Why
it matters:
- Snacks are a massive, $141 billion business in the United States, with consumers increasingly blurring the lines between snacking and meals.
- Traditional international snacks as well as new flavor combinations have received national retailer recognition as a 2025 food trend.
- Global flavors are engaging consumers in a cultural experience while often offering better-for-you snack options.
Whether
through travel or media, consumers are more exposed to global food
culture than at any other time. As a result, flavors, ingredients,
and their regional nuances are permeating U.S. food and beverage
categories such as sauces, condiments, and now, snacks.
Both
salty and sweet snacks are developing as a platform to taste the
world, with no cooking or complicated recipes involved. In addition
to lesser-known snacks hitting the market, familiar products like
chips, popcorn, and chocolate are serving as gateways to try new
flavors. In fact, global snacks are prominent to the point that Whole Foods Market
named them as a top food trend for 2025
that “introduce consumers to different parts of the world through a
mix of traditional international snacks and new combinations.”
Huge
U.S. snacking culture is ripe for innovation
Snacks
in general are a massive segment in the U.S., generating $39 billion
in 2024 with 95% of consumers reporting that they consume snacks,
according to the US Salty Snacks Market Report 2025
from market researcher Mintel. When incorporating sweet snacks like
confections, U.S. sales are projected to reach $141.3 billion in 2025
and poised to grow annually by 4.6%, reported Statista.
Younger
adults, especially, are blurring the lines between meals and snacks,
noted Mintel, creating business opportunities for nutrient-dense
snacks that support healthy eating, as well as convenience. But,
while nutrition is an important factor, indulgence is still a big
part of snacking with flavor being key. Another 2025 Mintel report,
US Trending Flavors and Ingredients in Salty Snacks,
names Japanese soybean paste miso, Korean chili paste gochujang, and
Hatch chilis, popular in many Mexican dishes, as emerging examples
that underscore a consumer interest in global flavors.
COVID’s
impact, too, continues to be felt in consumer purchase behavior. “A
few years ago, when you couldn’t travel, people were seeking ways to
participate in a cultural experience at home,” said Matt Caputo,
Owner of Caputo’s,
a specialty market and deli in Salt Lake City.
Global
flavors surged as a result, and the
confluence of snacking culture and the desire for a taste adventure
continues to create a pathway for more brands to share their cultural
roots and nostalgic food memories through snacks.
[Read
more: Cooking Convenience Trends Are Driving Sales for Food and Beverage Companies]
Modernized
takes on childhood snack favorites fueled by culture and nostalgia
Snacks
might not be the first thing U.S. consumers think of related to
Indian cuisine, but it’s a big part of the culture, especially
around “chai time” or teatime.
Doosra
Founder Kartik Das realized snacks, one of his favorite parts of
Indian food culture, didn’t exist outside of traditional Indian
grocery stores, where aisles of products pointed to the plethora of
options. Eighteen months ago, Das created Doosra, a modernized take
on classic snacks that features a mix of boondi (chickpea puffs),
roasted peanuts, and caramelized white chocolate mixed with a masala
spice blend.
“Doosra”
means “different”
or “other,”
which was exactly what Das, who was born in Chennai,
India,
raised in Singapore, and attended culinary school in London, set out
to accomplish. “I didn’t want a completely traditional snack,”
he said. “I wanted traditional ingredients and flavors but combined
with other ideas I learned in culinary school.” The result, he
explained, creates a composed bite that isn’t overly salty or
spicy.
Doosra,
which is not yet found in big-box stores but is available nationally
in smaller retailers, has garnered positive feedback both from South
Asians who enjoy the familiarity and nostalgia and from those who
simply enjoy Indian flavor.
Other
companies also are aiming to share culture and nostalgia through
snacks. Examples include Chuza,
a brand of dried fruit snacks dusted with a salty, spicy, citrusy
chili powder that evokes
Mexican
flavors. The founder, Daniel
Schwarz, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, wanted to capture the tastes
and spirit he remembered from childhood.
Sun Tropics,
a first-generation Filipino American family-owned company, offers
childhood-favorite treats like mochi bites in flavors like Thai Bird
Sriracha and Golden Curry.
And
Sugarox
offers Chilipops Chamoy in flavors like tamarind, cucumber, and
coconut blended with Chamoy, a Mexican condiment that mixes dried
fruits, chiles, and spices.
…[T]he confluence of snacking culture and the desire for a taste adventure continues to create a pathway for more brands to share their cultural roots and nostalgic food memories through snacks.
Consumer
interest in healthful foods opens opportunities
Many
snacks that spotlight international flavors are also positioned as
more healthful. “There is a small but growing subset of
consumers, especially in the U.S., who are increasingly interested in
… discovering that the source of food makes a huge difference in
terms of quality,” said Patrick Johnson, Co-founder of Ziba Foods,
a line of sustainably grown and harvested nuts and fruits from
Afghanistan.
The
line includes sweet and savory snacks like trail mix that uses
ingredients like mulberries grown wild in the foothills of the Hindu
Kush mountains of northern Afghanistan. Shakhurbai
almonds are flavored with spices like sumac and za’atar.
“Things
taste better from environments where they grow naturally,” Johnson
said. And Ziba is appealing to consumers looking for an alternative
to mass-produced snacks.
[Read
more: Innovation and Artisan Options Driving Opportunity in Adult Nonalcoholic Beverages]
Creativity
abounds—from salted egg popcorn to Vietnamese coffee chocolate
While
some brands are introducing unfamiliar snacks, others are expanding
classic products as blank canvases for the unexpected.
Tochi Snacks,
for example, has a line of Asian-inspired popcorn in flavors like
Milk Tea, Matcha, Ube, Black Sesame, and Salted Egg. Its founders,
Dina Shi and siblings Ian and Marc Seah, all first-generation Asian
Americans, aimed to infuse flavors inspired by their homeland
(“tochi” means land) into functional snacks.
Chips
are another category showcasing international flavors. Torres
Spanish variety potato chips are the most popular brand at specialty
market Caputo’s,
Matt Caputo told CO—. The line comes in flavors like Iberian Ham,
Fried Egg, and Sparkling Wine.
On
the sweet side of snacking, Caputo has especially noticed an uptick
in Asian flavors. Fossa Chocolate,
for instance, is a Singaporean brand creating varieties like Soy Milk
and Youtiao, based on a traditional breakfast. Youtiao are deep-fried
strips of wheat flour dough that are dipped into warm soy milk. Other
flavors in the line include Dark Chocolate Sake Kasu, which contains
the sake lees left over from the production of the Japanese rice
wine. “You would expect [the brand] to be niche, but it is
challenging some classic European chocolate brands as out best
seller,” Caputo added.
Another
brand, Marou Chocolate,
sources all ingredients from Vietnam, including its Cafe Vietnamien
Au Lait coffee chocolate with evaporated milk.
Similarly,
Fu Wan
is a Taiwanese chocolate made from cacao grown in Taiwan. White
Chocolate with Pink Shrimp is one of the brand’s latest unexpected
flavor combinations.
“Brands
that reflect their authentic place in the world are gaining a
following,” Caputo concluded.
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Published
Denise Purcell
