Unique and intense experiences are one of the major flavor trends driving beverage innovation.The experience can be enhanced in a number of ways, either by focusing on the authenticity and richness of flavors, or by combining an aura of health, or by creating mystical flavors that consumers are invited to explore.
Fruit, mushrooms and bitter green
Classic and exotic fruit will always have a place in beverage recipes. To encourage confidence, lesser-known fruit flavors are often paired with more familiar flavors, so blends continue to grow in popularity across all beverage categories.” Exotic fruits from Latin American and southeast Asian countries will continue to be a rapidly growing flavor category,” says Holly McHugh, marketing assistant at beverage industry magazine Imbibe. “future flavors include passion fruit, guava and dragon fruit.” These flavors have appeared in the beverage product lines of diet coke, Gatorade and Paris water.
Bitter vegetables and mushrooms have also become pillars of the beverage sector, particularly in cold-pressed juices and smoothies, ranging from kale and spinach to mushrooms. Matcha is also a simple, slightly bitter green flavor that is gaining popularity; Matcha is a specially grown and processed green tea powder that can be used as a flavoring agent for all types of beverages. Good Culture L.L.C. ‘s new probiotic gut drink, for example, offers a cha + matcha flavor that helps calm concentration, as well as a chocolate-toasted birch. Toadstool is a healthy fungus that tastes different from mushrooms, with a slightly bitter earthy taste that adds a different richness to the drink.
Scented tea, herbs and spices
Botanical ingredients such as scented tea, herbs and spices add complexity to the drink, often with an aura of health. Manufacturers take advantage of plant extracts for functional benefits, and often supplement beverage flavor consistency with flavoring extracts to allow for a full taste.
However, floral, vanilla and spice flavors are primarily used in combination with the familiar fruit flavors. For example, mint and basil can be used to add subtle herbal flavors to beverages. Common combinations of flavors include watermelon mint and strawberry basil; Notes of scented tea such as lavender, rose and elderflower can be mixed with notes of berries, lemon and peach. The hibiscus flower is another popular plant ingredient, found in everything from water to tea to lemonade. Hibiscus’s light acidity and bright pink color complement more familiar flavors such as cherries, citrus (lemons, limes and oranges) and mangoes.
Depending on the ingredients, plant-based ingredients have their own health halo. Lavender is associated with sleep and relaxation and continues to grow in popularity; Ginger, one of the most popular spices in beverages, has a strong stimulant effect and is also good for intestinal health; Turmeric is also steadily growing, while spice flavors such as cardamom and chili peppers continue to emerge. Recognizing that watermelon and coconut are rich in electrolytes that help hydrate, a number of sports drinks have added these flavors to enhance the product’s potent hydrating effect. Coffee and tea are also used to tweak flavor, which suggests a natural energy boost through its inherent caffeine content, and consumers are beginning to embrace the health benefits of tea’s antioxidants.
Mysterious flavor
Another way to provide a strong experience in beverage development is to create mysterious flavors that invite consumers to explore with their taste buds.Last year, Mountain Dew introduced a limited-edition mystery flavor, VooDew, and revealed it was candy corn the day before Halloween: the opaque white drink had the taste of an orange milkshake, prompting many to speculate on social media that it was flavored with halloween-themed candy.
The mysterious flavors in the mature beverage category excite consumers, driving them to participate and encouraging them to buy, because consumers want to be part of a hot event — and guess right, of course. Similar limited-edition and seasonal flavors also make consumers worry about missing out.
New discovery was listed as the top flavor trend by Innova Market Insights. Two-thirds of respondents said they like to discover new flavors.” Discovering new flavors is part of the drinking experience,” says Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova. “so innovators will no doubt continue to experiment and innovate flavors and use them as a valuable marketing tool.”
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