Maximalist Indulgence Is Back (and It’s Getting Smarter) Dessert-shop “complexity per bite” is migrating into RTD coffee, dairy, and protein snacks. The R&D prize: layered brown-note systems that feel extravagant without turning into a sugar bomb.Why Now? You’re in the refrigerated case choosing a “treat.” One option is plain chocolate. The other reads like a bakery ticket—salted caramel brownie, cookie-dough

Functional ingredients used to live in the fine print, quietly handling gut health or satiety while the front of pack shouted “chocolate” or “berry blast.” Those days are gone. Today, fiber, protein, and “clean” cues are part of the promise of the product—and that means they’re now part of the flavor brief.

The Botanical Boom. Step aside, plain vanilla. The world’s taste buds have a passport now — and they’re checking into the wild, fragrant world of Global Spice & Botanical Exploration.