Soft drink flavours meet consumer demand for new taste experiences
04 April 2016
Application engineers at Sensient Flavors have been busy creating some funky new soft drinks flavours to address a growing consumer interest in ethnic specialties that are as authentic as possible.
To offer examples of what can be achieved with the new flavour range the company created chili-mango, strawberry-guava and lime-cactus juice drinks with a juice content of 10%. Featuring horchata and tangerine profiles, novel innovative twists have been developed by combining lime & cactus, chili & mango and strawberry & guava.
The all-natural Mexican flavours are designed for the production of soft drinks. A big influence was a local Mexican specialty – Agua Frescas – everyday drinks that are available from street vendors and sold in bodegas, restaurants and juice bars and which consist of fruit, sugar, water and ice, and are sometimes refined with milk. Each region has its own versions, made using locally available fruit, and became the company’s source of inspiration.
“We recognise that Mexican cuisine is becoming increasingly popular in Europe. And, for today’s consumers, authenticity is more important than ever before. Hence, we have worked on a flavour range that captures the true characteristics of the Mexican palate and lifestyle and brings it to European consumers,” said Stefano Asti, technical director at Sensient Flavors Beverage Europe. “We are confident that this new range will enable manufacturers to bring outstanding soft drink products to the shelf that satisfy consumer curiosity and tap into the current trend for innovative and unique taste experiences.”