Named “SipScape”, the platform offers insights into the alcohol-adjacent space, with new personas showcasing the evolving beverage consumer landscape

IFF, a global leader in food, beverage, health and wellness, has unveiled SipScape, a new platform designed to inspire innovation across the rapidly evolving adult beverage landscape. It offers actionable insights and trends, including product design, flavour modulation and sweetness reduction in no-and low-alcohol beverages. The platform also highlights IFF’s expertise in incorporating botanicals, natural colours and other functional additions based on current trends and market demands.

“Understanding how and why people drink today is essential to staying ahead,” said Fernanda De Paula, vice president of global beverages category for IFF Taste. “Consumers are looking for more than a buzz, and drinks are no longer defined solely by their alcohol content. The most successful new products are those that reflect people’s values, fulfill specific occasions and genuinely resonate with their needs. When done right, beverages can turn fleeting moments into joyful and meaningful experiences. SipScape is a vibrant virtual social scene, where brands can meet today’s beverage consumers, learn more about their preferences and uncover exciting innovation opportunities.”

Visitors to SipScape will benefit from deep explorations fueled by PANOPTIC, IFF’s proprietary trend and foresight capability. PANOPTIC has decoded cultural and consumer drivers, providing new insights into current shifts in the beverage market – such as the rise of conscious consumption and moderation among younger consumers. SipScape introduces five new consumer personas, each paired with distinctive concepts that reflect their unique preferences and motivations.

Meet two of the Sipscape’s Resident Sippers:

Eternal Explorer, Eva

Eternal Explorers, like Eva, are “rebels with a cause,” driven by a desire to create positive impact. Progressive and globally minded – similar to some members of Generation X and baby boomers – they have the means and mindset to support ethical brands through conscious choices.

Go-to concepts for Eternal Explorers include:

• Once Upon Oaxaca Cocktail – a 5 % ABV cocktail featuring Mexican flavours like mezcal and palo santo.
• Mango Sticky Rice Flavoured RTD Green Tea – a refreshing green tea packed with vitamins, immune support and natural energy.

Good-Time Guru, Gemma

Rebellious and disruptive, Good-Time Gurus are drawn to brands that not only understand their priorities but also celebrate them. Often Generation Alpha and Generation Z consumers, they value sensorial escapism, experimentation and personalisation.

Go-to concepts for Good-Time Gurus include:

• Hopped Pineapple Lemonade – an 8 % ABV beverage that fuses tropical fruit with the crisp bite of hops.
• Dragon’s Zen Sparkling Energy Drink – a zero-alcohol sparkling energy drink with balanced sweetness and a sophisticated flavour profile.

Explore SipScape: https://iffapps.com/sipscape/

Across much of the globe, one thing is clear: nearly everyone is actively reining in their sugar intake. What’s interesting are the various ways in which different cultures approach it. ADM Outside Voice^℠ research surveyed 13,900 people in 15 countries across four regions about their purchase behaviours. On average, 83 % of consumers are limiting or avoiding sugars in their diets, but the products of particular concern vary widely.

In North America, 69 % of shoppers are flipping over pancake syrup bottles to review sugar content and ingredients on labels, while it doesn’t even make the list in the other regions. Sugar scrutiny in non-alcoholic beverages is a global priority, yet research shows that sweetening preferences shift considerably across markets. For example, North Americans prioritise milk alternatives, Europeans are focused on the quality of chocolates and pastries, and, in Latin America and Asia Pacific, snacks and specialised nutrition are top areas for product evaluation.

“It’s clear how significant monitoring sugar consumption is, no matter the region. That’s why we have invested in extensive research and analysis to understand attitudes towards sugar, motivations for reading labels, and unique ingredient preferences,” said Sarah Diedrich, Senior Marketing Director, Global Sweetening & Texturising Solutions, ADM. “We began this journey two years ago, and it has culminated in the launch of a new interactive insights tool that provides users with an in-depth look at the nuances of consumer behaviour across the globe.”

Capturing this comprehensive data is ADM’s new interactive tool, allowing food and beverage manufacturers a clear view of how people around the world are navigating their sugar reduction journeys, and the similarities and differences across nations.

ADM’s research reveals that a significant majority of the population is reducing their sugar intake, particularly in countries such as Mexico, Spain, Romania and Brazil, where around 90 % declare they actively limit or avoid sugars. The importance of low sugar content is so crucial that respondents place it on equal footing with satisfying taste across most of the globe; however, Asia Pacific is an outlier, prioritising quality and health benefits more substantially.

“Our research delivers valuable insights for product development. It serves as a roadmap for formulation strategies, highlighting the most important elements on nutrition labels and ingredient declarations that resonate with shoppers from one category to the next. Furthermore, we leverage this data when partnering with brands as they enter new global markets,” said Diedrich. “For example, we’ve observed that consumers are more forgiving on calories and sugar tallies in indulgent food categories like confections, ice creams and sweet bakery. However, there is a notable shift toward reviewing the quality of ingredients and sweetening choices in these segments. From this foundation, we can educate brands on the acceptability of ingredients in different regions, which allows them to appropriately balance great taste with label appeal.”

Within the map of the insights tool, country-specific highlights are also shared. For instance, consumers in Poland are more likely to have purchased nutrition bars and sports performance drinks, citing strong athletic and cardiovascular goals more than other European nations. Australians are more likely to seek out sugar-free products rather than offerings with partially reduced sugar, particularly when compared to three other Asia Pacific countries. For shoppers in Mexico, plant-based claims and alternative sweeteners like stevia and agave are sought-after ingredients; and Brazilians hold high regard for products with sustainable sourcing claims.

“These are just a few trends identified in the extensive statistics organised in our new interactive tool, designed to help navigate consumer desires for limiting sugars,” said Diedrich. “Supplying global and local insights is just the first step to our holistic approach to achieving successful sweetening solutions. Paired with formulation expertise and our vast portfolio of ingredients – all parts come together to address global nutrition goals.”

ADM is uniquely positioned to replicate full-sugar taste through its proprietary approach, Replace Rebalance Rebuild^®. The method uses sweetening systems alongside flavours and enabling ingredients to replace sweetness, rebalance flavour and rebuild functionality. ADM is invested in research and dedicated to continually expand its ingredients pantry to solve formulation challenges and support manufacturers taking on sugar replacement efforts.

AMARUMAYU partners with MOMS MEET to save the Amazon Rainforest

Moms are powerful advocates for all kinds of products in their local communities. When AMARUMAYU launched its Camu Camu and Buriti Superfruit Juices to the US market in November 2020, they recognized that aligning with Moms Meet, a national community of engaged, health-minded moms who sample natural and better-for-you products, would be a critical step in educating the conscious consumer about the AMARUMAYU Mission. An interactive educational campaign and sampling program was conducted, and proved that aside from taste, the health profile of a product and its positive impact on the environment are the two most influential factors driving Moms’ food purchasing decisions.

Over the course of five months, AMARUMAYU and Moms Meet orchestrated a series of online events and in-home sampling efforts on behalf of AMARUMAYU Superfruit Juices. To kick off the partnership, Moms Meet introduced AMARUMAYU via a Facebook Live event. AMARUMAYU then participated in the Moms Meet Virtual WOW Summit 2021, with over 1,625 attendees.

With homeschooling challenging parents like never before, AMARUMAYU recognized that Moms needed playful educational activities for their children. To that end, the downloadable AMARUMAYU Passport to the Peruvian Amazon Activity/Coloring Book provided a fun and engaging way in which mothers and children could learn about the plant life, wildlife, and indigenous communities of the Amazon Rainforest.

The Moms Meet sampling program featured approximately 15,000 group members selected from applicants who shop on Amazon and live in and around specified zip codes. After sampling, Moms and kids decided AMARUMAYU’s key strengths were taste, packaging, and its mission of sustainability. Results included:

• 95+ % of Moms rated AMARUMAYU Superfruit Juices as “Excellent” or “Good”, well above the Moms Meet comparable category norm.
• 86+ % of Moms stated that they “Definitely” or “Probably” would buy AMARUMAYU Superfruit Juices, also well above the Moms Meet average for the category.

Significant positive attributes of AMARUMAYU Superfruit Juices cited by Moms were:

• Immunity boosting.
• Contains 50X as much Vitamin C as an orange.
• Reusable, resealable, and recyclable aluminum bottles.
• Made with unique and exotic superfruits.
• Sales help prevent deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest and fight climate change.

A Moms Meet Ambassador proclaimed, “AMARUMAYU Superfruit Juices are my superpower! Both the Buriti and Camu Camu have immunity-boosting superfruits, they taste amazing, and they make any Mom feel like she can conquer the world. They are good for my body and help protect the Amazon Rainforest. And kids love the taste!”

About Moms Meet and WOW Events
Since 2006, May Media Group, LLC has helped families raise their children and enjoy their lives in the healthiest way possible. Moms Meet is a large community of authentic and engaged health-minded Moms looking to learn about better-for-you products and services that they can share with their friends and families. WOW Events are the only live and virtual events in the country connecting better-for-you brands directly with health-minded moms.

About AMARUMAYU
AMARUMAYU works in collaboration with the Peruvian Ministry of Environment and the Indigenous People’s Chamber of Commerce to sustainably wild harvest a series of amazingly health-beneficial superfruits in the Amazon Rainforest. These superfruits are then blended into immunity-boosting, antioxidant-rich, delicious, nutritious AMARUMAYU Superfruit Juices. By creating a commercial market for these superfruits, AMARUMAYU values the trees from which these superfruits are borne, protecting them from deforestation and preventing the massive carbon reserves stored beneath them from being released into Earth’s atmosphere.