Here’s to a Berry Good Year

As I’ve mentioned before, every year there’s usually a berry that America falls in love with, at least for a short period of time. Many of these have been of the exotic variety, but this year Advertising Age reports Firmenich, an international company that sells flavors to food businesses, has named the ordinary blackberry the “flavor of the year for 2014.”  The marketer describes the blackberry as a “subtly sophisticated, bite-sized beauty” and notes its “delicate nuances” and ability to “surprise the palate with every bite.” Of course, the fact that blackberries are packed with antioxidants doesn’t hurt.

According to Ad Age, last year Firmenich predicted lime would be the hot flavor, and new products launched globally with lime flavors jumped more than 20 percent from 2012 to 2013 and 33 percent from 2010.

The magazine also notes the similarities between the flavors of the year as picked by Firmenich and the colors of the year as selected by Pantone. 2013’s hot lime flavor paired nicely with Pantone’s green emerald color of the year. This year, the blackberry meshes well with Pantone’s Radiant Orchid color of the year.

Firmenich says blackberries are already having an impact, showing up in cereal bars and beverages, including at fast food giant McDonald’s (the Blackberry/Raspberry Fruit-Tea Fusion). It also mentions the new “menu items popping up at sophisticated restaurants, including blackberry and fennel pizza and sweet potato quinoa cakes with blackberry salsa.”