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UK flavour house I.T.S has launched a new caramelised banana flavour solution, tapping into the rise of what it calls ‘one of summer’s biggest flavours’.

The company highlighted Tastewise data showing that in the UK, social media conversations about caramelised banana rose by 24% between June 2024 and June 2026, while banana product launches with protein have seen 103% yearly growth and with fibre, 129%.

I.T.S pointed to the success of Starbucks’ Caramelised Banana Matcha Latte in fuelling the summer flavour trend, noting that caramelised banana is one of its current most requested flavours from customers connecting banana to health and wellness – even in indulgent categories such as bakery and desserts.

The new flavour solution blends sweet, ripe banana with ‘gooey’ caramel and warm cooked notes, creating a rich and indulgent flavour profile suitable for a wide range of applications.

These include flavoured milk and milk-based drinks as well as plant-based alternatives, bakery, ice cream and desserts, porridge and breakfast foods, protein powders, shakes and snack bars.

Paschalina Papadogkona, senior performance, health and wellness specialist from I.T.S, commented: “With their well-known nutritional benefits, bananas are having a renaissance, but consumers are increasingly seeking flavours that take banana into a more indulgent space. These include roasted banana, baked banana, banana bread and, the most requested from food and drink manufacturers, caramelised banana.”

She added that I.T.S wanted to keep banana “at the heart of the profile” but with added depth, warmth and richness, aiming to provide “a much more sophisticated option than Banoffee” that works well across many applications.

Banana flavours are also gaining traction in the US, with plant-based beverage brand Califia Farms recently launching new Banana Crème Almond Milk Latte and Organic Banana Crème Almond Milk Coffee Creamer products in response to the trend. The brand noted that banana-flavoured lattés and café-inspired at-home recipes are growing in popularity on social media platform TikTok, bringing a 'fun and fresh twist' to coffee and creamer aisles.