The hot-and-spicy segment has moved well past trend status, according to new global consumer research from Kalsec, the Kalamazoo, Mich.-based natural ingredients supplier. The company's latest report — "Beyond the Burn: The Next Degree" — synthesizes responses from 9,000 consumers across 17 countries to define where pepper heat, flavor precision, and packaging communication are heading next in food and beverage formulation.
The scale of the study positions it as one of the more substantive proprietary datasets in the spice and botanical ingredients space. Kalsec, whose portfolio includes standardized pepper and capsicum extracts used across finished formulations in sauces, snacks, and protein applications, designed the research to help manufacturers and brand owners navigate an increasingly segmented heat market — one where consumers distinguish not just between mild and hot, but between the botanical source, onset profile, and lingering character of the burn.
Why Operators Should Take Note
For formulators and product developers, the actionable intelligence here centers on pepper precision and on-pack communication. As capsicum-based ingredients appear in an expanding range of better-for-you and functional-adjacent applications — from metabolism-support supplements to clean-label hot sauces — understanding consumer expectations around heat intensity and flavor complexity becomes a formulation differentiator, not merely a culinary choice. Capsaicin and its analogs have drawn sustained scientific interest for thermogenic and satiety-adjacent mechanisms, lending a functional dimension to what retailers once categorized purely as flavor.
The research also underscores the global heterogeneity of spice preference. Regional variation in heat tolerance, preferred pepper variety, and purchase drivers means that a one-size SKU strategy carries meaningful risk for brands targeting export markets. Kalsec's 17-country footprint in the survey offers category managers and co-manufacturing partners a comparative lens that single-market consumer studies cannot provide.
Market Context
The broader spices and seasoning ingredients market has sustained compound annual growth through both foodservice recovery and retail at-home cooking trends. Natural and clean-label botanical extracts — Kalsec's core competency — have benefited as operators reformulate away from synthetic colorants and artificial flavor compounds. Capsicum extract, in particular, sits at the intersection of the clean-label movement and the functional-food pipeline, appearing in applications ranging from sports nutrition and thermogenic blends to better-for-you snack reformulations.
Kalsec's continued investment in consumer research signals that ingredient suppliers are increasingly taking on a category-intelligence role alongside their supply function — providing the market data that smaller brands and private-label operators may lack the scale to commission independently. The full "Beyond the Burn: The Next Degree" report is available through Kalsec's commercial channels.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
