Sarah Pearson: From luxurious ice cream to comforting custards and creamy cheesecake, the European dairy desserts market is diverse and highly lucrative. Today’s consumers are spoilt for choice and manufacturers are under pressure to create ever more innovative products that really stand out from the crowd.
Vanilla is an enduringly popular flavour profile and a key ingredient in many dairy dessert applications. Working with vanilla, however, can be a challenge. One barrier manufacturers face is creating a flavour profile that’s compatible with the end application.
In a New-York-style cheesecake, for example, the vanilla flavour has to work with the high-fat-content cheesecake batter while still offering a clean, rich profile. A luxury vanilla ice cream, on the other hand, may require a vanilla flavour with creamier, more indulgent tones. For that reason, it’s crucial to work with a proven flavour solutions provider to tailor the vanilla flavour to meet the exact requirements of the product’s overall taste profile.
Brand owners are also looking to diversify by including bold and innovative flavour combinations, with example applications including chocolate and chilli cheesecake, and green tea ice cream.
Dairy desserts are considered by many to be an affordable luxury and any ingredients used need to meet exacting standards. No matter whether the profile is exotic or classic, consumers demand products that offer authentic tastes, textures and aromas.
Closely linked to authenticity and provenance is a clean, additive-free label. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of what’s in their food and how this is expressed on-pack. This trend is confirmed by market statistics, with the number of new products launched on a clean-label platform in Western Europe rising from 684 in 2003 to 10,106 in 2011 (Innova).
Sarah Pearson: When it comes to dairy, texture and mouthfeel are extremely important differentiators for consumers. These attributes are so important that phrases such as ‘luxuriously creamy’ and ‘velvety texture’ are used frequently in many dairy marketing campaigns.
When indulging in dairy desserts, consumers expect creamy textures and a smooth dairy mouthfeel as standard. Manufacturers therefore need to ensure that they work with ingredients that aren’t going to have a negative impact on these important sensory experiences. Authenticity and provenance of taste and aroma is also a key market driver.
Sarah Pearson: Synergy provides a range of vanilla extracts under the Vanlab brand. Produced using an advanced extraction and concentration process, Synergy’s vanilla extracts offer unique and authentic flavours and are consistent in supply and price. Available in a variety of profiles, including Madagascan bourbon and Indonesian java, the extracts are suitable for numerous dairy applications, including desserts, cheesecakes and ice cream.
The vanilla extracts and flavourings are clean label and derived from natural, organic sources.
On the savoury side, Synergy has recently launched a range of cheese flavour solutions for bread and other baked goods. Developed in response to market demand for cheese-flavoured bakery with an authentic and recognisable flavour and aroma, the range imparts a full, balanced cheese flavour and can be incorporated into the dough to give real artisan appeal.
The portfolio is available in six core cheese flavours, is bake- and freeze-stable and delivers an improved performance over natural cheese.
Sarah Pearson: On the dairy desserts side, it’s likely that while classic flavours will maintain their dominate position in the market, unique and novel profiles from far-flung shores such as Brazil will continue to grow in popularity, with consumers keen to experiment with new flavour sensations.
In terms of savoury applications, cheese will remain a key ingredient in many applications, including bakery and snacks. Provenance is an important market driver, with products such as Italian-inspired mozzarella and sun blush tomato flat breads and vintage English Cheddar and caramelised onion ‘tear and share’ loaves.
Of course, raw ingredients such as cheese and vanilla are vulnerable to significant shifts in supply and price, meaning that keeping formulation costs stable will continue to be a challenge for many manufacturers.
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