Drinktec 2022: Bell Flavors dives into the beverage trends making a splash

19 Sep 2022 --- Bell Flavors showcased its latest developments in the beverage category, looking into how to capture increasingly health-driven consumers that aim for well-being and seek natural products. At the same time, buyers want to keep costs in check.

FoodIngredientsFirst spoke with  Antje Wittich , head of marketing, Bell Flavors & Fragrances on the show floor at Drinktec, held in Munich. 

“We are definitely still seeing a big growth in health and wellness products. Also, the indulgence and premium trend so consumers worldwide are continuously looking for sugar, reduced fat, reduced calorie, reduced products,” Wittich explains. 

Antje Wittich , head of marketing, Bell Flavors & Fragrances.“These include products that boost their physiological mood and their physical well-being, but also products that are very pure, natural and indulgent.

The company has a new range of organic-certified natural source flavors and beverage compounds, that help innovators deal with recently introduced EU regulations on organics. 

“We got the organic certification because of new legislation which came into force at the beginning of the year. It helps customers develop products which are purely organic. 

“According to the new legislation, 5% of the product itself doesn’t need to be organic then for example you can use organic suitable flavors which are 95/5 flavors, or you can use our organic certified flavors which help beverage manufacturers who use high contents of flavors or compounds to offer organic products to their consumers worldwide.”

Buyers are purchasing goods that help boost their personal mood and physical and psychological well-being while also demanding products that are pure and natural highlights Wittich.

Health and wellness
Low and no-alcohol trends are a significant part of the overarching health and wellness trend, with more consumers than ever before switching out alcoholic drinks for more adult-tasting no-alcohol beverages. 

“We see a big growth in non-alcoholic spirits which taste like their alcoholic counterparts. We are showcasing ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ which is one of our latest developments that fits in with the growing aperitif culture. It’s a non-alcoholic aperitif product that tastes like its well-known alcoholic counterpart from Italy. It can be drunk on its own or combined with non-alcoholic sparkling wine. It’s a healthier option,” Wittich continues. The company has a new range of organic-certified natural source flavors and beverage compounds.

This taps into market researcher Innova Market Insights Top Trend for 2022, “Shifting Occasions,” where consumers have reshaped existing eating and drinking occasions and created new ones.

Consumers have a greater awareness of the comforts and possibilities of home, so now seek more from going out, which will push industry leaders to better serve evolving consumption occasions, creating products geared to the new expectations of a public whose social habits have been challenged.

What’s next for Bell?
Wittich explains the company continues to strengthen sustainability overall and deal with the on-going impacts of inflation, but its main focus remains on the continued creation of flavors. 

Ït’s our daily work to create new tastes and flavors. The health and wellness trend is expected to continue to drive our product development, but there will also be some interesting product categories which are driven by cost-reduction, for example. Here is where Bell can also help in developing new product launches for the forthcoming year. 

By Gaynor Selby, with additional reporting from Natalie Schwertheim