Watch your back, 'swicy.' In 2025, 'ranch' is coming in hot 😋
Last year, we couldn’t escape “swicy,” the sweet + spicy flavor trend that erupted across the snack and beverage aisles nationwide. Swicy hasn’t disappeared. But it might need to step aside for a minute to make way for the resurgence of a multi-generation favorite flavor — the good ol’ trusty “ranch.”
Ranch is coming in hot in 2025 and food brands are serving it up in fun and creative ways.
Fresh into the New Year, salad chain Sweetgreen launched new ranch-centric menu items in January.
“Our first limited-time drop of 2025 brings bold, fun flavors to the menu,” Nicolas Jammet, Sweetgreen’s co-founder and chief concept officer, said in a statement. “With [our] fan-favorite Green Goddess Ranch at the center of this launch, we’re making it easier to start the year with flavors you love.”
How about pizza and ranch dressing? In February, frozen pizza brand DiGiorno teamed up with Hidden Valley Ranch to debut limited-time, ranch-infused pizza offerings.
"With ranch being a top condiment choice to dip pizza in, we wanted to imagine new ways for fans to enjoy this pairing that was exclusive to the freezer aisle,” Kimberly Holowiak, senior brand manager for DiGiorno, said in a statement.
Last week, Taco Bell unveiled its menu innovations for 2025. You guessed it. Ranch made an appearance. Taco Bell is bringing back its crispy chicken nuggets to pair with spicy Mike's Hot Honey or avocado ranch and spicy ranchero sauce.
Earlier this month, Dallas-based restaurant chain, Wingstop, had its own fun with ranch by auctioning off “its first-ever ‘official’ bottle of Wingstop ranch, complete with access to a year's supply of ranch refills.”
"We've seen ranch fountains go viral and people cater Wingstop ranch at their weddings. But one of the biggest trends we see is fans begging us to bottle and sell our house made ranch. Now, for the first time ever, we're answering that call," Wingstop's chief revenue officer, Mark Christenson, said in a statement.
Not to be left out, burger chain White Castle said it has expanded its White Castle Frozen Chicken Rings offering to a ranch-seasoned ring.
"Ranch is a beloved flavor that is consistently ranked high in popularity among consumers, yet surprisingly underrepresented in the frozen chicken category,” Lynn Blashford, chief marketing officer with White Castle, said in a statement.
“Ranch isn’t new but not only are younger generations enjoying the flavor, there are also 25 categories that are seeing ‘Ranch flavor’ in total up 2.5% in volume due to new products, expanded distribution and excitement around the flavor innovations,” Sally Lyons Wyatt, global consumer packaged goods and foodservice industry advisor with market research firm Circana, said in a statement to Bagable.com.
Social media, of course, is firing up the newest love affair with ranch, elevating the popularity of ranch flavors through “videos showing more herbs, spices, and other ingredients being mixed in to elevate the flavor and other creative ways,” she said.
“There are still swicy lovers, but this is about the ‘mash up’ trend that has been growing, especially on TikTok, with younger consumers,” Lyons Wyatt said. “Being able to bring foods with ranch flavor together with other ingredients and other products has been part of what’s fueling the resurgence of ranch.”