diff --git a/backend/api/views.py b/backend/api/views.py
index 6e05329..e99404f 100644
--- a/backend/api/views.py
+++ b/backend/api/views.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from django.core.mail import send_mail
-from rest_framework import viewsets, permissions, status
+from rest_framework import viewsets, permissions, status, filters
 from rest_framework.response import Response
 from rest_framework.decorators import action
 from django.db.models import Avg
@@ -12,13 +12,29 @@ from .serializers import UserSerializer, FlavorSerializer, CategorySerializer, R
 class FlavorViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
     queryset = Flavor.objects.annotate(average_rating=Avg('ratings__score')).order_by('-average_rating')
     serializer_class = FlavorSerializer
-    filter_backends = [DjangoFilterBackend]
+    filter_backends = [DjangoFilterBackend, filters.SearchFilter]
     filterset_fields = ['category', 'category__slug']
+    search_fields = ['name', 'description']
     permission_classes = [permissions.IsAuthenticatedOrReadOnly]
 
     def get_queryset(self):
         return Flavor.objects.select_related('category').annotate(average_rating=Avg('ratings__score')).order_by('-average_rating')
 
+    @action(detail=False, methods=['get'], permission_classes=[permissions.AllowAny])
+    def search(self, request):
+        # Unpaginated list of all flavors for the search autocomplete
+        flavors = Flavor.objects.select_related('category').order_by('name')
+        data = [
+            {
+                'id': f.id,
+                'name': f.name,
+                'image_url': request.build_absolute_uri(f.image.url) if f.image else f.image_url,
+                'category_name': f.category.name
+            }
+            for f in flavors
+        ]
+        return Response(data)
+
     @action(detail=False, methods=['get'], permission_classes=[permissions.AllowAny])
     def top(self, request):
         top_flavors = self.get_queryset().filter(ratings__isnull=False).distinct()[:10]
diff --git a/frontend/src/App.tsx b/frontend/src/App.tsx
index 9474911..6c14ba5 100644
--- a/frontend/src/App.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/App.tsx
@@ -57,14 +57,15 @@ const GlobalSearch = () => {
     useEffect(() => {
         const fetchFlavors = async () => {
             try {
-                const res = await api.get('flavors/');
-                setOptions(Array.isArray(res.data) ? res.data : (res.data.results || []));
+                // Fetch from unpaginated search endpoint for full catalog coverage
+                const res = await api.get('flavors/search/');
+                setOptions(res.data);
             } catch (err) {
                 console.error('Failed to fetch search options');
             }
         };
         fetchFlavors();
-    }, []);
+    }, []); // Only fetch once to avoid excessive API calls
 
     useEffect(() => {
         const params = new URLSearchParams(location.search);
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/CategoryList.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/CategoryList.tsx
index 6c890d6..1a76061 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/CategoryList.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/CategoryList.tsx
@@ -68,7 +68,8 @@ const CategoryList: React.FC = () => {
       setLoading(true);
       try {
         if (query) {
-            const res = await api.get(`flavors/`);
+            // Perform server-side search to get all matching flavors across pages
+            const res = await api.get(`flavors/?search=${encodeURIComponent(query)}`);
             setAllFlavors(Array.isArray(res.data) ? res.data : (res.data.results || []));
         } else {
             const [catRes, topRes, recentRes] = await Promise.all([