Multiple industry insiders have declared 2025 to be “the year of the sauce.” Consumers are boiling over with enthusiasm for spicy chili crisp, mustard, and rich, umami sauces.
Chef Renee Guilbault – the co-host of “In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin” on AMC+ – has taken note of the trend.
“People are craving that perfect meal complement, that essential something that elevates a good meal to a truly extraordinary one,” Guilbault told The Food Institute. “Sauce is such an easy way to achieve that transformation.
“Sauces effortlessly deliver bold, global flavors and sophisticated depth.”
Brian Brown, the president of Ingredient, leads a business that has worked with clients like Famous Dave’s BBQ, and Betty Crocker. And, after monitoring consumer behavior for years, he has noticed a unique movement recently.
“We’re seeing sauces surge in popularity in 2025 because they sit at the intersection of flavor, convenience, and creativity – three things today’s consumer craves,” Brown said.
“Sauces allow people to elevate everyday meals without needing professional skills or hours in the kitchen – in general, sauces add a lot of flavor for little cost.”
Consumers are now treating sauces as ingredients, stirring them into marinades, dressings, and grain bowls. And savvy brands are capitalizing on the trend by reframing their sauces as daily essentials rather than occasion-based add-ons.
“As prices and wallets tighten,” Brown said, “consumers are more likely to focus on the basics and multifaceted ingredients versus products that are more for one-time use.”
Eight Popular Sauces in 2025
Walmart and World Market are prime examples of how businesses like retailers are leaning in and creating destinations for shoppers to explore a variety of sauces, via their designated mini stations.
That tactic “creates space for shoppers to discover … the perfect sauce for their palate,” said Daniel Doll, the CEO of Bushwick Kitchen.
Industry insiders feel the following sauces are producing the most steam, so to speak, in 2025:
- Mustards
- Flavor fusions
- Spicy chili crisp
- Umami-rich fermented sauces
- Soy sauce
- Light vinaigrettes
- Alcohol-flavored sauces
- Mayo-based sauces
The rise of GLP-1 weight-loss medications, coupled with the public’s general shift toward increased health-consciousness, has impacted the popularity of sauces.
As a result, Brown noted sauces that “deliver bold flavor with minimal calories are in high demand. Shoppers are looking for ways to enjoy food while aligning with weight and health goals, and mustard is emerging as the ultimate ‘free flavor’: zero calories, no sugar, and packed with tangy, craveable taste.”
Ingredients like mustard seeds, apple cider vinegar, turmeric, garlic, and olive oil are increasingly favored for their functional benefits and flavor density.
“Sauces that are flavor-forward, calorie-smart, and clean are the ones rising to the top in 2025,” Brown said.
Getting Saucy: Business Tips
Ultimately, highlighting a vast array of sauces helps businesses, like restaurants, enhance the customer experience without placing additional demands on employees such as kitchen staff. After all, sauces can be pre-portioned and easily distributed, noted Samantha Bibbs, a food technologist at Silver Spring Foods.
Grocers can highlight exotic, yet accessible flavors. CPG companies, meanwhile, can embrace natural acidity and minimal processing.
Food businesses have a prime opportunity these days: to remind consumers that a good sauce travels well – from home, to desk, to conference room – and can turn a depressing desk lunch to something much more exciting, Brown noted.
One key to getting a great ROI on sauces is to offer variations that feel both exciting yet approachable. It’s also imperative, in 2025, to utilize healthier-for-you ingredients.
“Highly sweetened, additive-heavy sauces are falling out of favor, as people look for transparency in labeling and ingredient sourcing,” said Jim Giberson, the head chef with Tamarind Heads.
These days, there are numerous ways for food businesses to make sauce the star of the show.
“People are enjoying experimenting with sauces right now – bold, bright flavors that deliver a great meal experience,” said Guilbault.
The Food Institute Podcast
Just how difficult is it to scale a better-for-you snack company? Rebecca Brady, founder and CEO of Top Seedz, shares how she turned a homegrown idea into a rapidly scaling snack brand and breaks down the strategy behind her growth, from bootstrapping production to landing national retail partnerships.
