Roast and Ujjo Dark Roast. The Ujjo Light Roast has notes of ginger and citrus while Ujjo Dark Roast contains cinnamon, cocoa, vanilla, and molasses notes. Alternative uses include tea, cocktails, and ice cream.
Unexpected Applications & Collaborations Using Condiments
Like other food and beverage categories, condiment brands are collaborating with a variety of adjacent categories and creating unexpected partnerships and applications. Savory ice creams have been trending and condiments continue to make their way into ice creams and now doughnuts. In the UK, British accessories designer Anya Hindmarch dropped The Ice Cream Project summer concept store from July 9 through August 28, 2022. Self-described as “serving up a collection of unexpected and delicious ice creams and sorbets which celebrate Anya Hindmarch’s favorite cult food brands,” consumers could purchase a variety of condiment-flavored ice creams. A few flavor examples include Heinz Mayonnaise (rich and creamy with the zestiness of lemon and tang of vinegar), Heinz Tomato Ketchup (sweet, salty, and tangy), and Kikkoman Soy Sauce (toasted sesame laced with umami-rich naturally brewed soy sauce). In partnership with Popbar, Oscar Mayer has released a Cold Dog ice cream bar with a drizzle of mustard-colored white chocolate. It is described as having a “smokey flavor with umami notes.” French’s collaborated with Dough Doughnuts for a limited run of Mustard-Infused Doughnuts, which are described as “a bold donut that reimagines a classic glazed doughnut with a vibrant sweet and savory yellow mustard coating that is topped with a yellow mustard cake crumble.” Doritos dropped limited edition Classic Ketchup and Spicy Mustard flavored chips. As a result of a Herr’s Philadelphia flavor contest, Herr’s debuted a new line of Philadelphia-flavored potato chips. The three flavors include Long Hots, 215 Special Sauce, and Wiz Wit. The 215 Special Sauce is described as “tangy tomato flavors and finishes with a mild vinegary heat.”
Applebee’s and Winky Lux joined forces on the Saucy Gloss collection in four shades “that allegedly taste like the restaurant’s wing sauces.” The four shades feature Creamy Coral “Get Me Hot Buffalo,” Gold-Flecked Deep Red “Sweet Chile Kiss,” Golden “Be My Honey Pepper,” and Smoky Burgundy “Honey BBQ-T.” Fenty Beauty and MSCHF partnered to create condiment packets of lip gloss that resemble ketchup. Customers need to purchase a case of the new lip gloss, which includes six packets in a red box with the words “Ketchup or Makeup?” written on the top. The six packets inside the case either contain lip gloss or nonedible ketchup. Inking tattoos of individuals’ favorite condiments have been popular such as Ed Sheeran’s infamous Heinz Tomato Ketchup tattoo. In response to this trend, in May, Duke’s Mayonnaise teamed up with Richmond Virginia-based Yellow Bird Tattoo to give away free Duke’s mayo-themed tattoos. Heinz has partnered with thredUP on the Heinz Vintage Drip clothing collection of 157 one-of-a-kind secondhand, ketchup-stained items.
Get Dippin
Consumers enjoy dipping their food and snacks into a variety of sauces and brands are responding by launching new products and flavors. Litehouse added five new flavors to its Dips & Spreads line: Avocado Ranch, Dilly Dip, Homestyle Ranch, Southwest Ranch, and Spinach Parmesan. Similarly, ¡Yo Quiero! released a line of Avocado Cream Cheese Dips that are available in four flavors: Bacon Cheddar Ranch, Jalapeno Popper, Spinach Artichoke, and Spinach Bacon. The brand also launched an Elote Dip made of whole kernel corn, peppers, and authentic Mexican cotija cheese in Mild and Medium varieties. Consumers are raving about Trader Joe’s new Crunchy Jalapeno Lime and Onion condiment. Doritos has taken its classic, most popular chip flavors and developed two dips: Doritos Dip Cool Ranch Jalapeño and Spicy Nacho. Ithaca Hummus and Grillo’s Pickles have collaborated on the Ithaca Hummus x Grillo’s Pickles, which highlights a nine-ingredient pickle hummus using all-natural ingredients and no preservatives. Heinz has created a new brand Dip & Crunch that is “designed to elevate the burger-eating experience” and is available in Regular and Spicy varieties. The two-in-one package features a burger sauce and crisp crunchers made to cling to the smooth sauce when dunked. The burger sauce contains tomato puree, molasses, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic powder, tamarind concentrate, onion powder, and spices. In the UK, Heinz created a limited run of 10 Spoon Friez, which are French fries shaped like spoons and were available through a contest.
With consumers cooking at home more and looking for multicultural flavor experiences, expect to see upgraded condiments, dips, and sauces with sophisticated flavors, limited edition collaborations, and unexpected applications.
Any condiment connoisseurs out there? Get saucy with a custom-designed trend excursion, a spicy marketing presentation, a fiery blog post or hire Amy Marks-McGee as a guest speaker.