OSF launched three globally inspired flavors in 2025: Dubai Chocolate, Angel Hair Chocolate, and Caramel Miso Latte. These came as a result of their flavor trend identification model, which includes early detection in Asia and Latam along with social media listening and then translating flavors in their global R&D centers to produce a prototype, which is tested and adapted into clean-label, compliant, and scalable references. OSF aims to act as both a technical expert and cultural interpreter, connecting East and West and Latin and North America, turning cultural trends into commercial success.

To learn more, we touched base with Pierre Battu, managing director, Asia, OSF Flavors.

Liz Parker Kuhn: How do Asian street food influence and Latin-fusion evolution trends translate into candy/confectionery?

Pierre Battu: Asian street-food and Latin-fusion trends are infusing U.S. confectionery with bold, experiential profiles, appealing to Gen Z's snacking preferences. Technically, these leverage sensory notes like grassy-nutty in pandan or spicy-tangy in chili-lime, delivered via OSF's encapsulation for controlled release in high-heat processes like hard candy. Consumer data from OSF's Asia-LatAm intelligence shows a 25% rise in multicultural flavor interest on TikTok, with Thai mango sticky rice inspiring gummies layered with fruit-acid-sweet balances.

Adaptations include: yuzu gummies for zesty pops, modulated for acidity; chewy caramels with salsa macha nutty-spice, ube halo-halo coated chocolates with aerated centers for creamy-crunch; tamarind-filled hard candies for delayed heat; dalgona-inspired aerated marshmallows for brittle textures.

2026 is the inflection point with Gen Z adoption accelerating—OSF data indicates 40% weekly experimentation—via TikTok virality (500M views for ube remixes) and multicultural mainstreaming (60% U.S. households blending cuisines), enabling hybrid RTG snacks with OSF's stable systems.

LPK: How can confectioners innovate with Asian flavors like ube, yuzu, pandan, salted egg? 

PB: Confectioners can innovate with ube, yuzu, [or] pandan by emphasizing their sensory notes, while U.S. food flavors can be engineered to fit domestic market appeal. Ube's nutty-vanilla profile needs sweetness balancing; yuzu's bright citrus requires creaminess. Pandan's grassy-nutty depth benefits from encapsulation in gummies; salted egg's umami-savory notes demand masking for base integration.

Pairings include ube-pandan chews with coconut creaminess, from Filipino kakanin; yuzu filled chocolates, inspired by Japanese mochi; pandan-yuzu gummies like Thai lemonade, with aeration for release.

Draw from street snacks (salted egg chips for coatings), bakery (ube pandesal for bonbons), and beverages (yuzu sodas for RTG), scaled via OSF's cross-category R&D.

LPK: Latin fusion flavors (chili-lime, salsa macha, dulce de leche): how can they be applied?

PB: Latin flavors like chili-lime, salsa macha answer the need for swicy profiles.

Dulce de Leche brings a combination of largely accepted notes with a twist of exotism.

Applications: tamarind candies with chili-lime for sour-heat sequencing; salsa macha spicy gummies with nutty particulates; dulce de leche caramels with chili

LPK: Can you explain OSF’s view that the U.S. “elevates” global flavors instead of copying them, in terms of confectionery?

PB: OSF sees U.S. confectionery elevating global flavors through format innovation, layered sensory, and texture integration with Western classics. Elevation restructures notes for release, modulates for appeal, and scales with microencapsulation from OSF's beverage-bakery experience.

Examples: ube into ube-white chocolate bonbons, layering nutty notes with creamy melt in filled centers, beyond simple pastes. Korean strawberry milk as strawberry-yogurt chews, with lactic tang and effervescent bursts via aeration. Thai milk tea in butterscotch-tea caramels, balancing tannins with Maillard depth in slow-melt. Chili-lime as chili-lime-chamoy gummies with layered sour-spicy-gel textures, hybridizing paletas with U.S. innovation for progression.

LPK: How does OSF’s trend-identification model work, and why were Dubai Chocolate, Angel Hair Chocolate, and Caramel Miso Latte the winners?

PB: OSF's model combines global social listening and foodservice scanning in four continents where our company is active.

LPK: How can confectioners can use these OSF flavors in their formulations>

PB: Integrate OSF's 2025 flavors—Dubai Chocolate, Angel Hair Chocolate, Caramel Miso Latte—with targeted guidance that are provided with each sample sent.

Related: OSF Flavors launches Angel Hair Chocolate ingredient