These are bullish days for beverages. Sales are booming, and the category is on an expansionary tear with near-daily introductions of clever new concepts. But even a casual inventory of the beverage shelves leaves no doubt: Portability, functionality and simple hydration are all well and good, but as with everything else in the world of food and drink, taste trumps all.
“Don’t be fooled by the unpretentiousness of beverages,” says Michelle Hagen, flavorist, Givaudan Flavors, Cincinnati. “Although unassuming, they have many challenges.” Knowing the right questions to ask and the right flavors to use makes quick work of those challenges—and makes formulations delicious in the process.
Twenty questions
Why are beverages such formidable formulations tests? Chalk it up to their dynamism both as chemical media and product category. “The beverage segment is a rapidly changing area today,” says Aaron Dow, beverage scientist, FONA International Inc., Geneva, IL. “Consumers are expecting the latest and greatest in flavors and functional ingredients. Often, this means that developers have to get acquainted with a wide variety of materials and taste profiles in a brief period of time.” We also want more from our beverages. “Vitamins, proteins, mood enhancers, nutritional supplements: All are coming from beverages today,” he says. “But, regardless of how many good-for-you ingredients are included, the taste still has to be great for consumers to purchase these products.”
Getting all those components—flavors included—to play nicely together can be tough, says Scott Rayburn, beverage applications manager, Cargill Flavor Systems, Minneapolis. “Water is the universal solvent, as well as an excellent carrier for spoilage organisms,” he notes. “Surface area in a fluid, which is shifting, also allows for more enzyme-based reactions, including browning, fading and oxidation. The requirements to safely preserve products in this arena—heating, chemical preservatives and acidity—also can create flavoring challenges, as these treatments can modify the flavor profiles.”
So, before any development begins, beverage teams should consult their flavor suppliers to iron out the basics of what they’re trying to flavor—and how. All the experts have their top-10—or maybe even top-20—questions they raise with clients. “What is the objective? What is the end product? Do you have a niche in the marketplace? Is there a gold standard or a target product that you want to match?” asks Laura Ennis, senior beverage innovation technologist, David Michael & Co., Inc., Philadelphia. “We need to understand the exact process. Cold-filled, hot-filled, UHT, aseptic, retort.” As for ingredients, she asks: “Are there nutritional standards that you want to meet? Claims you wish to make? How do you want the product to be labeled? Do you want to use artificial or natural flavors or colors? What flavor type are you looking for: A ripe strawberry? A candied strawberry? Do you want to use a certain percentage of fruit juice? A characterizing fruit juice?”
