Eight in 10 Americans say they have altered their food habits as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, per the International Food Information Council’s [IFIC’s] 2020 Food and Health Survey. Six in 10 consumers say they are cooking more at home—the single biggest change in behavior and one that sounds bullish for sauce, dressing, condiment, and spread makers.

Slowly but surely, as we emerge from the pandemic there is no doubt that consumers will return to want new experiences and will be more open to experimentation. Sauces, spreads, dips, and marinades are some of the best categories to bridge the gap from comfort to innovation and from ubiquity to uniqueness.

Prepared Foods talks with Chef Emily Cruz, director of sales & marketing at CuliNex, Seattle-based a consultancy to brand owners, food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, boards and commissions. A Seattle native, Cruz joined CuliNex in 2011 as a contractor and was promoted to a full-time “Culinologist” in 2013.

Six months into a global pandemic and safe-at-home quarantine orders, most Americans have dropped travel plans and dramatically reduced away-from-home dining. However, their culinary wanderlust is stronger than ever, judging by regional and global flavors that are still taking off on restaurant menus.

With flavor being the product of a complicated, multilayered collection of ingredients and chemical compounds that interact as aromas and individual flavor notes in synchronicity, the task of masking one specific flavor note can be difficult. A greater challenge for today’s processors is that the technique applied must be low-cost, allergen-free, and naturally derived (clean-label), and the result must survive processing.

Plant-based milk alternatives have been around for many decades. Primarily, they’ve come in the form of soy and almond milks and have been mostly consumed by a “crunchy” crowd of consumers. In the past few years, however, retailers and restaurants alike have seen a swift rise in nut milks, coconut milk and most recently, oat milk. These growing options are all tied into greater consumer demand for plant-based alternatives.

Prepared Foods talks plant-based seafood trends, tastes and technology with Chad Sarno, co-founder and chief culinary officer at Good Catch Foods, part of Gathered Foods, New York, N.Y. A 44-year food industry veteran, Sarno describes himself as a “plant pushing chef, restaurant and food service consultant, culinary innovator, creative resource, brand builder, plant-based product developer, cookbook author and co-founder of Wicked Healthy, LLC.” Sarno co-founded Good Catch Foods in 2017.

While several factors have been driving interest in plant-based analogs of meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy, the phenomenal explosion in such options that the market is experiencing today came from a perfect convergence of two indispensable factors, technology and demand.

Recent events have not only driven consumers to seek ways of staying healthy but pulled the mental health side of mind-body wellness to the forefront. The stress of having lives and routines (and incomes) disrupted, illnesses threatening or even invading the family, and social isolation has led to an unprecedented 40% of US adults reporting that they’re struggling with mental health problems.