SIAL Preview: Seeing, Smelling, Tasting: Doehler Shows How Products Can Appeal To All The Senses

Total indulgence is much more than just a question of taste! It is only achieved when a product appeals to all senses in the best possible way. This year, Doehler is inviting SIAL visitors to take a multi-sensory tour of discovery through the world of food and beverages. The broad product portfolio of natural ingredients Doehler is presenting at SIAL includes flavours, colours, health & nutrition ingredients, cereal ingredients, dairy ingredients, speciality ingredients, fruit & vegetable ingredients and ingredient systems. Under the motto “WE BRING IDEAS TO LIFE.”, the partner for integrated food & beverage solutions is presenting around 100 innovative ideas for food and beverages in which all recipe components work perfectly together. Inspiration ranges from refreshing carbonated soft drinks and juicy energy drinks to light aqua plus beverages, malt beverages, juices and nectars, right through to dairy beverages, ice cream, baked goods and confectionery. Some of the ingredient solutions and product applications Doehler will be exhibiting have been nominated for a prize by the independent FIM committee in the context of the “SIAL Innovation 2014 Award”.

Healthy tastes better

The number of new products launched in 2014 is further proof of this. Reduced-calorie products and products with healthy additional benefits are a worldwide trend at the moment. Thanks to an extensive portfolio of health & nutrition ingredients – including functional ingredients and a wide range of sweetening systems – and the company's high level of application expertise, Doehler offers all the crucial expertise in this field under one roof. The company will demonstrate this at SIAL using various product samples with innovative and functional product positionings. Products that combine the mega trends of “naturalness” and “health” also enjoy particularly high acceptance among consumers. Doehler is meeting this trend with a broad ingredient portfolio that ranges from fermented, reduced-calorie juices to MultiSweet® stevia sweeteners and “botanical” extracts. The latter offer a great opportunity to highlight health-related product positionings on an emotional level. Thanks to a new joint venture with Afriplex, a leading South African supplier of natural extracts, Doehler will also present a variety of premium extracts from domestic fruits and plants. The focus here is on rooibos, baobab, moringa and aloe vera.

When taste becomes an experience

Many “botanicals” are interesting not only due to their diverse positioning options, but also because of the extraordinary taste experiences they offer – and extraordinary experience is the current trend when it comes to flavours. Blossom notes and herbs and spices in particular are enjoying immense popularity. Cardamom, coriander, rose, violet and hibiscus provide a hint of exoticism and stimulate innovation.

Vegetable juices are well-known and well-loved for being low in calories and rich in physiologically valuable ingredients. This is one of the reasons why vegetable flavours in soft drinks are currently right on trend. To meet the increasing demand for vegetable ingredients, the specialist for fruit & vegetable ingredients has augmented its portfolio significantly in the last year. Doehler's large number of extraordinary product applications – ranging from juice beverages to flavoured waters and even tea beverages – proves that vegetables are not only healthy but extremely tasty and refreshing and have a unique taste in combination with fruit, tea, spices and herb ingredients.

More than “just” natural

Naturalness is the word of the moment in the food industry and the guiding principle behind the entire Doehler portfolio. However, naturalness alone is often not enough.

Some natural colours, such as carmine or caramel colouring, for example, have fallen into disrepute and have largely been replaced. As alternatives, Doehler will be showing natural red shades from the Red Brilliance range and colouring concentrates from malt or apple at SIAL.

Food intolerances are another reason why some natural ingredients such as cereals or milk are avoided in food. Although this creates challenges for the industry, it also opens up market opportunities as the products evolve from a niche to the mainstream. At SIAL, Doehler will be presenting natural alternatives for lactose-free and gluten-free products such as dairy-free and lactose-free almond-based masses and gluten-free malt extracts.

Naturalness is now also capturing the market for alcoholic products. The use of fruit juices in alcoholic beverages not only gives them a special taste, but also allows entry into the premium segment. But not every fruit juice can be combined with alcohol; precipitation and sedimentation can easily occur, giving the end product a less appealing look. Doehler has developed a range of special juice concentrates that are tailor-made for use in alcoholic beverages, not causing cloudiness or sedimentation even at a higher juice content. These juice concentrates are ideal for both low-alcoholic beverages, such as ciders or wine mixes, and high-proof spirits.

Multi-sensory experiences – in the food segment too

Doehler will also be proving its competence in the food segment at SIAL. The company has been a reliable partner for the beverage and dairy industry for many decades. In future, Doehler will be offering its expertise in system solutions increasingly to the confectionery and bakery industry. Doehler already offers a large portfolio of natural flavours, colours, malt extracts, purees, juice concentrates, sweeteners and natural extracts such as tea – and the range is growing all the time. In addition to this portfolio, Doehler also provides its customers with an integrated solution approach that includes services such as market intelligence, trend monitoring and Sensory & Consumer Science for the development of new product ideas. At SIAL, the company will be presenting product ideas such as crunchy yoghurts with malt flakes, delicious filled baked goods and fruit & vegetable gums for visitors with a sweet tooth.

For each innovative product development and product application, Doehler's main focus is always on the perfect, multi-sensory product experience based on an appealing harmoniously to all the senses. Based on this holistic sensory approach, Doehler offers its customers an important building block to success – helping them to stand out from the crowd.