A Feast for the Senses by Romy Schafer, Associate Editor
Cheesy, sweet and chocolate are flavors being requested by Carolina Ingredients’ customers, says Mike Cantore, vice president of sales for the Rock Hill, S.C., company, whose seasonings are used to make baked snacks, puffs, extruded snacks, chips and more.
Spicy flavors continue to be hot, too. "People have asked for a lot of hot seasonings lately," Cantore says. "They're always the trend. We've seen more of the jalapeno chedddars, the chipotle ranch, the wasabi. Sriracha's been a huge buzzword these days. Everybody knows the rooster sauce."
The company has also been seeing what it calls "one step outside of normal," says Cantore. "People usually buy what they're familiar with - sour-cream-and-onion, salt-and-vinegar and, obviously, plain salt on chips and snacks. Now that the economy is loosening up, people are spending more money and stepping out a bit. So you'll see something like a salt and malt vinegar and sour cream and French onion, which is basically sour cream and onion with a bit of a twist.
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