Chilies are part of the culinary traditions of the Mexican and Asian cultures. Each region of the world has a preference for one or more of the hundreds of varieties of the Capsium family, some are spicier, some have more flavor, each one has its unique combination of flavor and spiciness. However, in the past 5 years the offer of chili peppers globally has grown considerably. Less popular chili varieties are ever more present in the market in gourmet sauces, specialty sauces, restaurant menus, online recipes and home cooking spices. Chilies are being used in a number of ways, in savory dishes, in sweet and sour dishes or even on deserts and cocktails.
FONA International researched the market and use of chilies and found that only in foodnetwork.com there are over 2,500 recipes that use chilies as an ingredient. It also found chilies in 2,000 menus. But the most important finding is the 725% increase of products with chilies, mostly spicy sauces, cooking sauces, spices and ready-meals. Only between 2015 and 2020 more than 10,500 new products with chili were launched. In Europe 42% of new products have chili and globally 13% of new products are spices with chili, 12% sauces.
Similarly, in the US, almost 1,000 products with chili were introduced in the market, 16% are spices with chili, 8% ready-meals, 8% table sauces and the rest are snacks or cooking sauces.
Our own market research and our contacts with potential clients has shown a very similar trend. An increase in spicy sauces of all sorts and an increase in the requests for dried chili peppers in large markets like the US and Europe, as well as in our national Colombian market and other national markets in Asia, Middle East and Latin America. There is a sharp increase in the interest on specialty chilies, that have much more than spiciness, they can add so much flavor to any dish, snack or sauce.
