Restaurants: The Flavor Frontier: Gen Z's Culinary Rebellion and the Rise of the "Sauce-Everything" Culture

Why it is the topic trending: Gen Z's Digital Culinary Playground

• Gen Z's Dominant Influence on Food Trends: This topic is trending because Gen Z, as digital natives and highly experimental consumers, are disproportionately shaping food and beverage trends through their social media activity, particularly on platforms like TikTok. Their unique approach to food, characterized by creativity and breaking traditional norms, captures widespread attention.

• Social Media as the New Recipe Book: TikTok, Instagram, and other visual platforms serve as the primary arenas for these culinary experiments. The "sauce-everything" phenomenon is highly visual and shareable, making it instantly viral and a constant source of new content.

• Desire for Customization and Personalization: Gen Z actively seeks to personalize their food experiences. Turning everyday items into sauces is the ultimate act of customization, allowing them to tailor flavors to their exact preferences and create unique dishes.

• Rejection of Traditional Food Norms: This generation is less bound by conventional cooking rules or established flavor pairings. Their willingness to experiment with unconventional combinations, like turning soda into a sauce, challenges the status quo and generates buzz.

• Affordability and Accessibility of Experimentation: Many of these "sauce" creations involve readily available and inexpensive ingredients, making culinary experimentation accessible to a broader audience, including those with limited budgets or cooking skills.

Overview: Gen Z's Saucy Revolution in the Kitchen

The article delves into an emerging and highly influential food trend driven by Gen Z: the inclination to transform virtually any food item, including unexpected ones like soda, into a sauce. This culinary phenomenon is rooted in Gen Z's desire for extreme customization, flavor experimentation, and social media shareability. It highlights how this generation is breaking traditional culinary boundaries, leveraging digital platforms to showcase their inventive (and sometimes unconventional) creations, and ultimately reshaping the landscape of food consumption and product development. The trend underscores a broader shift towards personalized and experiential eating, where the lines between ingredients and condiments are increasingly blurred.

Detailed findings: The Unconventional Palate of a New Generation

• "Sauce-Everything" Mentality: Gen Z exhibits a strong tendency to convert various food items into sauces, demonstrating a desire for enhanced flavor and texture customization across their meals.

• Unconventional Ingredient Use: The trend extends to surprising ingredients, such as transforming soda into a sauce, showcasing a willingness to experiment with non-traditional culinary components.

• Influence of Social Media: Platforms like TikTok are central to this trend, serving as a hub for sharing, discovering, and validating these unique food creations, driving their viral spread.

• Desire for Flavor Enhancement: The core motivation appears to be a quest for bolder, more complex, or simply different flavor profiles to elevate everyday meals and snacks.

• DIY and Culinary Creativity: This trend encourages a do-it-yourself approach to food, fostering creativity and a sense of personal authorship over their dining experiences.

• Breaking Culinary Rules: Gen Z is less constrained by traditional culinary rules or established food pairings, leading to innovative and sometimes surprising flavor combinations.

• Impact on Food Industry: The article implies that this behavior forces food brands to reconsider product development, focusing on versatility, bold flavors, and ingredients that can serve multiple purposes.

Key success factors of product (trend): Versatility, Boldness, and Shareability

• Extreme Versatility: Products that can be easily adapted, mixed, or transformed into new formats (like sauces) will resonate strongly, allowing consumers maximum creative freedom.

• Bold and Unique Flavors: Stand-out, unconventional, or intensely flavored ingredients and products are more likely to capture the attention of a generation constantly seeking new taste experiences.

• High Shareability (Visual Appeal): Products that lend themselves to visually appealing transformations or unique culinary uses are primed for viral success on social media, driven by Gen Z's content creation habits.

• DIY and Customization Potential: Brands that offer ingredients or base products that empower consumers to personalize and create their own unique flavor profiles will thrive.

• Authenticity and Experimentation: Products that embrace and encourage experimentation, even if unconventional, align with Gen Z's desire for authentic, unscripted culinary adventures.

Key Takeaway: Gen Z's pervasive "sauce-everything" trend underscores a fundamental shift in food culture, driven by a desire for extreme flavor customization, digital shareability, and a bold rejection of traditional culinary norms, forcing food brands to innovate with versatility and unconventional appeal.

Main trend: The Hyper-Personalized Flavor Revolution

Description of the trend: The Blurring Lines of Culinary Customization

The Hyper-Personalized Flavor Revolution is a transformative trend in food consumption characterized by consumers, particularly Gen Z, actively seeking to customize, invent, and control their flavor experiences to an unprecedented degree. This trend moves beyond simply choosing from existing options; it involves a creative and experimental approach to food where traditional ingredient roles are fluid, and the boundaries between main dishes, sides, and condiments are blurred. It is fueled by a desire for unique taste sensations, a rejection of conventional culinary rules, and the powerful influence of social media platforms that enable the rapid sharing and adoption of unconventional food hacks and creations. This revolution emphasizes individual expression through food, turning every meal into a potential canvas for personal flavor artistry.

What is consumer motivation: Creativity, Novelty, and Social Expression

• Culinary Creativity: Consumers are motivated by the desire to express their creativity through food, experimenting with flavors and textures to create unique and personalized dishes.

• Quest for Novelty: A strong drive to discover and experience new, unconventional, and exciting flavor combinations that break away from routine or traditional tastes.

• Social Expression and Validation: Sharing unique food creations on social media platforms like TikTok is a significant motivator, allowing consumers to showcase their culinary skills and receive social validation.

• Personalization and Control: The ability to tailor flavors and ingredients precisely to individual preferences, providing a sense of control over their dining experience.

• Boredom with Conventional Options: A desire to escape the monotony of standard food offerings and inject excitement into everyday meals.

What is motivation beyond the trend: Self-Expression, Community, and Culinary Empowerment

• Self-Expression through Food: Beyond just taste, food becomes a powerful medium for personal identity and self-expression, reflecting individuality and adventurousness.

• Building Digital Communities: Participating in food trends and sharing creations fosters a sense of belonging within online communities centered around culinary experimentation and shared interests.

• Culinary Empowerment: The trend empowers consumers, regardless of formal cooking skills, to feel like "chefs" or innovators in their own kitchens, breaking down barriers to culinary exploration.

• Entertainment and Playfulness: The act of transforming foods and experimenting with flavors is inherently entertaining and playful, turning meal preparation into a fun activity.

• Resourcefulness and Anti-Waste: In some instances, this trend can also be motivated by a desire to be resourceful with existing ingredients, finding new uses for items that might otherwise go unused.

Description of consumers article is referring.

Consumer Summary: The Digitally Savvy, Flavor-Forward Innovators

The article primarily refers to Gen Z, a demographic characterized by their deep immersion in digital culture, particularly social media platforms like TikTok. These consumers are not passive recipients of food trends; rather, they are active co-creators and disseminators of new culinary ideas. They are driven by a strong desire for personalization, a willingness to challenge traditional food norms, and an insatiable curiosity for novel flavor experiences. Their approach to food is experimental, playful, and highly visual, making them powerful trendsetters in the food and beverage industry.

• Who are them:

  • Gen Z (Digital Natives): The primary demographic, deeply integrated with social media.

  • Early Adopters/Trendsetters: Quick to pick up and propagate new food trends.

  • Creative Experimenters: Enjoy modifying and inventing new food combinations.

  • Social Media Content Creators/Consumers: Actively share and consume food-related content online.

  • Value-Seekers (in terms of experience): Prioritize unique and personalized experiences over strict adherence to traditional recipes.

• What kind of products they like:

  • Versatile Ingredients: Products that can be used in multiple ways or transformed.

  • Bold & Exotic Flavors: Seeking out intense, unique, and globally inspired tastes.

  • DIY-Friendly Products: Ingredients or kits that allow for customization and personal touch.

  • Visually Appealing Foods: Products that look good on camera for social media sharing.

  • Affordable Experimentation: Ingredients that allow for low-risk culinary adventures.

• What is their age?: Primarily Gen Z, typically ranging from early teens to mid-20s (roughly 13-28 years old).

• What is their gender?: The trend appears gender-neutral, appealing to both male and female creators and consumers interested in culinary experimentation.

• What is their income?: Often students or early career professionals with varying disposable incomes. The trend's reliance on accessible ingredients suggests it caters to budget-conscious experimentation.

• What is their lifestyle:

  • Highly Connected: Constantly online, especially on visual social media platforms.

  • Creative & Expressive: Use digital platforms for self-expression and showcasing individuality.

  • Experiential: Prioritize unique experiences, including culinary ones.

  • Less Traditional: Open to breaking norms and challenging conventions in various aspects of life, including food.

  • DIY-Oriented: Enjoy hands-on activities and personalizing their belongings or creations.

• What are their shopping preferences in the category article is referring to (Food/Beverages):

  • Influenced by Social Media: Discover new products and ideas through TikTok and Instagram.

  • Seek Versatility: Prefer ingredients that can be used in multiple dishes or transformed.

  • Value Flavor Innovation: Drawn to new and exciting flavor combinations.

  • Open to Private Label/Generic Brands: If they offer the right flavor profile or versatility at a good price, without the need for premium branding.

  • Online Research: Look up recipes, hacks, and product reviews online.

• Are they low, occasional or frequent category shoppers: They are frequent food shoppers due to daily consumption needs, but their purchasing within the "sauce" or "flavor enhancement" sub-category is likely frequent and experimental, driven by the desire to try new trends and create content.

• What are their general shopping preferences-how they shop products, shopping motivations): Their shopping motivations are driven by novelty, creativity, social currency, and personalization. They shop online and in physical stores, often seeking specific ingredients or products seen on social media. They are motivated by the potential to create unique content and express their individuality through their food choices. They are less brand-loyal if a new, more exciting, or versatile product emerges.

Conclusions: The Dawn of the Flavor-First Food Economy

Gen Z's "sauce-everything" phenomenon is more than a fleeting fad; it represents a fundamental shift towards a flavor-first, hyper-personalized food economy. This generation's boundless creativity, fueled by social media, is dismantling traditional culinary boundaries and demanding that food brands prioritize versatility, bold flavor innovation, and products that serve as canvases for individual expression. To succeed, the food industry must move beyond rigid product categories and embrace a fluid, experimental approach that empowers consumers to be co-creators in their own culinary adventures, recognizing that the future of food is deeply intertwined with personal taste and digital shareability.

Implications for brands: Innovate for Versatility and Shareable Flavor

• Develop Multi-Purpose Ingredients and Products: Brands should create food items that can serve multiple roles – as a primary ingredient, a condiment, or a base for new creations – appealing to Gen Z's desire for versatility.

  • Detail: This could involve releasing concentrated flavor extracts, versatile seasoning blends, or even "blank canvas" food items designed for customization.

• Embrace Bold and Experimental Flavor Profiles: Invest in R&D to develop unique, intense, and globally inspired flavors that stand out from conventional offerings and encourage creative mixing.

  • Detail: Consider limited-edition "flavor drops" or collaborations with culinary influencers to test unconventional combinations.

• Integrate Social Media into Product Design and Marketing: Design products and packaging with shareability in mind, making it easy for consumers to create and post content featuring their culinary experiments.

  • Detail: Run social media campaigns that challenge users to "sauce" unexpected items, providing templates or inspiration, and actively engage with user-generated content.

• Offer "Recipe Hacks" and Usage Inspiration: Provide consumers with creative ideas and "hacks" for how to transform or combine products in unconventional ways, empowering their culinary experimentation.

  • Detail: This can be done through short-form video tutorials on TikTok, interactive website content, or QR codes on packaging linking to dynamic recipe ideas.

• Collaborate with Gen Z Food Creators: Partner with popular Gen Z food influencers and content creators who genuinely embody the "sauce-everything" ethos to develop new products or promote existing ones authentically.

  • Detail: Move beyond traditional endorsements to co-creation models, allowing influencers to have a real stake in product development and marketing.

Implication for society: A More Adventurous and Creative Culinary Landscape

• Democratization of Culinary Innovation: Society will witness a broader participation in culinary experimentation, moving beyond professional chefs to everyday consumers, fostering a more creative and diverse food culture.

  • Detail: This could lead to a breaking down of traditional food hierarchies and a greater appreciation for unconventional tastes and preparations.

• Shift in Food Education and Discovery: Social media platforms will continue to solidify their role as primary sources of culinary inspiration and learning, potentially diminishing reliance on traditional cookbooks or cooking shows.

  • Detail: This implies a more visual, bite-sized, and community-driven approach to learning about food.

• Potential for Health Implications (Both Positive and Negative): While experimentation can lead to healthier, more diverse diets, it also carries the risk of unconventional combinations that may not be nutritionally balanced or safe, requiring greater consumer discernment.

  • Detail: Society may need to develop new forms of nutritional guidance that address highly customized and experimental eating habits.

Implications for consumers: Empowered Palates and Endless Culinary Play

• Unprecedented Flavor Personalization: Consumers gain the power to tailor their food experiences to their exact preferences, creating unique flavor profiles that cater to their individual tastes.

  • Detail: This leads to a more satisfying and less monotonous dining experience, where every meal can be an adventure.

• Enhanced Culinary Creativity: The trend encourages consumers to be more experimental and resourceful in their kitchens, fostering a sense of accomplishment and fun in food preparation.

  • Detail: This can transform cooking from a chore into a playful and expressive activity.

• Access to a Global Flavor Palette: Social media exposure to diverse culinary experiments broadens consumers' palates and introduces them to flavor combinations they might not have otherwise encountered.

  • Detail: This enriches their dining experiences and encourages cultural exploration through food.

• Community and Connection: Participating in these trends allows consumers to connect with like-minded individuals, share their creations, and be part of a vibrant online food community.

  • Detail: This fosters social bonds and a sense of belonging around shared culinary interests.

Summary of Trends:

• Core Consumer Trend: The Flavor Customization Imperative. Consumers, particularly Gen Z, are driven by an intense desire to personalize and invent their own flavor experiences, rejecting static food norms in favor of dynamic, adaptable tastes.

• Core Consumer Sub Trend: The Social Media Culinary Lab. Digital platforms like TikTok are the primary arenas where consumers discover, create, and share innovative food hacks and flavor transformations, making virality a key driver.

• Core Social Trend: The Deconstruction of Traditional Food Categories. Society is witnessing a cultural shift where the rigid definitions of ingredients, condiments, and dishes are dissolving, giving way to a more fluid and experimental approach to food preparation.

• Social Drive: The Pursuit of Culinary Play and Self-Expression. There's a fundamental societal drive to engage with food in a more playful, creative, and expressive manner, viewing meals as opportunities for personal artistry and social sharing.

• Core Trend: The Hyper-Personalized Flavor Revolution. This overarching trend signifies a profound transformation in the food industry towards individualized taste experiences, driven by consumer demand for unique, customizable, and boundary-pushing flavor profiles.

• Core Strategy: Versatility-Driven Product Innovation. Brands must strategically pivot their product development to create ingredients and food items that offer extreme versatility, enabling consumers to easily transform and customize them into new culinary forms.

• Core Industry Trend: The Rise of "Ingredient-as-Condiment" and "Condiment-as-Ingredient." The food industry is seeing a blurring of lines between traditional food roles, with ingredients being used as flavor enhancers and condiments becoming central components of dishes.

• Core Consumer Motivation: The Thrill of Culinary Discovery and Creation. Consumers are primarily motivated by the excitement of discovering new flavor combinations and the satisfaction of creating unique, personalized dishes that reflect their individuality.

Strategic Recommendations for brands to follow in 2025: Unleash the Inner Chef with Versatile Flavor Tools

• Launch "Flavor Base" or "Transformative" Product Lines: Introduce new product categories designed to be highly versatile, serving as a foundation for consumers to create their own sauces, glazes, or flavor infusions.

  • Detail: This could include concentrated flavor pastes, versatile spice blends, or even unsweetened beverage bases intended for culinary modification.

• Develop Co-Creation Campaigns with Gen Z Influencers: Partner with popular Gen Z food content creators to co-develop new "sauce" recipes or challenge them to transform existing products in unconventional ways.

  • Detail: This fosters authentic engagement and leverages the influencers' creativity to generate viral content and inspire consumer experimentation.

• Create Short-Form Video "Hack" Content: Produce engaging, bite-sized video tutorials (e.g., for TikTok, Reels) demonstrating creative and unexpected ways to use products, particularly focusing on their "sauce" potential.

  • Detail: These videos should be visually appealing, easy to follow, and highlight the fun and personalization aspects of the culinary process.

• Emphasize "Flavor Profiles" over Rigid Categories: Market products based on their dominant flavor notes and versatility rather than strict traditional food categories. Highlight how they can be used across sweet, savory, and experimental applications.

  • Detail: Use descriptive language that evokes taste experiences and encourages mixing, rather than limiting usage suggestions.

• Invest in "Flavor Lab" or "Customization Hub" Digital Experiences: Create interactive online platforms where consumers can virtually mix and match flavors, share their own recipes, and discover new combinations, fostering a sense of community and experimentation.

  • Detail: This could include AI-powered flavor pairing suggestions or user-generated recipe contests.

Final Conclusion: Gen Z's "sauce-everything" trend is a powerful indicator of a culinary landscape that prioritizes hyper-personalization, creative experimentation, and digital shareability. For food brands in 2025, success will hinge on recognizing that consumers no longer merely consume, but actively co-create their dining experiences. By embracing versatility, bold flavor innovation, and authentic engagement with this digitally native generation, brands can transform from mere product providers into enablers of culinary artistry, unlocking new avenues for growth and relevance in a world where flavor knows no bounds.

Core Trend Detailed: The Hyper-Personalized Flavor Revolution: A New Era of Culinary Expression

The core trend illuminated by Gen Z's "sauce-everything" phenomenon is the Hyper-Personalized Flavor Revolution, a profound transformation in how consumers interact with and define food. This trend signifies a departure from traditional, prescriptive culinary norms towards an era where individual taste, creative experimentation, and bespoke flavor profiles are paramount. It's driven by a generation that views food not just as sustenance, but as a dynamic medium for self-expression, entertainment, and social connection. This revolution is characterized by a fluid approach to ingredients, where items traditionally confined to one role (like soda) are reimagined as versatile flavor components, enabling consumers to invent, customize, and share unique taste experiences that are perfectly tailored to their individual palates and digital lifestyles. It underscores a shift from mass appeal to micro-segmentation of taste, where every meal is a potential canvas for personal culinary artistry.

Key Characteristics of the Core trend: Fluidity, Creativity, and Digital Amplification

• Flavor Fluidity: The boundaries between different food categories (e.g., beverages, condiments, main ingredients) are becoming increasingly permeable, with consumers willing to repurpose items for new flavor applications.

• Unbounded Culinary Creativity: There's a strong drive among consumers to experiment with unconventional flavor combinations and textures, leading to innovative and often surprising culinary creations.

• Digital-First Discovery and Sharing: Social media platforms, particularly short-form video formats, are central to the discovery, dissemination, and validation of these personalized flavor trends, enabling rapid viral spread.

• Demand for Extreme Customization: Consumers desire the ability to tailor flavors and dishes precisely to their individual preferences, moving beyond pre-defined options to active co-creation.

• Playful Approach to Food: Food preparation and consumption are increasingly viewed as opportunities for entertainment, experimentation, and playful self-expression rather than rigid adherence to recipes.

Market and Cultural Signals Supporting the Trend: Viral Hacks and Ingredient Blurring

• Proliferation of "Food Hack" Videos: Social media platforms are inundated with short videos showcasing unconventional uses for common ingredients, such as turning chips into a seasoning or soda into a glaze.

• Rise of Niche Flavor Brands: The market is seeing an increase in small, agile brands offering highly specific, bold, or globally inspired flavor components (e.g., unique hot sauces, chili oils, spice blends) that cater to experimental palates.

• Mainstream Brands Experimenting with Versatility: Established food and beverage companies are beginning to market their products with suggestions for unconventional uses, acknowledging the consumer desire for multi-purpose ingredients.

• Increased Interest in Global Cuisines: Exposure to diverse culinary traditions through social media is broadening consumer palates and encouraging experimentation with exotic flavors and ingredients.

• DIY Food Content Creation: A growing number of amateur food enthusiasts are actively creating and sharing their own recipes and food transformations online, forming vibrant digital culinary communities.

• "Deconstructed" or "Build-Your-Own" Meal Kits: The popularity of meal kits that allow for significant customization or the addition of personal touches reflects the desire for tailored flavor experiences.

How the Trend Is Changing Consumer Behavior: From Recipe Following to Flavor Remixing

The Hyper-Personalized Flavor Revolution is fundamentally transforming consumer behavior from a passive, recipe-following approach to an active, flavor-remixing mindset. Consumers are no longer content with simply replicating dishes; they are driven to inject their own personality and taste preferences into every meal. This means a greater willingness to deviate from instructions, substitute ingredients, and creatively combine disparate elements to achieve a desired flavor profile. The act of cooking becomes less about adherence and more about experimentation and play. This also translates into more discerning shopping habits, where consumers seek out versatile ingredients and flavor enhancers that can serve as building blocks for their culinary inventions, rather than just pre-made meals. The social aspect is paramount, as the enjoyment now extends to sharing these unique creations and inspiring others within their digital networks.

Implications Across the Ecosystem: Agility, Authenticity, and Co-Creation

For Brands and CPGs:

• Shift to "Ingredient as a Tool": Brands must re-envision their products as versatile tools for flavor creation rather than fixed consumption items. This means emphasizing adaptability and multi-use potential in product development and marketing.

• Authentic Creator Collaborations: Move beyond traditional endorsements to genuine co-creation with Gen Z food influencers, allowing them to shape product development and marketing narratives.

• Agile Product Development: Rapidly test and launch limited-edition, experimental flavors or "flavor kits" to keep pace with fast-moving online trends and consumer demand for novelty.

For Retailers:

• "Flavor Lab" Merchandising: Create in-store or online sections dedicated to flavor experimentation, grouping versatile ingredients, unique sauces, and flavor enhancers together to inspire creative combinations.

• Interactive Shopping Experiences: Implement digital tools (e.g., QR codes linking to viral recipes, in-store screens with "flavor hack" videos) that bridge the gap between online inspiration and in-store purchase.

• Curated Bundles for Experimentation: Offer curated ingredient bundles designed for specific "flavor challenges" or experimental recipes, making it easy for consumers to try new combinations.

For Consumers:

• Empowered Culinary Exploration: Consumers gain unprecedented freedom and tools to explore and create their own unique flavor experiences, fostering a deeper connection with food.

• Increased Resourcefulness: The trend encourages consumers to be more resourceful with ingredients, finding new uses for items they already have, potentially reducing food waste.

• Vibrant Digital Food Communities: Opportunities to connect with a global community of food enthusiasts, sharing ideas, learning new techniques, and receiving inspiration.

Strategic Forecast: The Future is Fluid and Flavor-Forward

The strategic forecast for the food industry is one of continued and deepening flavor fluidity and hyper-personalization. Traditional food categories will become increasingly irrelevant as consumers prioritize versatile ingredients and bold taste experiences. Brands that remain rigid in their product definitions or fail to embrace consumer-led innovation will struggle to maintain relevance. We will see a surge in demand for highly customizable flavor components, and the line between "ingredient" and "condiment" will continue to blur. Success will be defined by a brand's ability to act as a culinary enabler, providing the tools and inspiration for consumers to be their own flavor architects, driven by social media trends and a relentless pursuit of novel taste sensations. Expect more cross-category flavor innovations and a greater emphasis on the experiential aspect of food consumption.

Areas of innovation: Enabling the Culinary Alchemist

• Flavor Concentrates & Extracts:

  • Detail: Developing highly potent, versatile flavor concentrates or extracts from various sources (fruits, vegetables, spices, even unexpected items like coffee or tea) that consumers can use to infuse or transform any dish or beverage into a "sauce."

• DIY Sauce Kits & Bases:

  • Detail: Offering pre-portioned kits or neutral bases that consumers can easily customize with their own chosen ingredients (e.g., adding soda, spices, herbs) to create unique sauces, dressings, or marinades at home.

• AI-Powered Flavor Pairing & Recipe Generators:

  • Detail: Creating mobile apps or web platforms that use AI to suggest unconventional but complementary flavor pairings, generate custom "sauce" recipes based on ingredients a user has on hand, or even predict viral flavor combinations.

• Interactive Digital Recipe Platforms:

  • Detail: Developing dynamic online platforms that go beyond static recipes, allowing users to "remix" ingredients, share their own modifications, and visually see how different additions might alter a dish's flavor profile or texture, fostering a collaborative culinary environment.

• "Flavor Boost" Additives (Powders, Sprays):

  • Detail: Innovating with highly concentrated flavor powders or sprays that can instantly transform the taste of any food or drink, catering to the desire for quick, impactful customization and experimentation without extensive cooking.

Final Thought: Gen Z's playful rebellion against culinary norms, epitomized by the "sauce-everything" trend, is not just a quirky habit but a powerful signal of the future of food. It underscores a profound desire for hyper-personalization, creative expression, and digital engagement in every meal. For brands, the imperative is clear: move beyond selling static products to becoming enablers of culinary adventure, providing the versatile tools and inspiration that empower consumers to be the architects of their own unique flavor experiences. The brands that embrace this fluid, flavor-forward approach will not only capture the palates of this influential generation but will also define the next era of food innovation.

Source: https://foodinstitute.com/focus/gen-z-wants-to-turn-everything-into-a-sauce-including-soda/