Flavor of the Year 2026
Frosted Star Anise: Capturing a global desire for warmth and freshness
Frosted Star Anise combines the comforting warmth of star anise with a cool, frosted twist. This distinctive pairing is more than flavorful—it represents a dual aspiration: peace and tranquility, embodied by star anise, and revitalization, captured in the refreshing frosted element.
“Flavor of the Year is more than a taste—it embodies cultural sentiment and emerging trends...distilled into an experience that resonates emotionally with consumers. That’s at the heart of what we do every day."
Maurizio Clementi, EVP for Taste at dsm-firmenich
Drawing Inspiration from Color & Trends
The forward-thinking flavor of Frosted Star Anise draws from the Pantone Color of the Year 2026: ‘PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer’, a lofty white hue which inspired dsm-firmenich to elevate both an ingredient and a feeling as the 2026 Flavor of the Year. Together, these two emotional indicators reflect a growing global desire for calm in an increasingly fast-paced world.
A flavor with many dimensions
Star anise is a striking, star-shaped spice with a sweet-spicy profile and notes of licorice, clove, and cinnamon. It features in global cuisines—from Vietnamese pho to Moroccan tagine to Mexican café de olla to Chinese five-spice-inspired blends—and in comforting classics like chai, mulled wine, and jams. It also shines in adventurous applications such as root beer floats, BBQ sauce, and confectionery and savory dishes where it adds complexity and aromatic depth.
The “frosted” element introduces cooling sensations through ingredients like mint or advanced technologies such as dsm-firmenich’s freezestorm™.
“Cooling isn’t a taste—it’s a complex sensation triggered by temperature-sensitive receptors. These trigeminal sensations—which also include spiciness, warming, and numbing—enhance flavor in exciting, multidimensional ways.”
Jeffrey Schmoyer, VP Human Insights, Taste, Texture & Health
Flavor innovation rooted in consumer and cultural insights
To select its Flavor of the Year, dsm-firmenich analyzes emerging ingredients—including those hiding in plain sight. Our Emotion360 global survey of ingredient perception, along with product launch data analysis, found that Star Anise is a ‘secret weapon’ of an ingredient—versatile and ubiquitous, yet underappreciated and ready for the attention it deserves.
66%
Of Consumers have heard of Star Anise yet only 34% have knowingly tasted it creating an opportunity for brands to introduce and shape how the flavor is experienced.
10,000
Products have featured Star Anise as an ingredient over the past decade, yet only 10% highlighted it front-of-pack–a trend now shifting as the profile of Star Anise rises in awareness.
Categories on the Rise
Notably, Star Anise is gaining traction in hot and alcoholic drinks—categories that often signal future flavor trends.
Source: dsm-firmenich proprietary Flavor Knowledge Portal, dsm-firmenich Emotion360, fueled by Mintel GNPD data, leveraging more than ten years’ worth of data across millions of launched products to uncover patterns and trends around food and beverage innovation.