Kaiseraugst (Switzerland), Maastricht (Netherlands) — DSM-Firmenich has named Frosted Star Anise as its Taste of the 12 months for 2026. The corporate notes the flavour was impressed by the Pantone 2026Color of the 12 months — Cloud Dancer, which prompted the corporate to raise each an ingredient and a sense because the 2026 Taste of the 12 months. Collectively, these two emotional indicators replicate a rising world need for calm in an more and more fast-paced world, the corporate says.
In accordance with the corporate, Frosted Star Anise combines the comforting heat of star anise with a cool, frosted twist. This distinctive pairing is greater than flavorful — it represents a twin aspiration: peace and tranquility, embodied by star anise, and revitalization, captured within the refreshing frosted ingredient.
“Innovation and cultural perception are on the coronary heart of what we do at DSM-Firmenich,” says Maurizio Clementi, EVP for Style. “Constructing on star anise’s quiet rise and the rising fascination with cooling and different trigeminal sensations, Frosted Star Anise fulfills right now’s yearning for steadiness and a breath of recent air.”
The corporate describes star anise as a placing, star-shaped spice with a sweet-spicy profile and notes of licorice, clove, and cinnamon. It options in world cuisines — from Vietnamese pho to Moroccan tagine to Mexican café de olla to Chinese language five-spice-inspired blends — and in classics like chai, mulled wine, and jams.
“Cooling isn’t a style — it’s a fancy sensation triggered by temperature-sensitive receptors,” explains Jeffrey Schmoyer, VP human insights, style, texture & well being. “These trigeminal sensations, which additionally embody spiciness, warming, and numbing, improve taste in thrilling, multidimensional methods.”
To pick out the flavour, the corporate analyzed rising elements, noting that just about 10,000 merchandise have featured star anise as an ingredient over the previous decade, but solely 10 % highlighted this truth front-of-pack. Moreover, the corporate’s Emotion360 world survey of ingredient notion reveals that whereas two-thirds of customers acknowledge star anise, solely 34 % have reportedly tasted it. Notably, star anise is gaining traction in scorching and alcoholic drinks — classes that usually sign future taste developments.
“Star anise is a ‘secret weapon’ ubiquitous but underappreciated,” says Schmoyer. “It’s time this versatile ingredient will get the eye it deserves.”
“Taste of the 12 months is greater than a style — it embodies cultural sentiment and rising developments,” provides Clementi. “It’s an astute sense of ‘what’s subsequent,’ distilled into an expertise that resonates emotionally with customers. That’s on the coronary heart of what we do on daily basis.”
