Trending Spice Blends: Driving Global Flavor Innovation

Trending spice blends like za’atar, harissa, gochujang, and furikake give you a fast route to global flavor in your next product launch.

Spice blends carry the flavor of a whole cuisine in one ingredient. That makes them one of the simplest ways to bring global flavor into a snack, sauce, or seasoning line, and to give shoppers a reason to try something new.

Consumers continuously seek authentic, unique, and exciting tastes from around the globe. Food businesses should incorporate some of the most trending spice blends into product launches. These mixtures can transform simple dishes into mouth watering masterpieces, enticing consumers to experience new cuisines and expand their palates.

This article covers blends from the Middle East, North Africa, Korea, and Japan. For each one, you get the flavor profile, the core ingredients, and the product formats worth testing.

Most of these blends are built from whole spices, seeds, and dried herbs. That gives you a short, recognizable ingredient list for the pack.

Key takeaways

• Spice blends carry the flavor of a whole cuisine in one ingredient, which makes them a simple way to add global flavor to snacks, sauces, and seasonings.
• Gochujang is the only blend here that Tastewise classes as trending with US consumers. Furikake and dukkah are mature, while harissa and za’atar are declining.
• US restaurants are charging more for gochujang dishes, with the average menu item at $16.69 in September 2026, up about 7% on last year.
• Za’atar suits crackers, hummus, and popcorn. Harissa and gochujang suit chili sauces and marinades.
• Warm blends from Morocco, Ethiopia, and the Middle East fit spice rubs and simmer sauces.
• Topping blends like furikake and dukkah fit rice crackers, nut mixes, and popcorn.

Za’atar: A tangy and herbaceous Middle Eastern staple

Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend with a tangy, herbaceous flavor. It is traditionally made with dried thyme, sesame seeds, and sumac, and some versions add oregano or marjoram. Use it on dips, flatbreads, salads, and roasted vegetables. In product development, Za’atar fits crackers, flavored hummus, and gourmet popcorn seasoning.

Harissa and Gochujang: Fiery flavors from North Africa and Korea

You can build Gochujang into barbecue sauces and marinades, or use it as the base of a hot sauce.

On the other hand, Gochujang is a Korean chili paste made from fermented soybeans, chili peppers, glutinous rice, and salt. Its complex and spicy flavor profile with a hint of sweetness has become increasingly popular and is a staple in several popular Korean dishes, including bibimbap and tteokbokki. Businesses can harness Gochujang’s unique taste to create innovative barbecue sauces and marinades or incorporate it as a key ingredient in hot sauce formulations, expanding the global reach of their product offerings.

Ras el Hanout, Berbere, and Baharat: Warm and aromatic blends from Morocco, Ethiopia, and the Middle East

Ras el Hanout, Berbere, and Baharat are spice blends from different regions, boasting warm, complex, and aromatic flavors perfect for various dishes. Ras el hanout, a Moroccan blend that translates to “top of the shop,” combines multiple spices, including cinnamon, cumin, ginger, coriander, and cardamom, imparting warm and fragrant notes to meat, rice, and vegetable dishes. Businesses can utilize this versatile mixture in spice rubs or seasoning blends that cater to customers interested in exploring Moroccan and North African flavors.

Similarly, Berbere originates from Ethiopia and features a combination of spices, including chili peppers, paprika, ginger, fenugreek, and coriander. Berbere can be incorporated into stews, meats, and vegetables to add an intense pop of flavor. Companies can create an Ethiopian-inspired product line featuring spice blends, simmer sauces, and marinades infused with Berbere’s bold flavors.

Baharat, a Middle Eastern blend varying by region, generally includes ingredients like black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, and paprika. Its warm and complex flavor profile makes it ideal for lamb, rice, or roasted vegetables. Baharat-infused products, such as gourmet spice rubs, condiments, or flavored olive oils, can expand a business’s culinary offerings and cater to customers drawn to Middle Eastern cuisine.

Furikake, Dukkah, and Everything Bagel Seasoning: Creative toppings for snacks and dishes

For topping various dishes, snacks, and sides, Furikake, Dukkah, and Everything Bagel Seasoning offers an array of tastes and textures. Furikake, a Japanese seasoning, typically includes ingredients like sesame seeds, seaweed, dried fish, and others, offering a savory and umami flavor to rice dishes or as a topping for poke bowls. Businesses can explore popular Japanese-flavored rice crackers, Furikake-spiced popcorn, or snack mixes.

Dukkah is an Egyptian blend of roasted nuts, sesame seeds, coriander, cumin, and other spices. Its nutty, aromatic flavor works as a dip, a finishing sprinkle, or a crust for chicken or fish. You can develop Dukkah-spiced nut mixes, seasoning blends, or dressings with an Egyptian flavor profile.

Lastly, Everything Bagel Seasoning, taking inspiration from the classic bagel variety, includes ingredients like sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic, dried onion, and salt. Its savory and crunchy flavor can enhance cream cheese spreads, snack foods, or salad dressings, providing an American classic taste.

Each blend in this article brings the flavor profile of a specific cuisine. Pair one with a format your shoppers already buy, such as crackers, popcorn, or marinades, to introduce a new flavor in a familiar product.

Before you commit a blend to a launch, check how it is moving with US consumers and on restaurant menus. Tastewise, the proactive AI food and beverage intelligence system that delivers before you ask, tracks both.

Highest rising spice blends and how to use them

Across the Tastewise US consumer panel, four seasoning blends posted the biggest rise in consumer interest in the past 12 months. All four are at an early stage, so each reaches a small share of consumers today while adding new ones quickly. Treat them as test launches, limited runs, or line extensions on a blend you already sell.

Seven spice

Interest in seven spice rose about 53% in the past 12 months. The name covers two blends. Lebanese seven spice is a baharat built on allspice, cinnamon, and black pepper. Japanese shichimi togarashi pairs chili with sesame and orange peel.

If your range already carries baharat, a Lebanese seven spice rub or seasoned pita chip is a short step. For Asian lines, shichimi fits ramen kits, rice crackers, and spicy mayo.

Chaat masala

Interest in chaat masala rose about 43%. This Indian blend gets its sour, salty kick from dried mango powder and black salt. It is traditionally sprinkled over street snacks and fresh fruit.

Test it on potato chips, roasted chickpeas, or popcorn. It also works on cut mango and pineapple cups, or stirred into a yogurt dip.

Chili lime seasoning

Interest in chili lime seasoning rose about 22%. US shoppers already know the mix of dried chili, lime, and salt from Mexican fruit seasonings like Tajín.

Use it on tortilla chips, nuts, and jerky. It also works as a rim seasoning for cocktails and mocktails, or on cut fruit.

Adobo seasoning

Interest in adobo seasoning rose about 20%. This all-purpose blend of garlic, oregano, black pepper, and turmeric is a pantry staple in Puerto Rican and Dominican cooking.

Build it into ready-to-cook proteins, rice kits, and seasoned beans. It also works as a dry marinade for chicken and pork.

FAQs about trending spice blends

01.Which global spice blends are growing with US consumers?

Gochujang is the global spice blend gaining the most ground. Across the Tastewise US consumer panel, interest in gochujang rose about 5% in the past 12 months, and Tastewise classes it as trending. Furikake held steady at about 1% growth. Harissa fell about 6% and za’atar about 17% over the same period, which puts both in the declining stage.

02.What are the most popular worldwide spice blends?

Among the worldwide spice blends Tastewise tracks in the US, Korean gochujang draws the most consumer interest. It draws about 1.3 times the interest of Japanese furikake and about 1.7 times that of North African harissa. Egyptian dukkah and Middle Eastern za’atar trail well behind. For product innovation teams, the ranking points to Korean and Japanese flavors as the strongest bets for a new seasoning or snack line.

03.What are blended spices, and how are they used in products?

Blended spices are mixes of ground spices, seeds, and dried herbs sold as one seasoning. Za’atar and ras el hanout are dry blends, while harissa and gochujang come as pastes. Packaged foods use blended spices in crackers, popcorn, and marinades, and the same blends work in pitches to foodservice operators adding a regional dish. Dukkah is a mature blend with US consumers, with interest down about 2% in the past 12 months, so it suits a steady topping line more than a headline launch.

04.Which spice trend should product developers watch next?

Gochujang is the spice trend with the clearest movement on US menus. It sits on about 1.1% of US restaurant menus, a share that held flat over the past year. The number of gochujang menu items grew about 8% over the same period. For retail buyers, that menu growth gives you a ready proof point for a gochujang sauce or seasoning.