Top Summer Citrus flavor trends

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there are multiple flavors of summer citrusTop Summer Citrus flavor trends

 

Every year, we try and predict the top flavor trends for the season. Right now, we’re seeing a lot of citrus coming up for summer. Flavors are leaning toward being fresh and simple for summer. As the world focuses on “better-for-you” options, citrus helps brands bridge that gap of health and flavorful products. These citrus also offer an elevated boost of vitamin C that is appealing to health-conscious consumers.

Exotic Citrus

Lemon and lime will always be a staple in the citrus profile category. There will also be more exotic citrus flavors taking center stage this summer. Blood orange, nectarine and passionfruit are seeing a rise in popularity. They’re a great way to add strong flavor to a product without using much to achieve that bold profile. These exotic flavors will become more common. Passionfruit and nectarine add a fresh sweetness that is light but strong. Tart profiles such as blood orange and apricot will be a great compliment to sour and tangy flavors. Citrus is a great way to keep flavors fresh-  something consumers will search for through the summer.

Different beverages we’re seeing this trend in are the sparkling water and alcoholic drinks. Seltzers and mineral waters are starting to come out with bright bold citrus flavors for the summer. But they still keep a healthy image because of the light and fresh profiles citrus flavors bring. To keep consumers feeling brave to branch out to new flavors, brands are mixing flavors. They’re combining more popular flavors such as lemon and lime with lesser-tried flavors such as guava and passionfruit.

According to an article in Food and Business News, “Exotic fruits from Latin American and Southeast Asian countries will continue to be a fast-growing flavor category,” said Holly McHugh, marketing associate, Imbibe, Niles, Ill. “Up-and-coming flavors include passionfruit, guava and dragon fruit.”

Alcoholic Drinks

Alcoholic drinks are also adding citrus to drinks to keep flavors feeling fresh and adventurous for summer.

bright summer citrus

Citrus also lends itself well to the “clean label” trend we have been seeing. Natural flavors that show “natural” ingredients give consumers a peace of mind they’re longing for in our current climate. Transparency in labels is easier when you’re using one of our custom built flavor systems. Citrus flavors always looks fresh and clean on labels and give consumers a sense of comfort. Consumers are looking for products that optimize that healthier lifestyle. Consumers also tend to associate these kinds of flavors with wellness. As a consequence, they see products with associated flavors as “better-for-you,” clean label products. 

Transparency has, time and time again, proven to be important to consumers. With health and wellness driving current trends, consumers are looking for drinks that optimize nutritional value and support healthier living. As demand continues to increase for natural flavors, citrus and exotic citrus are becoming prevalent as flavorful additions. More health-conscious trends reflect a market shift towards flavors that maximize quality and functionality while packing a punch. Citrus and exotics, as flavors, have the advantage of delivering on both. Let us help you create a citrus flavor that is light and fresh without compromising on bold flavor.

Summer Flavor Trends

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Summer Flavor Trends

Well, the year 2020 has already brought many surprises. While we can’t predict much of what’s in store as far as daily life goes, we do know one thing. Flavors will still be here and an important part of daily life. In a time with so much uncertainty, bold, bright flavors can provide a sense of normalcy and consistency. This year, we are predicting a rise in a few unique flavors for summer flavor trends that would be useful to keep in mind as you work to meet consumer demand in business.

As far as consumer behaviors go, we’re seeing a trend similar to our current global climate. Technomic’s 2019 Flavor Consumer Trend Report found that 40% of 18–34 year olds are branching out to find new or unique flavors. In their findings, 80% of all survey respondents said that they either “actively seek out flavors to try on a regular basis” or “like trying new flavors from time to time” (Technomic 2019). This summer is a great time to add variety to your flavors. People are looking for something new to provide entertainment in a time that can otherwise be somewhat mundane from day-to-day. New flavors will provide a reinvigorated interest in your brand.

Shannon Cushen, marketing director at Fuchs North America, said “Consumers, specifically millennials and Gen Z, get bored incredibly easy these days. They are always seeking out new and different flavors and taste sensations.”

Top summer flavor trends we’re seeing right now are florals, earthy, hot, and tangy. Let’s dive into each of these more.

FLORAL

Snacks, beverages, and bakery industries are leading the way in floral flavors. According to IFT.org, in Q3 2017 and Q3 2018, there were 4,495 product introductions globally using floral flavors. We’re seeing an upswing in classical flavors like lavender and rose, as well as newer flavors like hibiscus, rose, cherry blossom, orange blossom, and jasmine. In addition to their health benefits, florals can bring a beautiful visual element to foods and beverages. In the day and age of Instagram and visual appeal being as important as taste, consumers eat with their eyes as much as they do their stomachs. Product taste is what makes the consumer return, but the visuals play an important role in persuading them to even select that product in the first place. Brands should absolutely explore how to play up floral flavors and visual appeal.

EARTHY

With the rise in health-conscious consumers, any flavors that hint at earthy, natural flavors will be a popular summer flavor trend. Think herbs, spices, roots, and other botanical flavors. Several of the fastest-growing herbs and spices, such as turmeric and cumin add a rich flavor to products. Turmeric is now appearing in a multitude of products and recipes—from lattes to savory roasted carrots with turmeric and cumin. Even golden milk is gaining popularity because of it’s rich golden color and bold flavor.

HEAT

When it comes to heat, consumers want a more complex variety than they’ve seen before. This hyper-specificity comes from the desire to learn more fully about what they are eating and consuming.

 

TANGY

Japanese flavors are gaining popularity, and one flavor is going to be hitting the Western world in a big way- yuzu. Yuzu is a tart Japanese citrus fruit that tastes like a cross between a lime and a grapefruit. It’s a unique combination of familiar flavors which gives consumers the confidence to branch out and trying something new. Already popular in fine dining, beverages and confections abroad, yuzu is starting to pop up in savory applications and snacks. As yuzu starts to appear on more U.S. menus, experts predict it will begin filtering down to mainstream products like marinades and dressings or alcoholic beverages.

As you look to adapt to upcoming summer flavor trends, we have a few suggestions on how to implement these new flavors. “Much like all trends, we see that people are more comfortable trying new flavors in one of two ways,” explains Cyndie Lipka, master flavorist at Prinova USA, a Nagase Group Company. “One is if they are supported with other flavors that they enjoy, as a flavor combination. The second is to realize or associate it as something close to what they already know and love.”

Because of the low cost of snacks, it is a great place to introduce new flavors. If consumers want to try something new, snacks are low-cost, low-risk financially. And if they like what they try, they’re more willing to branch out and try more new flavors.

We’re looking forward to seeing how you incorporate new flavors into your products. Our vast flavor library and our knowledgable flavor chemists are great resources as you look to expand your flavor profiles.

Becoming a Flavor Chemist

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Becoming a Flavor Chemist

It’s no secret that flavor chemistry is an invaluable art to the food and nutraceuticals industry. But few understand the complex formula to officially becoming a flavor chemist in today’s ever-changing professional climate. It requires a level of dedication and expertise even more specific and exclusive than that of a rocket scientist.

Flavor Taste Testing

Value of a Virtuoso Flavor Chemist

According to the Society Of Flavor Chemists’ records, the first meetings were held in 1959 NYC in Little Italy’s restaurants. When the professional society was first created, there were only 14 recorded members. Today, there are only a few hundred in the entire US. Needless to say, becoming a flavor chemist is a commitment of time and passion in which few follow through.

Although almost everyone has tasted a product created by a flavor chemist, few interact with one on a personal basis. “You have to really want to be a flavor chemist to be a flavor chemist,” joked Mariano Gascon. He’s one of Sensapure’s Flavors flavor chemists, and he isn’t kidding. Becoming a flavor chemist doesn’t require education beyond a bachelor’s degree in food science, chemistry, or related disciplines. But it does require an extensive amount of training and testing.

A seven-year apprenticeship period approved by the Society Of Flavor Chemists is just the beginning of the journey. Once candidates pass their post apprenticeship review, they must complete an additional approved five-year apprenticeship.

Flavor chemists approved by the society are rare and in high in demand throughout the industry. This is because the robust program is completed by so few. Flavor houses that employ flavor chemists stand out against the rest for two main reasons. The competitive nature of recruiting them is one reason, as well as the difficulty of keeping them. The value they bring, however, is incomparable.

The Chemistry of Consumer Loyalty

While the food industry has evolved dramatically over the past 50 years, flavor chemists have remained a critical aspect in bridging the gap between food manufacturers and the desires of a consumer. By providing an intimate understanding of the relationship an individual has with a product from the moment they first encounter it to the very last taste, flavor chemists are critical in maintaining consumer loyalty. However, that’s not to say that the flavor industry hasn’t evolved with the technology that replaced human production lines with machine ones.

In fact, due to new and improved instrumentation such as computers, liquid chromatography, and updates in profiling technology, flavor chemists have been able to accelerate their abilities to improve products and formulas in order to achieve better, more cost-effective and attainable solutions for both food manufacturers and consumers alike.

Bright Beverage

Flavor Industry Evolution

Evolution in the flavor industry doesn’t stop there. As the media continues to advance the pace of trend reach and demand for what’s current, the role of a flavor chemist is extending far beyond chemistry and insight. While becoming a flavor chemist requires a specific set of skills and accreditations, it also requires something less tangible; creativity.

Gascon says that flavor chemists call themselves “artists,” for a reason. In his journey to become a flavor chemist, he also attended culinary school. Gascon says that qualitative aspects of becoming a chef are similar to becoming a flavor chemist, “Chefs and flavor chemists interpret things differently,” he said, “but they both contain the essence of creativity.”

Although Gascon practices his creativity both in the lab and in the kitchen, he believes that the most important aspect of becoming a flavor chemist is gaining the competency to precisely identify with the consumer. “When I’m writing a formula I think about what the consumer is tasting in the beginning middle and end,” he says.

This ability to instinctively curate a consumer’s individual experience with one flavor profile out of thousands of chemicals is just one of the things that set flavor chemists apart from the rest of the players in the industry.

Flavor Chemist

Standard of Excellence

Gascon says that while there is no ‘typical day’ in the life of a flavor chemist, there is certainly the common denominator of sensory mastery. Flavor chemist apprentices must be able to memorize and identify many hundreds of different chemicals — by smell — in order to pass the rigorous tests required; defining them as experts in all things organoleptic.

Their olfactory mastery and chemistry memorization skills continue to be a part of their careers on a daily basis. Flavor chemists don’t only need to know the chemicals well enough to make good flavors, but also to combine their properties into a blend that meets the specific needs of each client. When working with flavor chemists, clients experience a unique level of collaboration and artistry that they will surely never forget.

If you are interested in learning more about how flavor chemist expertise can enhance the value of your business, contact Sensapure Flavors for a consultation.

About Sensapure Flavors:

Sensapure Flavors is a flavor house that services the nutrition and supplement industry with exciting flavor technology and unmatched applications experience. Born in a manufacturing company that understands the ever-changing needs of the nutraceutical industry, Sensapure combines new flavor technologies with deep product application experience.

Contact Us Today!

Sensapure Flavors

1945 S. Fremont Drive

Salt Lake City, UT 84104

801-456-4284

Sensapure Flavors

Research and Technology Development

545 West Lambert Road, Bldg. D

Brea, CA. 92821

657-341-2200

 

Achieving Cost-Effective World Class Flavor Creation

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Achieving Cost-Effective World Class Flavor Creation

Flavor creation is both art and science. While most in the industry recognize the number of variables involved in flavor creation. There are even more moving pieces when it comes to understanding a flavor budget.

Sensapure Flavor’s director of business development, Matt Doxey, says that misunderstanding flavor budget elements comes with a high price. “A lot of brands simply don’t know what a flavor should cost, and that can result in overpaying for a complete flavor system.” Doxey stresses that understanding a flavor’s budget is crucial to achieving cost-effective production. It demands high levels of trust and communication between flavor houses and brands.

Although achieving a cost-effective flavor system isn’t easy, it is always worth the effort. Let’s discuss the important variables of understanding cost effective flavors, the hidden cost of naturals, and how redefining mixology can often decrease flavor costs significantly.

Sensapure Flavor's Lab
Sensapure Flavor’s Lab

Understanding Flavor Creation and Budgets

There’s several components to consider when looking at a flavor budget: serving size, sweetener use, color use, natural vs. artificial ingredient/chemical use. As a general rule, natural flavors and sweeteners are more expensive. Serving size is relative to the quantity of product base (active ingredients) and what the base tastes like before flavoring. While red colors aren’t more costly than blues, the cost of colors can rise when utilizing natural colors.

The strength of active ingredients’ flavor in the product base is also a factor in the flavor budget. This is where the costs begin to vary the most among different flavor houses.

Five Flavor Ingredients or Fifty-five

Clients often have one or two words in mind when looking to flavor their product bases. “We want a ‘Fresh Berry’ flavor,” they say. Flavor chemists, on the other hand, have thousands of different chemicals in mind while creating a flavor. The words “Chocolate,” or “Blue Raspberry,” can result in a myriad of different formulations when consulting a flavor house. Like artists with blank canvases and a pallet of colors, possibilities are endless for flavor chemists with blank product bases.

Flavor chemists are trained to layer natural and/or artificial ingredients and chemicals to create complex and intriguing flavors. As the flavor system becomes more complicated, more chemicals are introduced, thus raising the cost of the final flavor. When you factor in aftertaste, texture, and mouthfeel, a flavor masterpiece is difficult to commercialize (too darned expensive). Often times, a brand will work through a dozen iterations of a flavor. After adding finishing touches, they’ll realize the added costs of those elements push the cost over the target budget.

Cost Effective Flavoring
Cost Effective Flavoring

The Hidden Costs of Naturals

Consumers are becoming more health conscious and demanding greater transparency in their food and supplement intakes. Brands are meeting customer’s needs by flavoring products with natural ingredients, natural sweeteners, and natural colors. Doxey says if there’s a hidden cost that brands come across when consulting with a flavor house, “It’s typically related to the rise in demand for naturals.” Replacing an artificial sweetener with a natural sweetener like Stevia or Monk Fruit brings up flavor cost. This is why brands and consumers pay premium for natural flavors or non-GMO labels on products.

Rise in demand for consumers and brand transparency is another reason flavor houses are getting away with raising costs. Standards for flavor costs within the industry are relative regardless. But up and coming trends in flavors and ingredients come with even more blurred lines. If brands are at risk of overpaying for an artificial fruit punch, the risk rapidly expands when it comes to an all natural coconut matcha flavor.

It’s important to understand that every flavor is unique. Some raw ingredients are more difficult to source than others due to location, availability, and rising prices of natural ingredients. Layered (multiple sensory) flavors or fringe flavors come with added costs no matter where flavors are made. But understanding a flavor budget minimizes risks of hidden costs in your final product.

Flavor Chemistry Lab
Flavor Chemistry Lab

Flavor Chemistry vs. Mixology

When looking to minimize the costs of a flavor, “mixology” and “flavor chemistry” must work hand-in-hand. Sensapure CEO, Jeff Reynolds said, “If flavor creation is both an art and a science, the balance and partnership between both functions is central in perfecting a cost-effective flavor system.” Mixology is a term used by lots of folks in lots of different ways. In product/applications development, this describes existing compounds (flavors, sweeteners, masking agents, active ingredients) “Mixing” to create new solutions.

Essentially, the mixology “toolbox” consists of the flavors and ingredients each brand, manufacturer or flavor house has on hand. With only mixology, flavor houses will “keep mixing” additional ingredients to achieve the goal, thus increasing final product cost. “Almost anyone can make something taste good for any amount of money,” Doxey says, “A lot of times people add more sweetener or more chemicals to cover up actives, which raises prices significantly.”

Flavor Chemistry

Utilizing flavor chemistry alongside mixology allows companies to simplify, minimize, and eliminate redundancies in the formulation. However, they can still create a flavor system that works well with actives such as caffeine and amino acids.

Doxey explains that mixology plus flavor chemistry is not about adding more to the flavor profile and thus increasing the budget. It’s about changing chemicals until the flavor profile is exactly right.

“The right combination of art (mixology) and science (flavor chemistry), can arrive at the specific formulation in order to enhance desired notes from the flavor while masking unwanted tastes of active ingredients,” said Reynolds. Doxey added, “Good flavor chemists are able to work with applications mixology to create a flavor with complexity while still meeting a clients needs economically.”

Flavor Forumlas
Flavor Forumlas

What To Consider in Flavor Creation

Each flavor house has a different viewpoint on how to meet the needs of their clients. However, not all have a good pulse of what a product should cost based on market parameters. It’s important to consider cost transparency within your contract and to work with a flavor partner who is upfront about costs from the beginning. Although some exotic and natural flavors can be costly, there shouldn’t be too many hidden costs throughout the process once when you identify the specific requirements and what you are looking for in your flavor profile.

While every company seeks to create cost-effective solutions, it’s critical to make sure that your flavor partner doesn’t sacrifice quality to cut costs. When properly designed, a great flavor doesn’t have to break the bank, and the amazing taste will have your customer coming back for more.

About Sensapure Flavors

Sensapure Flavors is a flavor house that services the nutrition and supplement industry with exciting flavor technology and unmatched applications experience. Born in a manufacturing company that understands the ever-changing needs of the nutraceutical industry, Sensapure combines new flavor technologies with deep product application experience.

Contact Us Today!

Sensapure Flavors
1945 S. Fremont Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84104

801-456-4284

Sensapure Flavors
Research and Technology Development
545 West Lambert Road, Bldg. D
Brea, CA. 92821

657-341-2200

Supply Side West 2018: Flavor Trends Take-aways

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Supply Side West 2018: Flavor Trends Take-aways

We worked with customers on their flavor systems while we learned from key industry experts. We toured the floor and got an inside look at upcoming flavor trends and patterns in the industry. Here are a few things we took away from Supply Side West 2018.

What’s New in Flavor Trends?

Pop Culture Co-branding / Nostalgia

Last year we saw flavor trends of Nostalgia. There was lots of co-branding through old-time favorites like candy flavors, breakfast cereals, and childhood memories like campfire s’mores. This year, nostalgia and co-branding prevailed with new twists on “look-alike” flavors and licensed co-branding deals. We saw flavors that remind us of our childhood, or confirm that we’ve never grown up. After many years of moms reminding us to drink leftover cereal milk, we’re seeing cereal flavored protein products.

Cross Cultural Blends

Tropical and exotic fruits have long been used to “spice up” product lines. And the blending of two different flavors to create a unique taste is also a staple of product development. So it was probably inevitable that these two flavor trends would ultimately connect. This “cross-cultural” blending can be seen in several examples such as “Dragonfruit White Tea” and “Limoncello Lychee.” Add into the equation any of the new international ingredient trends such as kombucha, matcha, açaí, et al. You can see the myriad of possibilities with cross cultural flavor experiences. Industry leaders think about ways these new trendy ingredients pair with interesting flavor systems to create unique customer experiences.

The Hemp Revolution

While the laws regarding cannabis are changing in states across the country, the unavoidable takeaway is asking what this means for the flavor industry as the core ingredients (CBD and THC) present new and unique challenges for an entire health category that has never existed before in the supplemental space. Walking around the show, it was impossible to not see the signs and banners advertising CBD and THC offerings. Add to that the hemp extracts workshops, suppliers, as well as data presented by Natural Products Insider estimating CBD and Hemp rising dramatically by 2022 calling it “The Hemp Revolution,” explaining that because the data is still being collected, it’s probably a far bigger market than we realize.

We had such a great experience at Supply Side West, 2018 and we are looking forward to utilizing the knowledge we gained to help our clients achieve their goals in all things flavors.

—Your Sensapure Team

Sensapure Flavors Announces Spin Off

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Sensapure Flavors Announces Spin Off

December 4, 2017, Salt Lake City, Utah – Sensapure Flavors is now an independent flavor house spin off. This is in conjunction with the sale of Genysis Brand Solutions to Nellson Nutraceuticals, LLC (“Nellson”). It was formerly a division of The Genysis Group.

As part of the agreement with Nellson, Sensapure Flavors still provide powdered flavorings to Genysis Brand Solutions. In a few months, Sensapure Flavors will spin off and relocate to accommodate the needs of the growing business.

“Over the years of sourcing specific flavors from the global providers for our nutraceutical brand partners, we realized that no flavor houses were focused on serving the supplement nutrition industry,” said Jeff Reynolds, founder and CEO of Sensapure Flavors. “The flavoring needs of the nutraceutical industry are complex and ever changing. Being able to launch this company with a leader in the industry like Genysis Brand Solutions is a win/win.”

Our Flavor Chemists

To operate as an independent company and to support the anticipated growth of the business, Sensapure hired certified flavor chemists. This is a first for a Utah based nutrition company, and a team of industry veterans in nutrition. Creating natural and artificial flavors involves thousands of extracts, chemicals and oils. After, you combine those ingredients with active ingredients such as protein, amino acids to make a powder form. This requires a process called spray drying.

So Much Space in Our Spin Off!

The new facility is in the Pioneer Square Business Park at the intersection of I-215 and 2100 South, SLC. It boasts 30K sq ft dedicated to flavor labs, and flavor manufacturing and offices for the Sensapure team. The flavor labs have a flavor creation lab (to create liquid flavors), an applications lab (to test different flavors with functional ingredient bases) and a sensory lab (for taste testing). 

In addition to the Utah headquarters, Sensapure has a location in Southern California with the same suite of flavor laboratories. This R&D lab opens in spring 2018. The Utah campus also houses Dyad Labs, an analytical testing lab also spun off as part of the transition. An open house of the Utah facility is scheduled for Spring of 2018.

About Sensapure Flavors 

Sensapure Flavors is a flavor house serving the nutrition and supplement industry with exciting flavor technology and unmatched applications experience. Initially it was a manufacturing company to understand the ever-changing needs of the nutraceutical industry. Now, Sensapure combines new flavor technologies with deep product application experience. They focused on powdered flavors initially, but now they will serve all flavoring aspects of the dynamic supplement and functional nutrition space.

1945 S. Fremont Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84104

© 2018 Sensapure Flavors, All Rights Reserved

(801) 456-4284
[email protected]