It’s usually around this time of year, as the leaves start to change and the weather gets colder, that consumers begin engaging in more permissible indulgence, reaching for their favorite desserts and comfort foods.

Plant-based foods are seemingly everywhere these days. Consumers are turning to vegan alternatives for their favorite foods for a variety for reasons — primarily health and environmental concerns.

The trend is being driven by millennials, who view eating as an experience.

Obsession with millennials so pervades contemporary culture that even millennials, notorious for their self-regard, have grown weary of hearing about themselves. But while there was a time when non-millennials could at least dismiss their juniors' fancies for Frisbees, breakfast cereal and nonstop Nickelodeon as kid stuff, that's getting harder to do now that members of the generation born between 1981 and 1996 (as defined by the Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C.) are having kids of their own.

Frozen dessert makers can find inspiration for the next big thing by looking at what’s happening on restaurant menus across the United States.

Yogurt manufacturers are getting innovative and capitalizing on the diversity of yogurt with niche products and appealing to a wider audience. Whole-fat and low-sugar varieties are part of the mix.

Sensient Flavors releases its eight up-and-coming flavor trends in food and beverages for 2015.