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As 2025 nears its close, Pladis' head development chef, Robert Craggs, reflects on the priorities and key trends for snack producers to consider in the year ahead. From fermented, umami depth of flavour to layered, sensory-led snack experiences, read on to discover what's in store for the next wave of snacking innovation.

Innovation in the snack category is at a tipping point. After years of incremental flavour and format tweaks, consumers are signalling they want more – more meaning, more sensory depth and more authenticity. But many brands risk falling into the same trap of launching offers that look new, but feel shallow. The snack world must ask: are we truly meeting deeper consumer tensions or simply chasing colourful packaging and novelty flavours?

The next year in snack innovation is being shaped by five converging trends. When done well, they offer not only shelf-differentiation, but category definition. If done badly, they’ll end up fleeting 'limited editions' in a sea of sameness.

Fermented flavours moving beyond savoury origins

Fermentation has long been associated with savoury flavours, such as kimchi, miso, kombucha and so on. Now we are seeing fermentation step into sweet snacks, desserts, even indulgent formats. That shift is significant. Fermented flavour offers unseen depth, complexity, layers of taste, all while tapping into 'good for me and for the planet' cues. Importantly, fermentation can support more responsible snacking by naturally strengthening flavour intensity, improving digestion and increasing nutrient bioavailability, enabling brands to create more nutritious products that still deliver on taste.

What’s the implication for snacking brands? Firstly, don’t treat fermentation as a gimmick. It must be right in formulation, taste profile and consumer expectation. Secondly, move beyond the trend-led mindset. Thirdly, be bold with category crossover, you might see a sweet snack bar leveraging a light fermented caramel or yogurt-based profile. Finally, communicate with consumers. Fermentation is an unfamiliar territory so communication must be clear and health benefits should be credible.

The next wave in functionality and targeted health-value snacking

The snacking landscape is shifting as consumers look for products that do more than satisfy hunger. They want targeted benefits that enhance overall wellbeing – sharper focus, better cognitive performance, stronger immunity, improved gut and skin health, and mood support. The next wave of innovation is about designing snacks where added health value works in harmony with other product values, such as taste or texture.

Ingredients like mushrooms are emerging in products such as chocolate or lattes on the high

street, demonstrating how niche components can take on multiple roles – delivering depth of flavour, while embedding health benefits in everyday, accessible formats.

For snack brands, the opportunity is two-fold. Mushrooms, for example, will be imagined not only as a flavour and texture ingredient that elevates the snack experience, but also as a source of nutritional and functional benefits. It is important to remember that the product must not fail on taste, otherwise consumers will end up unsatisfied. Consumers want functionality and flavour, neither at the expense of the other.

The rise of ASMR and sensory-led enjoyment

In a world of distractions, consumers increasingly crave multi-sensory pleasure. Crunch, snap, pop, crackle: all are elements that matter. The rise of ASMR-led content has highlighted something brands already suspected – the sound and feel of snack consumption are part of the experience. But we’re now going further, and sensory expectations are evolving. Consumers are looking for formats that ooze, melt, warm, cool or fizz on the palate.

For innovators, this means snack format and sensory design can no longer be afterthoughts. Think of a biscuit that deliberately cracks a certain way, a crisp that echoes a specific crunch or a bar with layered textures that fizz when bitten into. Sensory-led enjoyment also opens the door to premiumisation as consumers are willing to pay more if the experience is richer.

Packaging plays an equally influential role, with sound, texture and even the feel of opening the product being part of the sensory experience. Digital layers are entering the market, with augmented reality accessed via smartphones creating a multi-sensory world and blurring the boundary between physical and virtual enjoyment.

Tropical flavours take centre stage

Globalisation and travel mean consumers are more flavour-curious than ever. Consumers are experiencing food through a digital lens, with new flavours increasingly at their fingertips. Tropical flavours are no longer the occasional special edition, they’re moving into the mainstream.

Pineapple and chilli, passion fruit and yuzu, and mango and habanero are all examples of bold flavour marriages rooted in global inspiration, which continue to grow in popularity. Food from Latin America, the Caribbean, Thailand and Indonesia are leading the trend, with tropical flavours inspired by these regions no longer confined to sweet formats.

These flavours are rapidly moving into the savoury mainstream with greater regional specificity and authenticity. This presents a clear play to lean into adventure, paired with authenticity.

Directionless 'exotic' launches risk being superficial and inauthentic, and this is extremely obvious to customers. To stand out, brands need to bring authenticity and context, paying homage to the origin of the flavour and the cultural story that underpins it.

The move toward 'snackification'

'Snackification' has been around for years, but what we’re seeing now is a more profound shift. The concept of snackification involves eating smaller, more frequent meals as opposed to the traditional three meals a day. Consumers are seeking occasions, rituals and formats built around snacks. For example, the rise in mini meals or mid-afternoon boosters. Snacking has become more flexible, more purposeful, more embedded in daily life.

This means innovation should not simply be a version of a new flavour in an old format. Brands should consider the moment of consumption, the convenience, the portion size, the health vs indulgence tension and the price-point. The tension here is between convenience vs satisfaction, between quick bite vs experience, between healthy choice vs treat.

The thread tying these five trends together is creative tension. The push and pull between flavour and function, sensory enjoyment and convenience, novelty and authenticity, global exploration and local familiarity, health and indulgence. The brands that thrive will be those that don’t just follow trends at face value but lean into these tensions by uncovering the deeper needs and desires that sit beneath them and designing snacks that resolve those contradictions in meaningful ways.

The future of snack innovation lies in understanding what people truly want – emotionally, sensorially and functionally – and ensuring every new product fits seamlessly into their lives while staying true to brand purpose and promise.

As we enter this next era of snacking, the opportunity is to evolve. It’s time to lead with insight, tension and intent. Because the brands that will win aren’t those repeating what’s been done before, they’re the ones bold enough to redefine the flavour vocabulary altogether.