T. Hasegawa: Brown sugar is 2025 Flavor of the Year

The ingredient can be used in baked goods and more.

Wooden spoons with brown sugar on table, closeup

California-based T. Hasegawa, a food and beverage flavor manufacturer, has officially named the 2025 Flavor of the Year: brown sugar.

As versatile as it is nostalgic, brown sugar has been a culinary staple for centuries. While it has origins as a cooking and culinary ingredient, brown sugar reportedly features a rich, complex flavor profile that makes it popular in a wide array of products and foodservice menu items ranging from baked goods to sweet and savory sauces, beverages, and more. Since brown sugar is not refined to remove all of its molasses content, it retains an intense caramel-like richness and a warm color that makes this ingredient popular among foodies and culinary influencers on social media.

Brown sugar’s new crowning as Flavor of the Year is just one of many findings in the 2025 Food and Beverage Flavor Trends Report, a free annual publication. Globally recognized for its innovation and expertise in flavor development and proprietary flavor enhancing technologies, T. Hasegawa remains at the forefront of consumer trends and shares these developments and research findings throughout the food and beverage industry, the company says.

“Consumer preferences are continually evolving in food and drink categories, and the flavor industry is on the frontline of these trends,” says Mark Webster, vice president of sales and marketing at T. Hasegawa USA. “By working with many of the world’s top food and beverage brands, our R&D team have direct insight to the ingredients, culinary trends and consumer demands that will influence restaurant menus and CPG products well into the future.”

In addition to unveiling the Flavor of the Year, T. Hasegawa’s 2025 report predicts other up-and-coming ingredients, flavor trends, and consumer patterns that will shape the world of foods and beverages over the next year, including:

Ingredients for mental health: a look at how consumer demand will rise for functional ingredients like nootropics and adaptogens, which benefit holistic and mental health.
Gut health revolution: details on the booming demand for ingredients that benefit digestive health, such as fiber, prebiotics, and postbiotics in non-traditional categories.
Retro revival: how consumers are craving foods and beverages that evoke cherished childhood memories, leading to fun, nostalgic flavor combinations.
Focus on nutrition with the rise of GLP-1: how sugar reduction and protein-enriched foods are balancing flavor and nutrition with the popularity of weight-loss medications.
Flavor escapism: an overview of how foods and beverages can provide an escape from reality, with fun fantasy flavors like “rainbow” or “unicorn.”
Mindful mushrooms: detailing how functional mushrooms will continue to grow in 2025 as consumers look for health benefits such as improved energy, focus, and stress-relief.