When sweet meets heat: Inside PepsiCo’s approach to the swicy trend

When sweet meets heat: Inside PepsiCo's approach to the swicy trend

Sweet and spicy flavors have shared the plate for generations. Today, that pairing has a catchy name - "swicy" - and a growing appeal among people looking for bold and layered taste experiences.

Swicy can bring together the sweetness of honey, fruit, cinnamon or brown sugar with heat from chiles and peppers. The sweetness can soften the heat, while the spice adds depth and an element of surprise. Overall, it's a flexible flavor profile that can feel both familiar and new and works with a variety of food and drinks.

Recent research shows the appetite for heat is growing: More than half of U.S. consumers are likely to buy an item specifically labeled "spicy," up from 39% in 2015.¹

PepsiCo listens for the next big culinary trend

PepsiCo's culinary approach starts with listening. Teams look at signals from social conversations and online searches, along with analyzing what's popular on restaurant menus, food trucks, home kitchens and beverage trends. These insights help identify which flavors are gaining attention and how people want to enjoy them.

How PepsiCo took swicy from a flavor cue to the innovation pipeline

Consumer interest is the starting point. PepsiCo's chefs, product developers, insights teams and R&D experts then work together to turn an emerging taste into a product experience. The cross-functional teams draw on food culture and cooking techniques, while considering how flavor, texture and aroma work together.

"Taste can be very personal and is often shaped by cultures, locations and experiences," said Ashley Doolin, product development scientist, R&D, PepsiCo. "Rather than treating heat as a single sensation, our teams are exploring a range of swicy profiles - from fruit and chile, to smoky and sweet, tangy and spicy, or creamy with a touch of heat. This helps us develop food and drink options with different levels of intensity and complexity, as well as different global flavor profiles."

The process is iterative. Teams test concepts, listen to feedback and refine the balance of sweetness, heat and other flavor notes. Their goal is to create enjoyable choices with layers of intriguing flavor that invite discovery.

Swicy experiences across the PepsiCo food portfolio

Across PepsiCo's portfolio, swicy can take many forms. One recent example is Cheetos^® Sweet Phantom Heat™ Flavored Puffs, a Halloween limited-time offering in the U.S. that paired cinnamon sugar with buildable heat and sensations inspired by Sichuan pepper. The experience begins with sweetness and warmth, then develops into heat, tingling, numbing and a subtle fizz.

Also in the U.S., Doritos Late Night^® Hot Honey Pizza Flavored Tortilla Chips brings sweet heat to a familiar pizza-inspired profile, combining honey with savory notes such as tomato, garlic, onion and cheddar cheese. The flavor is a swicy limited-time expansion for the brand, whose core lineup also includes Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Flavored Tortilla Chips, which brings together a touch of sweet chili flavor and heat with the signature Doritos crunch.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, Gingerbread Doritos offer another out-of-the-box interpretation, blending warm spices like ginger powder, cassia powder and cinnamon with sugar and a classic corn chip base for a seasonal experience reminiscent of the holidays.

Beverages can be swicy too

Recent PepsiCo beverages showcase how the swicy flavor profile can extend beyond food. Available for a limited time in the U.S., Mountain Dew^® x Trolli^® Mango Pineapple Flavored Punch is a bold, fizzy flavored soda that pairs a mango-, pineapple- and strawberry-flavored soda with Trolli Spicy Crawlers, bringing contrasting sweet, sour and spicy elements together across an unexpected sip and a bite.

In the U.K., Pepsi Zero Sugar Gingerbread Flavor is a limited-edition seasonal cola that combines Pepsi Zero Sugar's signature cola taste with ginger flavor notes, hints of cinnamon and sweet vanilla undertones. This sweet and spicy seasonal treat gives consumers a new way to celebrate the arrival of the festive season.

Making emerging tastes approachable

Swicy's momentum reflects a broader appetite for flavor exploration. For PepsiCo, responding to that interest means listening closely and experimenting with flavors and culinary methods.

By connecting consumer insights with culinary craft and R&D expertise, PepsiCo teams can move promising flavor cues like swicy through the production process and turn them into culinary experiences that are distinctive and enjoyable.

¹_{https://datassential.com/resource/spicy-food-trends/}

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