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US flavour house OSF has introduced a new line of flavour solutions designed to help manufacturers tap into the ‘dirty soda’ trend.
The flavours are centred around the classic American soda fountain, available in cherry cola, vanilla cola and root beer float varieties.
OSF said these ‘dirty sodas’ – sodas with the addition of flavoured syrups, creamy elements and lime – are familiar across multiple consumer groups, recognisable to both 18-30-year-olds and their parents.
Notably, the flavour line is designed for versatility: it is ‘highly deployable’ within a soda fountain flavour architecture, and can be applied across RTD beverages as well as creamers, frozen dairy floats and bakery fillings or frosting.
This versatility enables OSF to provide a beverage manufacturer, dairy processor and bakery customer with a single flavour system without reformulation.
Pierre Battu, managing director of Asia for OSF Flavors, noted the challenges of formulating dirty soda products for manufacturers. He explained: “It is a system: a base soda, a citrus or fruit lift, a dairy or dairy free cream note, and a textural and visual payoff of layered colour and a swirling, ice cream float mouthfeel”.
“If you reproduce only the taste, you get a flat cream soda. Miss the acid and carbonation balance and the dairy curdles. Ignore the visual and you lose the entire reason the drink travels on social platforms in the first place, because the layered look is the marketing.”
OSF’s new line aims to simplify formulations across applications for manufacturers, while responding to demand for flavours based on natural and organic ingredients as clean labels continue to be a priority.
The trend has also proven popular beyond the US, with UK flavour house I.T.S recently launching a line of ‘creamy’ natural flavours for carbonated beverages. Recent UK launches include Pepsi’s Cream Soda, Strawberries ‘N’ Cream and ice cream-inspired cola flavours.
This latest launch from OSF follows the company’s ongoing flavour development work related to viral food trends, with its recent introduction of Dubai chocolate, Angel Hair chocolate and Miso Caramel Latte flavours.
