Not only is the non-carbonated beverage offering migrating toward lower-calorie and more functional offerings, but the innovation process is also focusing its efforts on personalized hydration.
Tailor-made products and services, with a wide range of options, are the expected scenario at the time of purchase. Consumption patterns have changed significantly, largely due to the growing focus on healthy eating and a public seeking beverage options that are not only refreshing but also nutritious, promote their well-being, and provide the opportunity to explore new flavors.
The restaurant and food service sector has capitalized on the growing demand for exploration and nutrition through beverages. After supermarket and convenience store chains, this is the most important distribution channel for launching new offerings. Non-carbonated beverages are gaining importance in menu offerings. Customers expect variety when visiting restaurants, and non-carbonated beverages are a flexible option for developing and introducing new concepts. Equally important is observing the food service sector's response to parents who are concerned about their children's sugar intake: incorporating a greater variety of fruit-based and lower-sugar beverages into their children's menus.
While flavor quality remains the most important factor in repeat purchases, the offerings introduced to the market strive to be sufficiently innovative and communicative to satisfy an audience attentive to the content of their beverages. Bases and concentrates for preparing non-carbonated beverages offer handling advantages that facilitate the creative process for both the food industry and food services: controlled preparation of different volumes, flexible mixing, efficient storage, and the use of different concentrate dissolving media, among others.
Sugar reduction has given way to a new generation of beverage bases, and the offering of sugar-replacement concentrates and syrups continues to grow. There is increased scrutiny of the calorie content of beverages, and in more and more countries, government entities are increasing the cost of sugary drinks through taxes. The beverage industry has responded by reducing portion sizes, educating through easier-to-understand labeling, and, above all, by searching for and developing better sweeteners to reduce sugar content.
The way we drink beverages is changing, and we need to quickly generate offers to attract consumers interested in new experiences. At Sabores Cosco de Centroamérica, we develop customized non-carbonated beverage applications for our clients; we offer concentrates for multiple concepts:
HERBAL & FLORAL NOTES: Sophisticated floral flavors such as rose, lavender, and jasmine. Herbal extracts such as spearmint and lemongrass are also included. These flavors are ideal for blending into citrus beverage bases, such as lemon juice concentrates with lavender and tea extracts with notes of orange and jasmine.
NON-ALCOHOLIC COCKTAILS & TROPICAL FRUITS: Bases designed for cold drinks or slushies; we offer a wide variety of flavors for non-alcoholic cocktails such as mojitos and margaritas, and refreshing tropical fruit bases such as mango-passion fruit, lemon-cucumber-mint, and others.
JUICE-BASED DRINKS: Applications for drinks containing fruit juices at various concentrations. Our juice concentrates can be combined with natural flavors such as honeydew melon, watermelon, and strawberry lemonade.
SEASONAL FLAVORS: Creative holiday flavors like Irish Cream, Caramel & Marshmallows, Lemon Cake, and Cotton Candy; for hot and cold beverages.
Our bases can be formulated sugar-free or for reduced sugar applications.
The personalization of sweetness
Not only do we have a broad catalog of applications for flavoring beverages, our sugar-replacement bases are designed with the flavor system in mind. Our technology for reducing sugar in beverage formulas includes a wide range of sweetener blends. These proposals are developed for each application to ensure synergy between the sweetener blend and other ingredients in the formula and to reduce undesirable effects such as the aftertaste characteristic of high-intensity sweeteners. We offer naturally sourced sweeteners, as well as recommendations for heat-treated formulas.
We know it's not just about eliminating "bubbles"; the absence of carbon dioxide entails specific technical considerations for non-carbonated beverages. Our bases are developed taking into account aspects such as:
- Microbiological susceptibility: Unlike carbonated beverages, where the gas content acts as a preservative, non-carbonated beverages are more susceptible to microbiological action. Although strict cleanliness conditions are necessary to ensure the stability of the final product, the formulated mix will likely require some form of heat treatment if not consumed immediately. Such treatment will invariably involve changes in the beverage's flavor; the design of the beverage must consider the effect of this processing step.
- Use of preservatives: Depending on the nature of the components and the type of packaging, the addition of preservatives to the beverage may be necessary. While these do not replace proper cleanliness during manufacturing, they can significantly increase its stability. Formulators exercise caution when working with bases whose acidulant concentrations could precipitate the preservative salts and negate their effectiveness, as well as impair the flavor. Proper base formulation prevents this reaction.
- Aroma protection: In packaged non-carbonated beverages, the amount of available oxygen is greater due to the space in the neck of the container, which is not filled with carbon dioxide, as is the case with carbonated beverages. This is one of the reasons why non-carbonated beverages tend to be more prone to flavor alterations and color loss. In addition to proper packaging and the microdosing of an inert gas (which will expand in the headspace of the bottle), the use of oxidation-stable flavors and colors is critical.
The world of non-carbonated beverages presents unlimited opportunities for creation. It's very helpful to have a business partner supporting you in your search for new ideas; our products and services are at the service of our customers.
About us…
Sabores Cosco de Centroamérica offers innovative alternatives in flavors and ingredients. Our portfolio of beverage and food applications is continuously growing to provide timely responses to market demands. We have the technical tools to address the particular needs of beverage and food flavor system applications, designing tailor-made proposals. Our technical advisory team provides support throughout the development process. We are sure that in Sabores Cosco de Centroamérica you will find an integral solution partner for your products.