Givaudan Squeezes New Enticing Lemon and Lime Flavours from TasteTrek Citrus

The new collection reflects the sheer diversity and breadth of lemon and lime flavours as well as the knowledge now available to food and beverage manufacturers through this exploration and research.

18 Nov 2009 --- Givaudan has created 10 new and unique lemon and lime flavours through its recent discovery and evaluation of fruit varietals at the citrus grove of University of California, Riverside (UCR) with which it enjoys a strategic partnership.  These unique varietals will inspire and influence the next generation of authentic citrus experiences in beverages and foods for Givaudan’s customers.  Research has shown that consumers are excited by new variations of traditional citrus blends that do not stray too far from their core preferences.

In the first half of 2009, Givaudan’s TasteEssentials Citrus programme, to which TasteTrek Citrus is linked, has generated a 25% increase in its pipeline of customer briefs for the creation of new citrus flavours and product reformulations.  Givaudan will be providing insights into the programme at a seminar* coinciding with Food Ingredients Europe this month.

Over the last three years, and following this latest TasteTrek Citrus exploration of one of the world’s largest collections of citrus fruits, Givaudan has now identified and analysed over 150 citrus fruit varietals both ‘in the field’ and in its laboratories, before choosing the most promising ones for further examination.  The new collection reflects the sheer diversity and breadth of lemon and lime flavours as well as the knowledge now available to food and beverage manufacturers through this exploration and research.

‘India lime’, ‘Lo Porto’ and ‘Femminello’ are just three examples from the collection of the 10 new lemon and lime flavours which will be made available to Givaudan’s food and beverage customers as part of its wide range of existing and individually customisable citrus flavours.

‘India lime’ with its sweetness and notes of blood orange, lemon and lime candy with hints of light kiwi, has a mild grapefruit finish.  It shares some of these qualities with ‘Lo Porto’, an exotic lemon which also has a green-fruity, floral profile with hints of jasmine and candy-banana elements.  ‘Femminello’ is a light, fruity, astringent lemon with a hint of sweetness and kaffirlime qualities.

Givaudan’s flavourists, combining their own considerable expertise with the company’s proprietary Virtual Aroma Synthesizer (VAS) technology, can rapidly analyse and translate the complex aromas from the fresh fruit into natural and naturally-derived citrus flavours, ranging from the traditional to the exotic and can shorten flavour development time by weeks, if not months, improving speed to market.

“The customer response to our TasteTrek Orange Collection in 2008 was overwhelmingly positive.  It was a natural extension of the program to investigate and then launch a TasteTrek Lemon and Lime Collection,” explains Dawn Streich, global product manager, citrus. “For the beverage and food industry, this new expanded ingredient palette, combined with our technology, offers our customers unique, authentic and brand differentiating flavours to help increase their market success with new citrus product launches.

“Consumers are acutely aware of ingredients, label declarations, health issues, quality and cost.  They are looking for new beverage experiences which are authentic, fresh, vibrant, sophisticated and natural and have extremely high expectations for their product choices.  But, above all, they want great-tasting products relevant to their lifestyle and need for refreshment,” she adds.

“The knowledge gained from the Trek allows us to expand our thinking toward innovative citrus flavours for the future,” explains Michelle Hagen, beverage flavourist and part of the TasteTrek Citrus team. “It’s not only exciting to work with these boundary-pushing profiles, it is also enjoyable to showcase them to our customers.”

TasteTrek Citrus is part of Givaudan’s continuous commitment to the discovery of novel ingredients, technologies and fresh insights to advance innovative flavour creation.  By sharing and building the knowledge with customers and harnessing its creativity and the best ingredients, Givaudan can create flavours that consumers love and can ensure optimal taste performance in customers’ products.