More than flavour: Sauces are the ultimate meal upgrade

A sauce or condiment is an easy way to breathe life into familiar staples. They let consumers explore the world, personalize meals and indulge in small luxuries—all without much effort or cost.

At Pattison Food Group, premium mustards, specialty relishes, hot sauces and flavour-forward barbecue sauces are outperforming many conventional products, says category manager Julie Nagy. Even as shoppers watch their spending more closely, Nagy says they will pay more when a product offers a distinctive flavour, organic credentials or an unusual ingredient combination. “Shoppers are simply more selective rather than buying less or trading down,” she says.

Familiar formats get a flavour boost

In North America, Innova Market Insights says launches described as “hot” and “spicy” have recorded five-year compound annual growth rates of 59% and 60%, respectively. “Sauces are a category consumers are most likely to experiment in,” says Innova co-founder and president Lu Ann Williams. “Younger generations are driving the charge, leading demand for bold ‘swicy’ sweet-heat profiles.”

Nagy says Pattison is also seeing growing interest in sweet-heat sauce and condiment combinations such as hot honey and jalapeño, in addition to pickle, dill, maple and smoky barbecue flavours. Korean- and Japanese-inspired products are also gaining momentum.

Kraft Heinz Canada is kicking flavour up a notch by bringing bold, unexpected tastes to familiar formats, according to Jenna Zylber, head of innovation. Recent and future product launches include Heinz mayonnaise-style sauces in Piri Piri, Smoky Mustard and Chimichurri, along with Diana barbecue sauces in Carolina Style Mustard and Ginger and Soy.

Aditi Burman, North America brand controller at AB World Foods, which counts Blue Dragon and Tabasco among its brands, identifies chili crisp, Korean barbecue and red curry as high-momentum flavours. She says Vietnamese, Filipino and Indonesian profiles could represent future growth areas.

Burman recommends that grocers organize the shelf by cuisine and group complementary sauces, noodles, pastes and smaller-format ingredients—including fish sauce, oyster sauce, mirin and sesame oil—to help shoppers navigate unfamiliar products and understand how they fit into a meal.

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More bang from every bottle

Sauces are taking on a more versatile role as shoppers use them as marinades, glazes, dips, flavour bases and finishers. Nagy says this versatility is influencing Pattison’s assortment with greater emphasis on products that offer meal inspiration, convenience and uses across a variety of cooking occasions.

Williams is seeing sauces serve as “cost-effective ‘meal elevators.’” She describes them as an accessible way to add premium flavour and convenience to budget-friendly ingredients.

Blue Dragon’s ready-to-use Pad Thai, Thai Coconut Curry and Korean BBQ sauces are designed to turn basic proteins and vegetables into complete meals. “These formats sit between scratch cooking and ready meals, allowing shoppers to feel like they’re cooking while dramatically reducing prep time,” explains Burman.

Retailers can reinforce this meal-building role through merchandising. During grilling season, Pattison places sauces alongside proteins and ready-to-cook products, helping shoppers see how they can be used to assemble a complete meal.

Flavour meets function

At the premium end of the aisle, distinctive flavours, simpler ingredients and nutritional benefits are driving interest. Turpone Foods recently launched its Martha Stewart grocery collection in Canada, including flavoured, all-natural  honey drizzles and olive oils.

“We saw an opportunity to offer premium pantry staples made with clean, high-quality ingredients and unique flavour profiles that aren’t widely available,” says Anthony Capone, managing director at Turpone. The line includes four varieties of infused extra-virgin olive oil, such as Roasted Garlic and Lemon Pepper, and three infused honey drizzles, such as Fig Oregano and Triple Chili.

“Health-focused products continue to be an important growth opportunity, particularly when they deliver on both nutrition and taste,” says Nagy. She points to Pattison’s Only Goodness no-sugar-added ketchup-style sauce as one product that resonates with customers. The retailer is also seeing demand for organic products and greater transparency around food sourcing.

Kraft Heinz is responding to similar expectations with Heinz Zero Tomato Ketchup Style Sauce, which contains no added sugar or salt. “What they are asking for is a swap, not a substitute: the nutritional improvement and the taste they already know, without trading one for the other,” says Zylber.

Across the category, shoppers are looking for products that deliver on taste, value or convenience. Grocers can encourage trial by showing how those products fit into familiar meals.

This article was first published in Canadian Grocer’s September/October 2026 issue.