Döhler Eyes Future Beverage Opportunities
At SIAL 2008, the DöhlerGroup showcased a large portfolio of natural ingredients, such as fruit-juice concentrates, fruit preparations, compounds, flavours and colours, as well as an array of beverage con-cepts which meet these trends.
24/10/08 Functionality and naturalness are the key trends currently inspiring the beverage and food industry to launch new products, according to the DöhlerGroup, who demonstrated a number of new concepts at the SIAL show in Paris. Today more than ever, the consumer is paying attention to a balanced and healthy diet and buying products he can trust. The themes organic and NFC products (Not from Concentrate) are gaining in importance. At SIAL 2008, the DöhlerGroup showcased a large portfolio of natural ingredients, such as fruit-juice concentrates, fruit preparations, compounds, flavours and colours, as well as an array of beverage con-cepts which meet these trends.
Superfruits – natural functionality straight from the fruit
Superfruits, like goji or açaí, continue to represent an extremely important fruit category for the beverage and dairy industry. They are a natural source of valuable, healthy and antioxidant ingredients and therefore deliver an especially natural functionality. Alongside numerous premium fruit juice concentrates and purées it featured at SIAL, the DöhlerGroup also presented flavours derived from bilberry, pomegranate and acerola.
Energy drinks opening up new target groups
Positioned as lifestyle, party and scene beverages, energy drinks were initially consumed chiefly by younger target groups up to the age of 30. Sparked by the trend towards extremely natural product variations, totally new positioning possibilities are being created and the most varied age and target groups reached. The DöhlerGroup has therefore taken two basic approaches in developing new energy drinks: energy drinks which draw on the well-known basis of coffee as a natural source of caffeine, and those with a particularly high fruit-juice content (up to 70%), thanks to which they enjoy a supremely natural image with the consumer. The DöhlerGroup further unveiled an energy drink with cranberry-pomegranate, which picks up on the demand for the new trend fruits.
Aqua Plus and Aqua-Fruit – a worldwide concept
On account of their nearness to water and the addition of fruit juice, Aqua Plus beverages are natural and, compared with carbonated soft drinks, offer very light refreshment (<20 kcal). At the same time, with such specific and, in part, functional ingredients as vitamins, plant extracts, minerals or dietary fibres, they deliver a special benefit and so can be positioned in a variety of ways, as wellness, sports or relaxation drinks, for example. Featuring a significantly higher fruit content (10 – 30 %), Aqua Fruit beverages now close the gap between Aqua Plus drinks and the fruit splashes. With their exotic fruit combinations and more traditional, native variations, such as pear-plum, Döhler Aqua Fruit/Aqua Plus concepts capture two key taste trends in the European market.
Malt and fermented beverages – back to basics!
Malt beverages are satisfying positive demand in many countries. Döhler malt extracts make it possible to produce malt beverages as children’s drinks, with natural fruit flavours, or as NABs (halal-compliant beer alter-natives), all the way through to fitness and sports drinks. In addition, fermented beverages are viewed as a trend-setting product category on account of their natural basis created from fruit juice, malt or tea. Under the BioFerm Plus brand, the DöhlerGroup offers a wide range of fermentation bases.
Tea drinks – as successful as ever in the marketplace!
The consumption of tea-based drinks is set to keep on climbing in the next few years. By 2011, for instance, DöhlerGroup anticipates further global volume growth of some 30%. The current trend tea varieties are primarily green tea, followed by black, white and rooibos tea. High in the popularity stakes with consumers are easily digestible and mild varieties. At SIAL, the DöhlerGroup showcased such new taste variations as black tea-apricot and apple-mint.
Fruit splashes – natural and fruity refreshment!
In Germany, fruit splashes have been firmly entrenched in the beverage market for generations as a fruity refreshment. Now the success of this extremely natural beverage concept is also spilling over into other Euro-pean countries. Whilst the Germans love the classic fruit splash more on the slightly acidic side with a 50% fruit content and 50% carbonated min-eral water – many other countries prefer far sweeter and more aromatic drinks. This is why Döhler has developed an array of fruit splashes with a higher fruit-juice content (up to 70%) and the addition of natural fruit pu-rée that meet this demand. In addition, the DöhlerGroup featured a num-ber of “cloudy” fruit splashes, among them the apple-pear taste combina-tion. All concepts satisfy the trend to more naturalness, dispensing en-tirely with the use of added sweeteners, flavours and colours.
Smoothies – fruity and healthy!
Smoothies are a trend worldwide. They enable the consumer to enjoy simple, balanced nutrition coupled with the daily intake of fruit and vege-tables recommended by the WHO. With superfruits such as goji, açaí or pomegranate, smoothies deliver an added antioxidant benefit. The Darm-stadt-based company also showcased new concepts on these themes at SIAL.
Drinking yoghurt – a global success
The market for drinking yoghurts grew in well-nigh all European countries in 2007. Functional ingredients are opening up new positioning opportuni-ties in the drinking yoghurt segment, whether in the area of weight man-agement, for example, with dietary fibres which bring about faster satia-tion, or for the prevention of cardiovascular disorders with omega-3 fatty acids. Fully in line with the current trend in drinking yoghurts are the fla-vours strawberry, blueberry and – very new – pomegranate or açaí.
FIT Life Plus – makes more out of drinks and dairy products!
Functionality – important as never before. Especially products focusing on the cardiovascular system and anti-ageing (e.g., maintaining the health of skin, eyes, bones and joints) are awakening the consumer’s interest more than ever before. Today added minerals, Q10, soya ex-tracts or collagens are being introduced into beverages and dairy prod-ucts. The DöhlerGroup offers an exceptionally wide range of high-grade, stable and functional ingredients as well as the matching product con-cepts.
MultiSweet Plus - intelligent sweetening systems for balanced nutri-tion
Light products are still in demand. Under the umbrella brand MultiSweet Plus the DöhlerGroup has developed a number of innovative sweetening systems. Besides light sweetening systems, development also focuses on intelligent carbohydrate combinations which provide the body with a uniform supply of energy. For premium products, the DöhlerGroup’s portfolio contains the natural sweetener MultiSweet Fruit, produced entirely from fruit-juice concentrates..
Döhler flavours and emulsions – taste, mouth feel and cloudiness
Globally linked raw material management gives the DöhlerGroup very good access to FTNF/FTNJ flavours. This is guaranteed especially by the “Centre of Expertise for Citrus” in Limeira, Brazil, for citrus flavours. But the DöhlerGroup has also achieved a high level of expertise in apple water phases, thanks to locations in Germany and Poland. Aside from innovative flavours, the DöhlerGroup presented a wide range of emul-sions at SIAL which, in addition to taste, give every drink the desired cloudiness and mouth feel.
