Look east for future flavours
The most popular floral flavours in Europe are rose, elderflower and hibiscus but Lezzer says more exotic aromas from Asia Pacific, such as cherry blossom and chrysanthemum, could become popular in the future, while Mintel has its eye on lotus.
Sensient currently offers cherry blossom, lavender, elderflower, rose, desert flowers, chrysanthemum, orange blossom, geranium, hibiscus and jasmine for its European customers but are not usually used as a stand-alone flavour.
“They are often used as accent notes to add complexity to a more familiar flavour,” says Lezzer.
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