Consumers are actively seeking enhanced culinary experiences. Condiments and sauces offer global flavors and tastes that can be enjoyed in restaurants or brought home to the kitchen.
Beverages, like all product categories in the U.S. market, have had a bit of an up-and-down time in recent years, at least in terms of new product introductions. In non-alcoholic beverages, the U.S. market experienced a significant drop in new product introductions in 2009.
Recent years saw a boom in the craft beer segment of the alcoholic beverage category; even in the midst of an overall down beer market in 2010 (sales dipped 1% vs. 2009), sales of craft beers grew a solid 11% by volume and 12% in dollars.
Coconut water remains a growing segment of the beverage category. As Beverage Marketing Corp. explains, young adults are embracing the beverage; the company calls teens the kind the kind of consumers “used to searching for alternative health solutions.”
New technologies, fat- and oil-based ingredients, and technical tips on reducing trans and saturated fats are offered to formulators at one Prepared Foods’ R&D Applications Seminar.
When looking at the rest of the world, the absence of additives and preservatives and low/no/reduced sugar drives the beverage category (whereas the U.S. market is driven more by natural claims). While there are some differences in which claims are more prevalent depending on region of the world, this focus on healthfulness truly is global.
The color of a food or beverage is one of the most important aspects of its overall perception. The following Prepared Foods’ R&D Seminars discuss methods for measuring food color, as well as uses for beta-carotene, certified-organic colors and caramel colors.
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