Climate change, conflicts and political crises weigh down botanical supply chain

03 Mar 2020 --- Plant extracts and essences are highly sought after for their potential to elevate perceptions of brand naturality and health claims, while imbuing exotic flavors and aromatic properties into products. FoodIngredientsFirst speaks to key suppliers about principal challenges in botanical sourcing – prominently, climate impacts and social issues – while exploring how specific hero ingredients can be weaved into a successful brand storytelling strategy.

“To produce tinctures, extracts and distillates, we use raw materials from any part of the world. Hence it can be easily understood how complex it is to procure them; many challenges may be posed, the most evident include climatic, environmental, social, political and economic ones. All of these factors interrelate with one another,” says Laura Tirelli, Sales Manager of flavor house L’Italiana Aromi.

In recent years, the frequency of adverse climatic events has increased significantly creating – in some areas – environmental conditions that make it difficult to grow plants that used to be easily available, Tirelli explains Changes in the climate also result in a larger use of plant protection products that sometimes prevent raw materials from complying with European standards.

“Climatic changes are having an impact on the supply, quality and thus the price of raw materials. Crops are being spoiled by drought and destroyed by storms; excessive and out-of-season rainfall or other climatic anomalies may affect the quality and availability of plants,” she notes.

Social challenges are also playing a major role. Some raw material-producing countries that exported most of their plant production until a few years ago are now finding more local buyers and consumers, Tirelli highlights. “China is just a case in point: the improved economic conditions of the home market have resulted in reduced exports of raw materials, especially those connected with traditional medicine.”

Botanical superfoods such as goji berries help formulators tap into the demand for functional products.“A social challenge is also being met in Europe, where the supply of labor for picking wild herbs and plants is diminishing dramatically, thereby translating into reduced supply for the processing industry. Factors also include hot wars and political crises, which are considerably affecting the availability of the botanicals we use for our production. All these factors are influencing both the availability and the prices of botanical raw materials, which are in increasing demand,” she details.

When such adverse market conditions may occur, investing in supplies becomes a priority, Tirelli stresses. “A good knowledge of markets, insight and a bit of luck allow you to stock and prevent these types of conditions from affecting the supply of top-quality, standardized products.”

“As for some products based on mixtures of botanicals, it may become necessary to use several plants to recreate the same organoleptic profile as that of the plant that can no longer be found. This does not always prove easy, nor does it ensure quick results. Nevertheless, our over 100-year-old knowledge of botanicals, expertise and suitable tools help us. Obviously, this is not feasible when it comes to a product which is derived from one botanical species only,” she concludes.

Brand-elevating botanicals
Branded with the tagline “Inspired by Nature,” ingredients supplier Nexira has developed a wide range of natural and plant-based powders for the botanical-infused beverages market. Growing in popularity, functional beverages include ingredients that inherently deliver key nutrients that will boost energy, promote relaxation or help uplift overall well-being. They can also support targeted personalized benefits like improving gut health, raising immunity or enhancing beauty.

“In beverages, berries (i.e. blueberry, acai, aronia and goji), grape and pomegranate remain common superfood flavors. For example, acerola is perfect for claiming vitamin C. Meanwhile, guarana is often used in clean energy drinks due to its high content in caffeine,” says Julie Imperato, Marketing Manager at Nexira.

Imperato cites examples of rising botanical extracts, noting, “Beetroot, green tea and grape extracts are natural sources of antioxidants. For a natural fiber enrichment, there is acacia fiber. With a minimum content of 90 percent soluble dietary fiber, this all-natural source of soluble dietary fiber obtained from acacia gum is perfect for fiber enrichment and enables ‘high in fiber’ claims.”

Innova Market Insights data shows that soft drink launches with “infusion” claims have trebled in the past five years. Within this space, botanicals are increasingly in popularity and cropping up across beverage categories. According to the market researcher, botanicals’ association with health is strong, with half of consumers making the connection. 

Significantly, soft drinks infused with botanicals that launched in 2018 increased by 45 percent from the previous year. In ongoing developments, Coca-Cola North America is tapping into this trend by elisting a team of experts to formulate “breakthrough beverages” in “record time.”

In the effective brand storytelling of botanical sourcing, consumers appreciate product experiences that covey a clear “human” element.Storytelling with multi-dimensional infusions
To uncover new avenues for product formulation, flavor house Symrise develops ideas based on findings from in-house consumer research. “We have conducted a global ‘naturalness study.’ Furthermore, our ‘craft study’ helps us understand the definition of crafted beverage solutions, while our regular ‘TrendScope’ studies also provides relevant insights,” says Filomena Rinaldi, Sustainability and Communication Director at Symrise.

“This knowledge enables us to decode consumers' desire for natural products. We understand how to best describe the sensory characteristics of a beverage. In addition, we also know what the beverage itself should look like factoring in aspects like color or cloudiness. This allows targeted natural product development leading in all directions like water, tea, juice-based drinks and many more,” she explains.

When analyzing expectations, Symrise worked together with Millennials to establish taste profiles and product ideas that tap into their preferences. “Among the main used and enjoyed botanicals, we identified mint, ginger, hibiscus, elderflower and basil. This resulted in concepts like ‘pure water infused with absolutely natural and gently processed botanicals’ or tea-based solutions like ‘green tea ginger lime’ or ‘black tea ginger with elderberry,’” says Rinaldi.

Brand storytelling as a marketing strategy, either surrounding the area of processing or sourcing, is pegged by Symrise as key. Notably, “Storytelling: Winning with Words” crowns Innova Market Insights’ Top Ten Trends for 2020. 

“We try to support our customers as much as possible, especially when it comes to botanicals. Botanicals can add a sense of discovering interesting ingredients to the products (the world of fruits has been explored quite thoroughly), which appeals to consumers a lot,” says Rinaldi.

In effective brand storytelling, she outlines the following benchmarks to ensure product success:

• For products that tell a story, having a unique brand personality is part of the charm. This makes consumers feel that particular care has been placed into their production.

• Consumers like to perceive products as personal and “made with me in mind.”

• Every element and detail of a product is thoughtfully produced; this level of care leads consumers to cherish the products more dearly.

• There is a clear “human touch” central to consumers’ product experience.

• Mutual appreciation – the effort that has gone into making the product signals real appreciation for the end consumer.

• Cherishing past traditions and present culture – under perceived threat from globalization, these aspects need protection.

Symrise leverages its scientific and flavorist heritage to form a narrative about the sourcing of pure natural ingredients. “We are proud to have in-house experts in extraction and distillation, like our flavorists, who are also master distillers,” details Rinaldi.

“Because our master distillers carefully capture the purest form of each botanical, our ‘Pure Essences’ enable our customers to create a variety of applications with much more exciting, multi-dimensional infusion taste sensations than are possible with conventional infusion techniques,” she concludes.

By Benjamin Ferrer