Ingredient Spotlight

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Although summer has come to a close, some consumers might want to grab ahold of the last drops of the season by indulging in the exotic, tropical flavors of the warmer climates. While flavors like pineapple, mango, passion fruit, coconut and lemon, among others, offer consumers a tropical escape, they also offer some nutritional benefits for their bodies.

When it comes to fashion, the saying “What’s old is new again” can be used quite frequently. And when it comes to beverage formulation, that same adage still applies.

In Walt Disney’s 1966 animated classic “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree,” Pooh finds some creative ways to get his hands on his favorite treat: honey. Lucky for beverage manufacturers, dressing up like a little black rain cloud is not a strategy they need to employ when sourcing a sweetener for their products.

Similar to how gamers try to navigate through the complex and intricate challenges of some of today’s latest video games, research and development (R&D) specialists for the beverage marketplace are navigating through their own sets of challenges as they develop more complex formulations.

As consumers’ taste preferences shift away from intensely sweet and toward tarter flavor profiles, cherries have an opportunity to fill the flavor gap, according to experts.

The American diet, which tends to be less rich in fish consumption compared with Japan, China and almost any other country where fish is the major source of dietary protein, also tends to be low in omega fatty acids, says Sam Wright IV, chief executive officer of Crowley, La.-based The Wright Group.

According to the National Coffee Association (NCA), in 2012 the United States sustained its place as the largest coffee market in the world, consuming approximately 450 million cups of coffee each day, says Nina Hughes-Likins, senior marketing manager with Synergy Flavors, Wauconda, Ill.

Long revered as a solution for topical burns and healthy skin, aloe has become valued in the beverage industry for more than just its external benefits. 

In comic books, superheroes like Batman, Spiderman and Superman use their special powers to protect cities and the people within them from harm. 

Tea and ready-to-drink (RTD) tea achieved estimated sales of $6.7 billion this year, according to Chicago-based market research firm Mintel.