February 4, 2026 – Within the global food and beverage market, botanical ingredients are increasingly valued for their flavor attributes, wellness, and transparent appeal. Innovations can be seen extending floral botanicals beyond conventional uses, driving new applications and approaches. Brands are also intentionally utilizing botanical flavors to create accessible outlets of exploration for consumers, rooting innovation in familiarity. Innova’s “Innovation in Botanical Ingredients- Global” report dives into these global botanical trends influencing the food and beverage industry, providing insights into innovation opportunities for brands.
How Can Brands Balance Category Relevance in Botanical Innovation?
Innova’s trends research indicates that brands who align botanicals with category-specific roles will strengthen their product appeal and reinforce preexisting category expectations. For example, in beverages, refreshing or premium cues are more likely to resonate, while sports nutrition products highlight focus. Natural taste enhancers and visual appeal are also relevant for sauces and seasonings. When it comes to emerging categories, botanicals can also be incorporated as a signal for enhanced taste and functional value.
In addition to the advantages that come with category alignment, innovations in natural botanicals also include exploring applications outside of their established roles, delivering technical or nutritional value beyond conventional uses. For example, floral botanicals can be used as natural colors, outside of traditional tea applications. Prioritizing lesser-known florals also highlights opportunities for differentiation.
When Are Fungi and Algae Applicable as Emerging Microbial Sources?
Fungi and algae are growing as new ingredients formulated to support consumers’ nutritional needs. For example, fungal and algal ingredients can be leveraged for nutritional value like mineral enrichment. Additionally, fungi and mushroom components can be used to address texture and mouthfeel components, while fungal-derived enzymes can be leveraged to address formulation challenges.
Why is Ingredient Transparency Vital for Botanical Sourcing?
Over 40% of global consumers point to ingredient sourcing and the presence or absence of additives and preservatives as a tool for understanding product quality. As a result, beyond standard natural positionings, ingredient transparency around origin, processing, and ingredient composition are all influential in shaping quality perceptions.
Apart from ingredient transparency, improved processing techniques are also important to advancing the impact of natural botanicals. For example, technological advancements like AI and solvent-free extraction can be used to support botanical efficacy and sustainability. Global consumers are also more accepting of novel food processing technologies, highlighting an opportunity for brands to innovate while simultaneously delivering clear quality and nutritional benefits to consumers.
How Can Botanical Ingredients Support Holistic Wellness and Healthy Aging?
Nearly 3 in 4 consumers say that healthy aging is important to them, and botanical ingredients can be used to deliver positive nutrition within everyday formats. Eating a balanced and nutritionally rich diet are two steps global consumers are taking to address their aging concerns, and therefore, the incorporation of botanicals can be used to promote longevity. GLP-1 awareness and weight-management goals are also an opportunity for botanical innovation, as fiber-rich ingredients and low-sugar formulations can deliver indulgence and broader metabolically aligned products to consumers.
Consumers are also drawn to targeted nutrition solutions, especially if they feel that products are aligned with their personalized health goals. Thus, brands should consider botanical ingredients that address age, gender, and lifestyle needs. In addition, the mind-body connection is also significant, and consumers are linking emotional balance to skin and digestive comfort. Brands can capitalize on this opening to position botanicals as support for holistic connections. Botanicals can also be used to convey well-being cues, while their flavor profiles can help strengthen health-oriented positionings.
Why Are Emotions Driving Flavor Trends in Botanical Innovation?
Innova’s flavor trends research indicates that 52% of global consumers say mood plays a role in the flavors they crave. With this in mind, botanical innovations are leaning into the link between flavor and emotional cues, using botanicals that naturally signal feelings such as calm or focus. For example, jasmine is associated with calm and can be used to enhance product relevance across consumption moments.
What Are the Advantages of Rooting Botanical Ingredients in Familiarity?
65% of consumers are interested in more old and traditional recipes, so for brands, there are opportunities to update traditional botanical recipes. Simultaneously, regionally rooted formulations also present avenues for botanical innovation and consumer exploration by introducing ingredients to new geographies and retail environments. For example, kapha churna is a traditional Ayurvedic blend of organic spices that has emerged in launches in the US for its flavor profile and versatility.
Global consumers also say that familiarity, alongside unique flavors, influences food and drink choice the most. As such, brands should use familiar flavors to introduce botanicals and create approachable novelty. Cherry rosehip and habanero sea buckthorn crossovers, for example, highlight this trend.
What’s Next for Botanical Ingredient Trends?
Considering the future direction of botanical ingredient trends, category growth will increasingly be linked to usage occasions where botanicals can be used to complement existing product roles rather than creating new formats or altering category expectations. Interest is also increasing in botanical-let food and beverage products that provide health support, rather than supplements or clinically positioned solutions, underscoring the direction of consumer demand. Brands can also expect innovation to move away from isolated functional health claims to botanical combinations that support interconnected physical and emotional well-being across different health pathways. Ingredient transparency will remain another cornerstone of innovation, with consumers using information on sourcing composition and processing to assess quality.
This article is based on Innova’s Innovation in Botanical Ingredients – Global report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to learn more.