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The Dessert Market: What’s Trending
For consumers, dessert is no longer just the end of a meal, it’s an experience, a memory, and increasingly, a moment worth sharing. As tastes evolve and trends shift, food and drink businesses need to stay ahead, especially when flavour, innovation, and visual appeal are driving purchasing decisions.
The Dessert Market At A Glance
- 44% of consumers choose dessert or cake when dining out*
- 25–34-year-olds are the most dessert-driven demographic*
- Chocolate remains the most popular flavour
- 62% actively seek new and unusual dessert flavours*
Source: *Callebaut Dessert Report
1. Trending Flavours for 2026
Flavours are becoming more adventurous, nostalgic, and globally inspired. Here’s our top dessert flavour predictions for 2026:
- Pistachio – luxury, influenced by the Dubai dessert trend
- Bubblegum, making a colourful comeback through nostalgia
- Matcha, a bold, functional favourite with global appeal
- Raspberry, tart and vibrant, often paired with rose
- Rose, delicate, floral, and increasingly premium
- Honeycomb, textural, golden, indulgent and classic
- Banoffee, a modern spin on a British favourite
Flavour Spotlight: Pistachio
Pistachio is having a moment, heavily inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate bar trend. Its luxurious appeal and rich taste make it ideal for both bakery and global-style desserts.
- 10% growth in consumer conversation in 2024 (Source: Tastewise)
- 876% YOY growth in Simply Pistachio Syrup and sauce sales
- Popular in cookies, crepes, tiramisu, cheesecake, and waffles
- Market projected to hit multi-million value by 2027 (source: Expert Market Research)
SIMPLY Top Tip: Add a delicious nuttiness to your desserts with Simply Pistachio Topping Sauce. Made with real pistachios, the eye-catching green colour and smooth nutty is a customer favourite.
Flavour Spotlight: Bubblegum
Once a childhood favourite, bubblegum is now enjoying a grown-up glow-up. Many consumers who grew up with bubblegum-flavoured products are now seeking them again. It’s appearing in desserts, milkshakes, and ice creams, especially in limited-edition formats. Bubblegum was a top 5 flavour for children’s frozen desserts in 2024 (Source: Weber Flavours).
- Frequently seen in seasonal launches and social media content
- Appeals to Gen Z and Millennials with its playful nostalgia
- Used across desserts, drinks, and frozen treats
SIMPLY Top Tip: Let your customers revisit their childhood with Simply Bubblegum Topping Sauce. A bright blue, sweet sauce full of nostalgic flavour. Perfect for ice cream, waffles, or even buttercream icing, this playful sauce brings joy to any treat.
Flavour Spotlight: Matcha
Matcha has exploded from niche tea shops to mainstream dessert menus across the UK. Matcha satisfies the demand for functional flavours and globally inspired treats.
- Global market forecast to hit $4.24 billion in 2025, growing to $6.48 billion by 2029 (source: Mordo Intelligence)
- CAGR of 11.2%, showing strong and sustained growth (source: The Business Research Company)
- Appeals to health-conscious and flavour-curious consumers
- Works well with white chocolate, raspberry, and citrus pairings
SIMPLY Top Tip: Add a dusting of Simply Matcha Powder to pancakes or waffles for the perfect pop of colour!
2. Global Flavours: International Influence
UK consumers are embracing internationally inspired desserts that offer novelty, variety, and cultural influence. A huge 62% of consumers actively seek new and unusual flavours in desserts (source: Callebaut Dessert Report).
Popular examples include:
- Chocolate Bao Buns
- Crepe Fettuccine
- Saffron desserts
- Mochi, Cannoli, Hot Pockets, boba
3. Hybrid Desserts: Format Fusion
Hybrid desserts are seeing a major rise in popularity, fuelled by consumer cravings for novelty, indulgence, and cultural fusion. These crossovers between formats or cuisines offer fun and plenty of social media potential.
Popular examples include:
- Croffles (croissant + waffle)
- Brookies (brownie + cookie)
- Cheesecakundae (cheesecake + sundae)
- Cronuts (croissant + donut)
4. Nostalgia & Borrowed Nostalgia
Desserts that evoke childhood memories and comfort continue to be popular, often with a modern twist. Borrowed nostalgia is taking popular flavours from other countries, most commonly North America.
- Think bubblegum, banoffee, Eton mess
- US-inspired flavours like s’mores and candy floss are rising
- Gen Z are surprisingly nostalgic, with over 1 in 3 missing the 1990s
- 57% of UK adults are drawn to retro-themed drinks and desserts (source: GWI)
5. Social Media Influence: Eating with Our Eyes
The visual appeal of desserts is important, with social media playing a role in shaping trends, influencing consumer choices and driving sales.
- Aesthetics directly influence perceived value and brand appeal
- Eye-catching toppings, sauces, and colours increase shareability
- Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are essential for discovery
- The viral Dubai chocolate bar sparked global demand, tourism interest, and even supply chain pressure
SIMPLY Top Tip: Customisation is also on the rise! Allow customers to build their own dessert by choosing sauces, toppings, and flavours. This adds a sense of ownership and fun to the experience, therefore increasing customer satisfaction and repeat visits.
6. Savoury Twists: The Sweet-Savoury Balance
Desserts aren’t just sweet anymore. This trend broadens appeal, especially to those who prefer less sugary options. Savoury inclusions and contrasting flavour profiles are becoming more common:
- Herbs like rosemary or basil
- Spices such as chilli (the SWICY trend!), cardamom
- Cheese, nuts, and even savoury crepe formats
Final Thoughts:
In 2026, the dessert world will continue to be visually bold, globally influenced, and nostalgically driven. Our key SIMPLY takeaways for any food, drink and beverage business are:
- Flavour innovation is non-negotiable
- Visual presentation and customisation drive engagement
- Global and hybrid formats keep menus fresh
- Nostalgia builds emotional connection and repeat purchases
For the full guide, download our SIMPLY Dessert Trend Report here.
Check out our range of SIMPLY Topping Sauces. Or our range of SIMPLY Toppings, perfect for desserts and drinks!
Need help planning your dessert or drinks menu?
If you’d like help customising your menu or have questions about our products and recipes, SIMPLY has the insights, products, and expertise to help. Contact our sales team through our live web chat, call 0800 689 5128 or email sales@ibcsimply.com
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