Superfoods and self-optimisation

At one time, all consumers wanted from a drink was that it should taste good and quench thirst. Nowadays, beverages also have to deliver health benefits, make us more efficient at work or better at sport, or offer some kind of feel-good factor. Not only that, they should also be sustainably produced and exotic, and still taste as good as home-made.

This wish list is a reflection of the mega trends affecting our world today. And the suppliers of beverages, liquid foods and milk products are responding to them.

Modern consumers expect products that are tailored precisely to their own requirements. More and more new beverages are being produced, in record time, and in an endless number of new taste directions. This is a very broad field for successful product innovations.

‘Wie is(s)t Deutschland 2030?’, a study commissioned by the Swiss food giant Nestlé, aimed to identify what Germany will be eating in the year 2030. One of the main findings is that food is increasingly becoming a question of lifestyle. The consumer wants the food industry and retailers to deliver products and services that correspond to individual needs and values, and which contribute to a sustainable and healthy diet.

Health, health, health and superfoods

Health has in fact long been an important factor in what we eat. Behind it is the desire for ‘self-optimisation’ with food that is tailored to our own individual needs. The trend towards superfoods is a part of this, the more familiar exotic examples here being goji berries, matcha green tea, yerba maté, almond milk and coconut water. But there are plenty of alternatives coming forward: the ‘in’ drinks in New York and Los Angeles are currently turmeric tonic, a kind of lemonade flavoured with curcuma, and cold-brew coffee mixed with tonic water.

With these superfoods the consumer is looking to derive key minerals, trace elements, vitamins, antioxidants and caffeine from natural sources. This also explains the success of ‘green smoothies’. With their high concentration of plant chlorophyll and antioxidants, these blended beverages of leaf vegetables and fruit are supposed to have a rejuvenating effect and promote health. Or at least so say a famous Hollywood actress and a top international model on the internet.

Natural products

The preference for ‘natural’ products has also led to the ‘free from’ trend that is currently seen all around the world. Consumers are paying more attention to what is in their food and drink: it has to be free of certain ingredients such as gluten or lactose, and not contain any genetically modified organisms. They also don’t want a long list of ingredients, and those ingredients have to be native and sustainably produced. That applies of course also to the aromas, sweeteners and colourants used in beverages and liquid food.

Price focus is giving way to sustainability, regionality and even spirituality

Health is, however, only one aspect among many. Günter Birnbaum from the consumer research company GfK (Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung) explained: “A general tendency is that the consumer’s focus on price is giving way to an orientation towards added value. Alongside the more classic factors such as taste, quality and a healthy diet, an ever more important role is being played by themes such as sustainability, regionality and even spirituality.”

What we drink is therefore becoming also a question of ethics and lifestyle. As a reaction to globalisation and climate change, more and more people are turning to regional foods, for example. In this context the ever more popular trend towards making one’s own food is taking a new turn. Because what started out with jam has now moved on to sausages, cheese, bread and pickled vegetables. There is a renaissance of interest in classic food-preservation processes such as lactic acid fermentation. And this is opening up the way for new beverage concepts.

Exotic originals — on the doorstep

The regional emphasis applies also as regards the new superfoods. Attention is turning to the more exotic regional specialties such as birch water or birch sap, which has long been a national beverage in Russia and Poland. This sweet-tasting fluid, obtained direct from the trunk of the birch tree, has beneficial ingredients that have an anti-inflammatory effect or reduce cholesterol; it is even supposed to counteract hair loss. A second example is beetroot juice. Endurance sportspeople have taken this up in a big way, ever since scientists at the University of Exeter in England observed that 0.5 L of beetroot juice enhances the performance of endurance athletes by around 16%. An amazing figure, especially when you consider that Epo, a synthetic and banned doping substance, achieves only a 7% increase.

With the right tools the global food and beverage industry has many opportunities for successful product development. A good example is the mega trend in craft beer. Some malts can, for example, add a chocolate note to the brown brew and different types of hop can add a hint of citrus to the taste. Not forgetting the many different yeasts, which also give a unique identity to the final product.

For those wanting to find out about the latest raw materials, ingredients and concepts, there will be no better place to go than drinktec 2017. Taking place next year in Munich, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.

Image credit: ©FreeImages.com/Jayesh Nair