Blooming botanicals: Experts examine adventurous exploration, memorable flavors and enhancing functionality

01 Mar 2023 --- Businesses want to provide a holistic experience with food and beverages loaded with botanical ingredients to tap into increasing demand from consumers seeking flavorful options for their health and mental well-being. Formulators are being challenged to work with complex flavor combinations to make great tasting products that have a health halo, are clean label, functional and use a plethora of on-trend botanical ingredients.

FoodIngredientsFirst speaks with some of the leading companies working in the evolving market of botanicals who examine the key drivers pushing innovation in botanicals. 

According to Innova Market Insights Top Ten Trend for 2023, “Plant-Based: Unlocking a New Narrative,” consumers still want to see improvements in taste and texture for plant-based products, as there exists a vast appetite for culinary creativity and worldwide flavor profiles. 

According to the market researcher, the fastest-growing floral and seed botanicals from 2017 to 2022 are echinacea, barrenwort and valerian. The top claims are immune health, brain and mood health and digestive and liver health.

Beyond perceived wellness attributes, botanicals are unique, according to Alessio Tagliaferri, global business director, natural health and nutrition and botanicals technology platform at ADM. They are unique in that they can provide and elevate flavor profiles and sensory experiences in many foods, beverages and dietary supplements.

“By delivering new flavor notes, botanicals may help satisfy consumers’ desire for more adventurous exploration,” says Tagliaferri. 

“In the right combinations, botanicals can create memorable flavor profiles that range from herbal, earthy, floral, sweet, spicy and citrusy – giving consumers more options for authentic and unconventional taste experiences. Moreover, botanicals can bring these complex combinations of flavors to multiple categories, including snacks, confectionery, bakery, beverages and dietary supplements,” he continues.

Taste remains king, according to Wayne Lutomski, president of FruitSmart.

“Botanicals should reside in an accepted format, with fruit juices, teas and smoothies the most common beverage formats. Product developers need to focus on taste first – and then bring in the benefits of botanicals.” 

Seeking functional foods
Botanicals are trending among consumers seeking multifunctional, clean label and natural products.

As consumers become more health-aware they demand more traceability from companies and for businesses to deliver the ingredients they publicize in labels.“Botanicals in functional foods, beverages and dietary supplements resonate with consumers as they are perceived as being ‘better for you’ and have a ‘closer-to-nature’ appeal making them an exceptionally popular choice. In addition, 28% of US consumers actively seek botanical ingredients in their diets,” says Maggie McNamara, marketing director at Gencor.

“Consumers use botanicals as a natural solution for all sorts of ailments, from mental well-being and pain to sleep,” she continues.

According to John Quilter, VP of global portfolio of proactive health at Kerry, the botanicals trend started before COVID-19, but accelerated with the pandemic as consumers had more proactive attitudes toward health and nutrition. 

“Unsurprisingly, the pandemic accelerated this trend – globally, six in ten consumers now seek added functional benefits from everyday foods and beverages. Furthermore, they want to meet their nutrition needs as naturally as possible. Another pandemic effect was a renewed desire to return to traditional ingredients, with many consumers turning to botanicals as trusted ancient remedies,” he says.

In the same vein, Sarah Gonçalves, technical business development manager for nutraceuticals at Univar Solutions, explains that “health-forward shoppers are likely to choose a holistic approach to maintaining their well-being, which includes herbal supplements that go beyond regular nutrients to provide important plant-based bioactives.”

“The familiarity of plant names similarly gravitates consumers toward herbal supplements. Consumers concerned about synthetic materials’ environmental impact view botanicals as a healthier option,” she continues. 

Trending ingredients
Gonçalves explains that botanicals that play multiple roles in improving health span will be “the key to differentiating finished products in the market.”

“Herbs and extracts are an attractive segment and manufacturers are enhancing their functionality, including developing methods to transform hydrophobic plant-based ingredients into instant water-soluble actives,” she notes.

Versatility for botanicals is also becoming valuable, such as incorporating novel active compounds.

“For example, turmeric extracts usually contain very little bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC), a more potent antioxidant than regular curcumin. However, there are new turmeric extracts in the market like Turminova B+, which are BDMC-enriched turmeric extracts that provide greater health benefits,” says Gonçalves.

 “Staying sharp and supporting brain health will be important and adaptogens such as schisandra, lion’s mane and maca may be potentially emerging ingredients in 2023 and beyond,” she continues.

Botanicals with associated wellness attributes are becoming increasingly popular, particularly those with immune functions, sleep, digestive health, stress relief and emotional well-being properties, according to Tagliaferri.

“For instance, guarana, green coffee and yerba mate all contain caffeine and are linked by consumers to reduced fatigue and improved mental focus. Also associated with energy and cognitive function are green, black and matcha tea extracts and powders. These ingredients pair well with convenient formats like energy drinks, snacks and supplements for quick daily pick-me-ups.”Fruit juices, teas and smoothies the most common botanical beverage formats.

“Blending acerola and camu-camu are botanical ingredients with inherent vitamin C, which is widely recognized by consumers to support immune function. Consumers may also associate acerola extract with support for energy, metabolism and exercise performance. These botanicals can be an appealing addition to juice-based concepts, gummy confections and more,” he continues.

 Moreover, Tagliaferri explains that spa-inspired flavors, such as lemon balm, chamomile and hawthorn, all signal a sense of relaxation and combine well with citrus flavors like finger lime, fruity mango and refreshing mint.

“The concept of soothing lavender continues to trend in this area and pairs well with flavors like vanilla to further elevate functional offerings, including beverages, gummies and more,” he says.

Ginger also continues to be “extremely popular” across categories and provides multiple sensations ranging from sweet, peppery and spicy, while also being associated by consumers with digestive support and comfort. 

ADM foresees that functional offerings with exploratory flavors will attract consumers.

“We foresee a variety of botanicals, including tart pomegranate, nutty maca and delicately sweet lychee, gaining prominence alongside mainstream options like rosemary and hibiscus. Alternatively, cinnamon, mint and peppermint offer exciting sensations like cooling and heat, which create an exquisite ‘cinnamint’ flavor when combined,” Tagliaferri notes.

More on ingredients, Quilter reveals that ashwagandha is a great ingredient, as not only is it one of the most studied adaptogens, but also has the name recognition. Furthermore, he explains there is an interest in ingredients used in ancient Indian holistic medicine.

“Terminalia chebula (an extract of the haritaki fruit), for example has been used for thousands of years in South Asia and has been clinically shown to improve flexibility, speed up recovery and maintain healthy joints and mobility.”

Gonçalves explains that botanicals that play multiple roles in improving health span will be “the key to differentiating finished products in the market.”According to Lutomski, botanicals are generally trending, but those especially popular offer some mental or brain health benefits.

“For energy, we’re seeing not only the traditional caffeine-providing products – like green coffee, yerba mate and guayusa – continuing to trend, but also non-caffeinated products like ginseng, gingko biloba, acai, sage and guarana. Passion fruit serves well for relaxation, while turmeric and ashwagandha are trending for immunity.”

Authenticating botanical ingredients
As consumers become more aware of the health aspects of the food they consume, they demand more traceability from companies and for businesses to deliver the ingredients they publicize in labels. 

“Consumers are increasingly interested in learning about the origins of their food, how it was made and the ingredients used. Consumer desires to feel connected to the food they eat and the communities they support is fueling growing expectations for transparency about the country of origin and provenance of products,” says Tagliaferri.

“As a result, brands are taking a proactive approach to communicating their sourcing efforts, ensuring information about their products is easily accessible and transparent,” he continues.

“Univar Solutions has a very robust supplier selection process and set requirements, which includes full supply chain transparency, thorough documentation, audits and lab testing where necessary. Depending on the end-use, we ensure our suppliers and products are GFSI equivalent, cGMP, and that quality control checks are in place,” adds Gonçalves.

Quilter explains that consumers are more skeptical and scientifically savvy than ever before.

“Four in ten don’t trust brands because they believe they make misleading health claims around the ingredients in their products, with a similar number saying they are motivated to buy a healthy lifestyle product after seeing scientific data supporting its benefits,” he concludes. 

Companies in the future will have to continue to take a proactive approach in their sourcing efforts, ensuring information on their products – which have the perception of being closely tied to nature – is easily accessible and transparent. 

By Marc Cervera