After noting a general move to milky juice drinks yesterday, let’s start with another flavour report – this time with insights from specialists on the Doehler stand.
The group has observed a move to Greek-style drinking yogurt, especially in the United States, with products having as much as 6g of protein per 100ml.
In the food sector Antonia Kauter commented on increasing interest in matcha – the green tea often seen in powder form, and apparently seen as the healthiest drink in the world. They created a matcha and sour lime concept using flavour-masking technology, as matcha can be a very acquired taste and not easy to make palatable.
In confectionery they have developed a cucumber and lime fruit preparation in dark chocolate – rather like a delicious chocolate liqueur without needing any alcohol. For the cookie monsters among us they had a cola cookie and chocolate-coated popcorn to make movie-watching even more indulgent.
Simon Rouwen, a blender and mixer of fruit and vegetables, says that consumers are looking for more textured mouthfeel and more naturalness such as smoothies with chia seeds or fig purée with crunchy seeds. The Mirabelle plum drink was my personal favourite.
The child nutrition sector has increased substantially in volume; the latest offerings are vegetable batonnets as upmarket baby finger food, such as those from Yooji and GoodYu, following in the footsteps of Ella’s Kitchen with pouch packs and brilliant graphics. There are also products aimed at mothers, such as the new drink Vitamums.
The move to low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar products is evident, as is the vegan and vegetarian trend.
See our functional dairy and functional beverage article in the next issue of FoodBev magazine, as well as a quick look at the fashionable detox theme including detox ice pops, which are making fitness fun.
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