Wild’s natural exotic flavours were launched in November and presented to the industry at Food Ingredients Europe (FiE) earlier this month.
The flavours include pineapple, yuzu, pomegranate, fig, mango and pink guava. The main applications are in gelatine articles and soft caramels.
Consumer appeal
Birgit Braun, product manager at Wild told ConfectioneryNews.com: “We see the most potential for exotic flavours in the confectionery segment.”
“Exotic fruits from around the globe are growing more popular with consumers. Mango and pink guava for example, for example, appeal to the European palate and remind people of holiday destinations,” she said.
Analysts from Leatherhead Food Research recently told our sister site FoodNavigator.com that ever more exotic sweet flavours were likely to appear in the confectionery market as consumer tastes become ever more adventurous and sophisticated.
“However, not all are likely to become instantly successful, and it is worth noting that flavours based on traditional fruits continue to account for the bulk of sales,” they said.
Costs and processing
Braun was asked how the price of Wild’s exotic flavours compared to its competitors and other less exotic fruits. However, she did not provide a breakdown of costs.
“Costs for flavours always depend on the respective fruit, i. e. the raw material. This is true for exotic flavours as well as domestic ones, for instance,” she said.
Among Wild’s competitors are Fuerst Day Lawson, which also produces natural exotic fruit flavours range that includes kiwi, guava, pomegranate, lychee and grenadine.
Ingredients frim DöhlerGroup also has a range of exotic fruit flavours.
According to Braun, Wild’s exotic flavours do not need any additional ingredients to support them and manufacturers can use the new flavours without having to modify any processes in production.
She said that under the European Commission’s flavour regulation 1334/2003, the exotic flavours would be labelled as "natural flavours".