Dohler embraces emerging technologies to address future NPD trends

25 Sep 2017 --- Döhler presented a broad innovations portfolio of natural ingredients, ingredient systems and product applications which meet the individual lifestyle of consumers at this year’s drinktec in Munich. The company highlighted beverage concepts tailored to the consumer requirements of the 25+ age group. Adult Soft Drinks and Adult Teas impress with their high-quality ingredients such as fruit juices, healthy botanical extracts, brewed ingredients, exotic spices or malt extracts.

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Marco Schmidt (pictured, below), Chief Technology Officer at Döhler discussed the company’s move into emerging technologies for food and beverage innovation. “We are really focused on technology improvement around pasteurization. Here we are talking about gentle pasteurization for different ingredients and gentle processes. So everything where we can avoid too much stress for the product, especially at a B2B level.” 

He notes an overall shift at the company in recent years, to offer a greater dried portfolio. “We are shifting our portfolio from the liquid area into the dry area too. Especially here we are busy with defining drying technologies and also those after drying, in order to achieve better products for the different industries that we are serving. We are able to try new things and develop new products such as dry smoothies, without any carriers or premium qualities. Now our challenge is to explain to the consumer how a powder can be diluted back with water and have an excellent product that is pure nature.” You can view the full video interview here. 

“There are a lot of trends of developing on a smaller scale, a couple of years ago we started with juices and smoothies and cold brewed coffees, the technology used now is not new but now is the right moment in time where consumers are willing to pay the right amount of money for these products to make it feasible.”

“There is a bigger demand which makes the technology accessible,” he adds. “3/4 years ago we stepped into the dry area, so far we have always been a liquid company, we try to combine our experience in the company we see a lot of overlapping things leading to a lot of innovation.”

“This can be challenging but we have been able to produce a better juice now without adding too much heat to it. These gentle pasteurization processes are important to bring a better quality product with a longer shelf life,” explains Schmidt.

“We are really focusing on plant-based ingredients and making these ingredients available to consumers,” he notes. “There are so many proteins on the market. Our role is to formulate technology and make them really enjoyable to consumers and bring these products to the market in different applications to increase the nutritional value of these drinks.”

Another step towards authenticity is in the space of orange wines and natural wines. They are still a niche area, but these adult soft drinks are served in locations most passionately discussed in social network forums. In most cases, bio-organically or bio-dynamically operating businesses are behind “natural” wines. The wines themselves are usually spontaneously fermented, i.e. without selected yeast. They are also not sulfurized and filtered, or only to a slight degree. As little technology as possible is the motto. As a result, the white wines have a gold or even an orange shimmer to them. In terms of taste, the wines are completely out of the ordinary. Due to the high levels of tannin, they are slightly bitter and have herbaceous undertones. Also, they have no or a very low amount of primary fruit aromas. This is the sign of real authenticity according to the natural scene movement. 

Christoph Witte of Doehler notes: “A true pioneering spirit has broken out in the alcohol industry: classic spirits, wine, and sparkling wine are getting more and more unusual tastes through botanical extracts, exotic fruits, tea, coffee, and even vegetables.” Even champagne is part of this trend: Veuve Clicquot, who recently introduced really sweet champagnes, Rich and Rich Rosé, is seeking to penetrate the world of cocktails. Recommended ingredients for mixing with this include cucumber, celery, paprika, ginger, pineapple, hibiscus blossoms, and grapefruit zest. 

Beverages with an optimized nutritional value go hand in hand with a modern, healthy lifestyle – that is what many consumers want. Plant-based ingredients, “free-from” solutions and reduced-sugar foods are more popular than ever. From Protein Water and Herbal Detox Teas to Better Nutritional Colas, Döhler presented innovative beverage concepts with healthy added value and fewer calories at drinktec. Döhler also showcased its new range of MultiSense flavors, in addition to numerous sweetening solutions that allow sugar reduction of up to 100 percent. 

The MultiSense flavors range can be used to achieve significant sugar reduction without having to use sweeteners or to improve the taste and mouthfeel of reduced-sugar products. Especially for soft drinks, the MultiSense flavors achieve a particularly balanced overall multi-sensory impression and are therefore perfect for reduced-sugar carbonated soft drinks or still drinks. In addition, Döhler presented high-quality botanical plant extracts, which offer a health-promoting additional benefit, create new taste experiences and remain one hundred percent natural. The portfolio also includes African extracts from baobab, moringa leaves and honeybush, among others. 

Bright colors, optimal texture, outstanding taste – the perfect multi-sensory product experience is in the focus of every new development at Döhler. Thanks to this holistic sensory approach, Döhler is able to provide its customers with a solution to guarantee the success of their product – a solution helping them to stand out from the crowd. At drinktec 2017, the company showcased a wide range of innovative product concepts and application-specific ingredient solutions which provide unique Multi-Sensory Experiences. For example, tropical fruits such as goldenberry and guava are characterized by a fresh and fruity taste in a new generation of fruit-based drinks, chia seeds, as well as fruit and vegetable purees with chunks, create an extraordinary mouthfeel and turmeric provides a particularly natural bright coloring. 

Meanwhile, what is particularly interesting to the generation of millennials when it comes to wine is the story behind the brand. The concept wines or signature wines of young winegrowers are therefore also the success story of recent years. Instead of focusing on the place of origin, grape variety, or how the wine has been produced in communications, they let pictures, labels, and names speak for themselves and tell a story. This fits perfectly into the social media age, in which the power of images is brought to our attention on a daily basis. In general, social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, apps, and blogs are becoming increasingly important in marketing. Consumers look for information, tasting notes, recommendations, and ranking lists.