African and Caribbean Cuisine Inspire New Spice Blends

09 Sep 2016 --- EHL Ingredients is celebrating 20 years in operation this year and has pledged to launch 20 new blends inspired by exotic and colorful spices, over the course of 2016, with ten new products launching this month, in a bid to reach its $9.3m (£7m) sales target. 

The ten new blends launching now are Cuban Sazon complete, Bezar mix, a Korean BBQ seasoning, Yemeni blend, Zhug, Khmeli Suneli from Georgia, Mitmita spice mix from Ethiopia, Vadouvan curry powder from Pondicherry, India, Malaysian satay seasoning, Indonesian fish curry powder an Old Bay seasoning from the USA. 

The blends bring new, exotic flavors to the food manufacturing and catering sectors and give new product development teams inspiration for new dishes and accompaniments from around the world, such as curries, marinated meats, fish and vegetables, summer BBQ foods and spicy winter warmers too. 

EHL has already launched seven new herb and spice blends this year, including a Brazilian-style churrasco seasoning, two new BBQ blends and four Asian spice mixes with at least three more in the pipeline, due to be launched in 2016. 

Speaking with FoodIngredientsFirst, Managing Director, Tasneem Backhouse explains the rising popularity of mixes from the African continent: “Our news herb and spice blends have been inspired by unexpected and unusual regions. Our Mimita seasoning is from Ethiopia and is a hot, spicy mix of crushed chilli, bird’s eye chilli, allspice, cassia and ginger. It’s ideal for chicken kebabs and marinated meats and BBQs.”

“The Caribbean and South America have also sparked a lot of interest too,” adds Backhouse, “Cuba has been in the media a lot this year and as such, there has been an increase in Cuban cuisine, restaurants, dining outlets, pop up diners and home cooking. Our Cuban Sazon complete seasoning is a unique blend of garlic, oregano, black pepper, cumin and lime – a great balance of citrus and spices. The versatile mix is used as a ‘mojo’ in meat, fish and vegetable dishes and can be added to tacos and tostones.” 

Backhouse believes that Arabic and Middle Eastern cuisines are bringing ancient flavors to modern dining. “Our Zhug (Yemeni) and Bezar (Arab Emirates) blends tap into these trends for Arabic flavors and can be used on lamb, chicken and even on spicy potato wedges,” she contends. 
 
“We identified these blends as popular in their own regions and we wanted to bring the flavors to the British market,” Backhouse says. 
 
We’re expecting cuisines from Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean to remain popular for 2016 and into next year too,” she explains. “More internationally themed restaurants are set to open up on UK high streets, giving consumers the chance to experiment with these new popular flavor combinations.”

The team is working on more new ingredient blends, including bespoke, as well as organic and free-from products to tap into these burgeoning markets. It will also target the catering and foodservice sector with new formats. 

Backhouse adds: “We’re aiming for 2016 to be our biggest year yet as we aim for our highest sales targets to date. Launching 20 new herb and spice blends is a key part of our 20 year celebrations, to raise the profile of our blending expertise and capabilities.” 

“Our product development team has worked hard to research, trial and launch these ten new blends and we’re excited and confident they will be well received by the food industry. Consumers are always on the lookout for the next new food trend and our new international blends bring unusual flavor combinations from popular cuisines, such as Cuban, Korean and Ethiopian,” she notes. 

“We’re proud to be celebrating our twentieth year in businesses this year and would like to thank all our customers, suppliers, partners and employees for supporting us. Some of our longest standing customers have been with us for 20 years, which is testament to the quality of our products and the reliability of our service. We look forward to continuing these strong partnerships and building new ones as the business grows.” 

“We put our success and stability down to several key factors; our responsiveness to customer demand and consumer trends, a strong sales team, quality organic, free-from and conventional products, and our bespoke on-site blending capabilities. Our new product development team, technical expertise, reliable service and our positive profile in the food industry press also contribute towards our business growth and will continue to do so. We are confident about our progress as a business and are proud of our achievements in this highly competitive market place,” she concludes

The company was awarded its fifth grade A BRC certification once again in December last year. This gives EHL’s customers the reassurance of the company’s quality and safety management processes and opens up new growth opportunities for the business.

by Elizabeth Kenward

Read more on EHL's Brazilian and Asian Spice Blends.