Reach into the back of the fridge to uncover a changing cultural landscape of flavour and taste-making. Where once often rudimentary (brown sauce or red?) or the purview of niche connoisseurs, condiments are enjoying increased cultural visibility and interest. A well-stocked selection is increasingly something to show off about as, whether the result of a trip down the rabbit hole of #condimenttok or a lipstick-effect moment of treating oneself, they are quickly becoming a way to explore, enjoy and share, and can even include functional benefits. So, how is all of this playing out semiotically, and what is the future of this category?

Chef-style

As markers of in-the-know, enthusiast good taste, condiments that can bring a restaurant-like sense of occasion to any meal have been proving culturally successful. Broadly, two approaches govern this space: on the one hand, formats, packs and design touches that allow cooks to unleash their inner pro chef, and on the other, those that give us a taste of the hospitality experience at home.

Following on from Graza’s iconic, category-disrupting squeezy bottles of olive oil in the US, many brands have adopted this format that mirrors industry kitchen practices and offers both the cachet and the functionality of professional equipment. All kinds of condiment brands are now offering products in this format which codes careful precision and cheffy attention-to-detail, such as yellowbird hot sauces (US/UK), and Grette salad dressings (UK). Proving its now mainstream, enduring popularity, major UK supermarket player La Española olive oil has also brought out a version. The future of condiments, therefore, likely continues to have squeeze bottles in it.

Looking to how condiments allude to hospitality venues themselves also suggests an increasing trend, especially with people likely to spend less on eating out given the ongoing cost of living crisis. While we’re used to seeing offerings like this from our favourite chain restaurants (Nando’s sauce and Itsu goodies to buy at the supermarket, for instance), increasingly, smaller and more boutique restaurants are following suit – showing that this is a space of cultural capital. In NYC, Mulberry street restaurant Rubirosa has brought out olive oil and pasta sauces with striking chequered packaging that matches the aesthetic of its food styling and décor. Similarly, in London, Clapton’s Lucky & Joy collabed with haute groceries platform Delli last International Women’s Day to spotlight one of their female chefs and bring out a restaurant-branded chilli crunch oil. In this case, they showed that bringing the restaurant home can even be done with a more purposeful twist – could this be something we’ll be seeing more of in the condiment space?

Finally, Brussels Ketjep (a Belgian brand, available in hip, curated delis in the UK) takes a slightly different approach in invoking a whole type of restaurant, the fritkot/friterie – aligning with overall food and beverage trends towards the more imaginative and immersive spaces and products. This is jokingly referenced on the Bravas sauce pack (“hot like a fritkot”), and through the visual style, with the “basic”, stripped back squares design and simple, block caps font evoking the unpretentious functionality of these casual chip-shop spaces. All of this takes place while still providing an elevated offering by riffing on and updating classic sauce flavours with innovative tweaks – for example a collab with Mort Subite beer for their Brazil sauce, or for Bravas, blending the classic Belgian Sauce Andalouse with flavours of Spanish patatas bravas.

Bold Flavour

Condiments by their very nature have always been a vehicle for bold flavour – a little something that you add to the side of the plate to spice up a dish, a chutney or a mustard – but increasingly we are seeing them being used as a way to experiment with unexpected bold flavours, or creatively remixed ones. Spicy flavours (e.g. chilli crisp, oil and hot sauce, and of course the meteoric rise of hot honey) are filling the shelves of boutique stores and delis.

This is brought to life on pack through bold design, and, crucially, playfulness – bright colours cover large expanses of pack (e.g. Ed Sheeran x Kraft Heinz Tingly Ted’s hot sauces, US-based Sauz or Ayoh! mayonnaise) and rubber hose style illustrations abound – M&S have even brought out boldly flavoured Coffee, Hot Honey and Sweet Carolina barbecue sauces with these figures adorning the front. Where the purveyors of Not Just Food might once have leant into cues of serious intensity to suggest bold flavour, here they have done so with fun and whimsy – showing that this approach is here to stay.

Remixing is also an important part of bold flavour – Heinz have created several iterations of combined sauce flavours and mashups, including blends like Mayomust and Mayoracha (which remain on the scene as Mustard Mayo and Sriracha Mayo), and a limited edition Every Sauce, which mixed 14 flavours including these and other blends. Saucy Sauce, which mixes ketchup and mayo, is also still going strong. All of these were met with delight, leaning into the way people use condiments at home to mix, match, customise and create – and again showing a move away from serious tradition and more appreciation of joyful fun. Here once more we see a brand with longstanding heritage showing that it does not take itself so seriously through the communication of bold flavour.

Creativity and Heritage

Another way flavour and creativity are expressed is in reference to heritage. Brands increasingly telling personal creator stories around intercultural and immigrant heritage, and sharing these emotional flavour connections and creations with the world. This suggests a shift to positioning condiments as personal products with creative, individual stories – as opposed to trying to recreate an “authentic” standard. Instead, these brands celebrate what cherished flavours mean to the individual creator. Semiotically, this is brought to life through nostalgic family photo imagery online alongside language of honouring family members and traditions. On pack, we see traditional art styles from the cultures at hand, modernized or remixed to reflect change that comes through evolving circumstances and, as often these are second generation stories, cultural blending.

For instance, hot garlic brand Mama Teav’s tells the story of the founder’s mother’s move to the US as Cambodian refugee, highlighting the place that cooking had in staying connected to her home culture and honouring her through brand storytelling. Language of maternal care, nourishment, and open invitation, e.g. “come take a seat mama’s table”, makes it truly personal while still highlighting openness and sharing. Also in the US, Tursh chutney tells the story not only of how the product reflects Afghan flavours and honours their mum’s recipes, but also how the brand is part of their sibling relationship, bringing them together across East and West coasts. As condiments become more about personal taste, family heritage and individual stories than sticking to externally-established standards, can we expect more emotive engagement with flavour in the category?

Wellness

Finally, and aligning with wider trends towards tasty, health food and optimising food for the best nutritional outcomes, we also see brands beginning to make the most of the little and often nature of condiments to offer a functional boost to everyday eating.

Spicewell Ayurvedic salt and pepper exemplify this, taking products that many consumers add to every meals and blending them with vegetables and turmeric. The flowing shapes on pack suggest easy, liberal sprinkling and mention of changing “ingredients not habits” speak to ease of use and integration into daily routine. This moves away from traditional narratives of abstinence in the alternatives and replacements space, with bright colours suggesting fun and bold flavour – overall, a product that brings you more, not less, but still with a sense of flowing balance.

She’s The Sauce also focuses on familiar flavours (ranch, honey mustard), positioning itself as “the sauces you know and love, with benefits”. By mixing references to unfettered enjoyment (visuals of copious sauce, “Dip. Pour. Drench. Drink” language and website/socials imagery that leans into powerfully sensual femininity including while eating takeaway in bed) with those of conscious, ‘clean’ eating and living (precise references to macros and ingredients the product is free from, such as refined sugar, seed oils and gluten), the brand also moves away from narratives of refrained self-control and into one of permissible, optimised enjoyment. There remains significant opportunity for condiment brands to innovate in this space, aligning with increased consumer demand for functional products that foreground enjoyment and flavour.

3 Key Takeaways for Brands:

  1. There continues to be space to embrace little treat culture and condiments’ ability to mentally take consumers to the restaurant – whether behind the scenes or as a guest.
  2. Playful boldness is taking over from serious tradition in the communication of flavour, and successful brands are increasingly taking inspiration from this for pack design.
  3. Focusing on personal stories around heritage or highlighting functional benefits are increasingly important ways of building brand meaningfulness. Where brands have these credentials, ensuring they are spotlighted can help set them up for future success.

Sophia Lucena Phillips, Project Director

The Future of Condiments: Cultural foresight unpacks big opportunities for little condiments