Tastes Good, Does You Good: Ideas For Beverages To Enhance Wellbeing

Enjoyment without regrets is in fashion. This applies to nearly all beverage categories. Experts from WILD Flavors & Specialty Ingredients (WILD) will explain at Anuga in Cologne which innovative products in the field of carbonated beverages, organic or fermented thirst-quenchers can capture the spirit of the age.

CSD: Light enjoyment with fewer calories

There's no doubt: sugar makes life sweet. However, sugar inevitably means calories and that often clashes with good intentions to eat in moderation. What could be more sensible than to save on sugar in beverages? Meanwhile consumers do not expect this to be detrimental to taste, nor do they want sugar to be replaced by classical sweeteners. WILD therefore offers finely balanced concepts with stevia extracts for CSD products and for cola beverages.

Lemonades: Quench your thirst with a clear conscience

Many consumers do not choose their beverages on the basis of the benefit to them personally, such as a low-cost product. Instead, they pay attention to whether, say, the raw materials have been produced to be kind to the environment and save resources. “Organic” is no longer a niche product: in 2014 almost two thousand new organic beverages were launched in Europe alone. The European nations that are

the greatest “organic fans” are Germany and France. They are followed by Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Finland at around the same level.2 WILD concepts for organic lemonades with the flavors “orange” and “cloudy lemon” contain juices and sugar from organically produced raw materials and therefore meet the “organic” purchasing criteria. Also, with up to 20 percent juice, they have a significantly higher juice content than classical lemonade and satisfy the trend for premium lemonades.

Fermented beverages: with a tradition source yet modern

Many consumers appreciate knowing that what they eat is made of natural ingredients yet, at the same time, the number of ingredients is restricted to a manageable number. WILD's product ideas for fermented thirst-quenchers meet this expectation. The unique, special taste achieved through the fermentation of selected fruit-juice concentrates makes these beverages impressive. And all this without adding flavors, colors or additives such as acidifiers, thus complying with the trend for clean label products.

Soft drinks: Increasing variety

“Refreshers” close the gap between flavored waters, on the one hand, and more substantial spritzers, on the other. The end product contains 8 to 30 percent fruit juice concentrate and, as a rule, all the ingredients are natural. As their sugar content is lower, when compared to classical soft drinks, they fit well in the concept of healthy, balanced nutrition. Another trend is towards lemonades with a particularly fruity taste, thanks to the higher juice content than in conventional products. For instance, the “orange-mango” flavor from WILD has a juice content of 15 percent and is thus an attractive concept for consumers who value natural ingredients yet still want a thirst-quencher with an exquisite taste.