In New York
在纽约
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream brings people in with classic flavors like vanilla and pistachio
范·列文冰淇淋给人们带来了香草和开心果等经典口味
But, sometimes the ice cream maker adds what it calls a “shock flavor ” like Hidden Valley Ranch or pizza to the treat
但是，有时候 冰淇淋制造商添加了它所谓的“冲击口味” “就像隐藏谷牧场或比萨饼 请客
Recently chocolate maker Hershey added pink lemonade a summer drink flavor to its candy Kit Kats
最近 巧克力制造商好时添加了粉红色柠檬水 夏日饮品口味 到它的糖果套件Kats
And Frito-Lay introduced potato chips that taste like strawberries with a little bit of bacon
Frito-Lay推出了尝起来像草莓加一点培根的薯片。
Not to be outdone
不甘示弱
Britain’s food company Little Moons produced fish-and-chip mochi ice cream flavor while Walkers celebrated the holidays with a potato chip flavor of Brussels sprouts
英国食品公司小月亮生产炸鱼薯条口味的麻薯冰淇淋，而步行者用薯片口味的抱子甘蓝庆祝节日
Usually, these flavor combinations are introduced for a limited time
通常，这些风味组合是在有限的时间内推出的
But sometimes the flavors are so popular that they become permanent additions
但有时口味是如此受欢迎，他们成为永久添加
That is what happened with Frito-Lay’s Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle chips in 2019
这就是菲多利的Flamin'Hot Dill泡菜片在2019年发生的事情
While it would be easy to say the new and surprising flavors are produced to get attention on social media
虽然很容易说新的和令人惊讶的口味是为了在社交媒体上引起注意而产生的
experts say there is more to the story
专家说这个故事还有更多
They say food companies are reacting to people’s changing and expanding tastes while also trying to stay current and win over space in stores
他们说，食品公司正在对人们不断变化和扩大的口味做出反应，同时也在努力跟上潮流，赢得商店的空间
Kristen Braun works for Chicago-based food and drink company Mondelez International
克里斯汀·布劳恩在芝加哥食品饮料公司蒙迪莱国际工作
She says people now want more than just one flavor and “companies are finding the freedom to explore a little bit more and get more creative ”
她说，人们现在想要的不仅仅是一种口味，“公司正在寻找更多探索和更具创造力的自由”
Mondelez plans to release Sour Patch Kids Oreos – a kind of sweet vanilla cream-filled cookies combined with sour candies
蒙迪莱计划发布酸补丁儿童奥利奥——一种甜香草奶油饼干和酸糖果
The flavor is one of more than ten different Oreo flavors being sold this year for a limited time of nine weeks
这种口味是今年在九周的有限时间内出售的十多种不同奥利奥口味之一
Mark Lang teaches food marketing at the University of Tampa in Florida
马克·朗在佛罗里达坦帕大学教授食品营销
He said that manufacturers and their suppliers have increased their ability to create such products
他说制造商和他们的供应商已经提高了他们创造这种产品的能力
That has made it easier for them to experiment and put out limited editions more often
这使得他们更容易试验并更频繁地推出限量版
Kyle Shadix is a research chef for the drink company PepsiCo
凯尔·沙迪克斯是饮料公司百事可乐的研究厨师
He said members of Generation Z born between 1997 and 2012 are also fueling new ideas
他说，1997年至2012年间出生的Z世代成员也在激发新的想法
Shadix is currently experimenting with Mexican Korean and Japanese flavors
沙迪克斯目前正在试验墨西哥韩国和日本口味
“Gen Z is going to drive us faster We’re going to start to see even more exploration quicker than in the past because they’re just so open to it ”
“Z时代将推动我们更快。我们将开始看到比过去更快的探索，因为他们对它太开放了。”
Experimenting with new flavors can increase sales in several ways
尝试新口味可以在几个方面增加销售额
Sometimes they bring in new buyers to a product
有时他们会为产品带来新买家
And sometimes they also influence buyers to pick up more of the original flavor
有时他们也会影响买家选择更多的原味
Russell Zwanka is director of the food marketing program at Western Michigan University
拉塞尔·兹万卡是西密歇根大学食品营销项目主任
He said “Sour Patch Oreos sound interesting but nobody wants to risk buying Oreos that don’t taste good so people buy both ”
他说："Sour Patch奥利奥听起来很有趣，但是没有人愿意冒险购买味道不好的奥利奥，所以人们会同时购买。"
When companies combine products they are trying to build a link in people’s minds
当公司组合产品时，他们试图在人们的头脑中建立联系
For example
怎么说？
Lang said when Pepsi combined its drink with Peeps candy flavor it sent a message that Pepsi is current and fun
朗说，当百事可乐将其饮料与Peep糖果口味相结合时，它发出了一个信息，即百事可乐是最新的和有趣的
But new flavor combinations do not always work
但是新的口味组合并不总是有效的
Ben Van Leeuwen the founder of the ice cream company bearing his name
Ben Van Leeuwen以他的名字命名的冰淇淋公司的创始人
said he could not eat more than a few bites of his company’s Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream
说他只能吃几口公司的隐谷牧场冰淇淋
It contained onion and garlic powders
里面有洋葱和大蒜粉
And the “shock flavor” did not become a permanent part of his company’s offerings because of their lower “eat-ability ” he said
他说，“冲击口味”并没有成为他公司产品的永久组成部分，因为它们的“可食用性”较低
But Lang thinks the more time people spend in restaurants or trying out new foods the more they seek out unusual flavors
但是朗认为人们花在餐馆或尝试新食物上的时间越多，他们就越喜欢不寻常的口味
He said as humans “We like to experiment ”
他说，作为人类，"我们喜欢实验。"
I’m Gregory Stachel
我是格雷戈里·斯塔切尔