Bell Flavors: Differentiation of Citrus and Floral Notes Among 2015 Trends

09 Jan 2015 --- Recognizing consumer behavior is the key element for successful product marketing. In the food and beverage sector it is particularly important to spot each year’s market and consumer trends, evaluate them with regard to future developments and create new ideas out of it. Bell Flavors & Fragrances has intensively analysed the market and consumer preferences in taste. The result is a broad range of new flavor ideas – divided into two main categories: the so called “Flavor Comfort Zone” and the “Flavor Innovation Zone”.

“Flavor Comfort Zone” – become familiar with the unknown
This category is based on the omnipresent fact that every human owns an original field of familiarity with external impacts. A very prominent example is the dominating role of orange and lemon flavors in soft drinks and sweets such as fruit gums, ice cream and chocolate candy. However, tasty innovations like blood orange, tangerine or grapefruit deliver an exotic character while still staying within the consumers “Flavor Comfort Zone”. They create a clear unique selling point and simultaneously fulfil the balancing act of serving the mass market and being extraordinary at the same time. Therefore the differentiation of citrus profiles is a global trend for 2015 - whether it is for sweets, drinks or aromatic foods like sauces and snacks.

Next to the citrus trend another important theme manifests itself within the “Flavor Comfort Zone”: Mint. Although mint is a long-time favourite flavor profile, it reinvents itself by how those fresh and sweet or even hearty mint notes are used in different products. Garden mint, for example, can create a totally new, slightly sweet taste profile in cheese products, sauces and dressings, while concurrently the use of a hint of peppermint in sweets and drinks can create a fresh, slightly aromatic note that harmonises well with citric accords.

“Flavor Innovation Zone” – something new and different
Bell´s second category – “Flavor Innovation Zone” – is all about new, unusual and exciting flavor creations. Taste profiles are becoming more sophisticated and FMCG producers are polarising more often. For developing new drink concepts Bell Flavors & Fragrances has created special bitter applications that fulfil clean label restrictions and can be labelled as natural extract.

The confectionary market sees another polarising spot within the next years: inspirations from desserts like crème brûlée or tiramisu are conquering chocolate and chocolate filling products and gain more and more attention. A second significant trend is the use of floral notes – especially when combined with high-quality Marc-de-Champagne-fillings they give an impression of wine-cocktails which attracts a young and female target group.

Looking at the savoury segment, the spotlight is still on more exotic and spicy flavor creations like sriracha – a sweet and spicy combination of garlic and chili that can be used for sauces and is promoted as one of the flavor highlights for 2015 when used for snacks. For an even more unusual combination, Bell has created a maple bacon flavor that combines sweet and salty – a huge trend, that will catch on in the snacking market during the next years.