KANSAS CITY — Flavors are returning to basics in 2026. Consumers want specific attributes from their food and beverage products, including a sense of nostalgia, natural colors and functionality, and one flavor capable of meeting these demands has risen to the top: cherry. The trending flavor coincides with T. Hasegawa’s top flavor prediction for 2026. The company named dark sweet cherry as its top flavor of the year — a flavor the company had been tracking for the past three years.What we saw with dark cherry was that, three years ago, we started to see activity (with the flavor),” said Mark Webster, vice president of sales and marketing at T. Hasegawa USA. “…The search growth, like global searches for dark cherry, were up 36% year over year. Social media was up 44% year over year for dark cherry. Even things like Pinterest, (searches like) cherry vibe, dark cherry red, that family was up hundreds of percent. All fast-growing search terms.” The uptick in products with a cherry-based flavor has been brewing over several months — particularly in the beverage category. A sense of nostalgia Nostalgia is expected to drive flavor choices for consumers in the next year, and several beverage manufacturers have already tapped into the trend. In November, The Coca-Cola Co. reintroduced its Mr. Pibb flavor, which offers a “bold kick of cherry flavor,” said Dane Callis, director of sparkling flavors at Coca-Cola North America. The reintroduction also featured an updated packaging that showcased its “signature maroon color.” In December, PepsiCo, Inc. followed with the announcement of the permanent return of the company’s wild cherry and cream flavor. Webster suggested that the resurgence of cherry-based flavors meets the nostalgic element consumers are wanting from their beverages. Alongside the resurgence of cherry-flavored sodas, several functional beverage companies are launching products with another flavor rising in popularity: Shirley Temple. In September, actor