Aromatech boards the superfruits flavours wagon

The term 'superfruit' refers to any fruit that has a particularly high antioxidant content or is packed full of other beneficial nutrients. The category has taken off in the last few years on the wave of interest in health and wellness, and as consumers are open to trying exotic produce from far-flung places, particularly that which tastes good. Whole fresh fruits imported from South Asia and South America are available in many supermarkets, but food manufacturers have also been incorporating dried fruit into foods such as bars and cereals, and their juice into beverages. The emergence of superfruit flavours could help extend the trend into new categories of the food industry - such as confectionery, and dairy products. These categories are being targeted by Aromatech with its new range. The range includes acai flavour, pomegranate, cranberry, blueberry, acerola, goji and mangosteen. In the case of confectionery and ice-cream, for instance, the healthy halo of a superfruit flavour could rub-off on the finished product, otherwise considered a less-healthy treat food. For beverages, it has developed original mixes for concentrates, such as pomegranate/cranberry, blueberry/acerola, and vegetable-based beverages like tamarillo/carrot. All of Aromatech's flavours are available in liquid and powder form, encapsulated, spray dried and granulated. Aromatech is not the first company to delve into the superfruits trend with flavours. Danisco Flavours (now owned by Firmenich) announced in May that it had developed an acai berry flavour for use in dairy, ice cream, beverage and confectionery products. According to Danisco. the raw acai fruit has a slightly metallic taste. This could stand in the way of its acceptability in certain products, particularly where the whole dried berries are not used. By capturing the "sweet, pleasant​ flavour​ slightly reminiscent of chocolate",​ Danisco says that it will contribute to acai's lasting commercial success.