From chewy to gooey - people are craving interesting textures

Melty-centered snack cakes, super flaky pastries or stretchy mochi snacks, texture has emerged as the most desirable element to elevate the consumer experience from mundane to extraordinary. Taste is no longer the sole king, texture is vying for the crown. Our global Taste Tomorrow survey pointed out that 72% of consumers seek out foods with diverse textures. Let’s chew on this textural trend in the bakery, patisserie and chocolate industry. 

For cookies and many other food products, texture has always been equally important as flavor. The snap of a thin wafer, the crumble of a biscuit or the crunch of a chocolate chip are what makes them so satisfying. But now we see a strong focus on texture all throughout the industry. Innovations in treats focus more and more on the sensorial experience. Almond croissants are promoted as ‘double baked’ to highlight the crunchiness and recipes for a triple-burnt basque cheesecake are going viral online. The biggest online hype in chocolate? It’s the Dubai bar. A chunky bar of chocolate filled with gooey pistachio paste and crispy toasted knafeh puff pastry. The chocolate bar is a creation of Fix Chocolate, which went instantly viral. And because it was only available in Dubai at first, it became known as the Dubai bar.

Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are filled with videos of people breaking open a bar of the knafeh chocolate, filming their enthusiastic reactions as the oozy filling spills out. While flavor can only be enjoyed with one of the senses, texture can be savored by two: taste and sight. That’s why baked goods and chocolate innovations that focus on texture have so much potential for going viral online. Just by looking, you can experience them. That might also be the secret behind the wildly popular cookies by Van Stapele in Amsterdam. Ques of up to an hour are no exception for consumers who want to try this internet-famous cookie. The chocolate cookie features a crispy outer layer with a melt-in-your-mouth soft white chocolate core.

Bakers and patissiers are increasingly experimenting with contrasting textures for their new creations. Layered pastries with crispy, flaky exteriors and soft, creamy fillings are becoming more popular. Think of the crookie: a croissant filled with American-style cookie dough. 

According to our worldwide consumer survey, 67% of consumers prefer some familiar element when they try new foods. People are looking for classics with an unexpected twist. Thus, focusing on a new version of a classic pastry with an intriguing texture update is a smart focus in product innovation.

Mintel also identified some new stand-out themes for this year: freeze-dried confectionery, crunchy and chewy protein snack mixes and melty-centered snack cakes. Meltamors are an example of those melty-centered cakes. The snack cakes in the flavors Double Chocolate and Chocolate Creamy Caramel have a runny filling. If consumers warm them up in the microwave, the cakes start to resemble the lava cake – a popular restaurant dessert.