‘Tajin is what sriracha was a couple of years ago,’ Imbibe flavorist on global tastes impacting RTD beverages

“Consumers are seeking natural global flavors in better-for-you products. ... Along these lines, they seek realism in these products with true-to-fruit profiles. Consumers are more adventurous with these higher-priced products [and seek] creative combinations and the incorporation of natural ingredients like juice that enhance the profile. As commercially viable sources of novel ingredients become available, we will see more unique global flavor profiles,” Senne elaborated.

Spicy to swicy: Chilis, churro, horchata emerge as popular beverage flavors

In the spicy beverage space, “Tajin is what sriracha was a couple of years ago,” Senne explained. Tajin is the brand name for a Mexican seasoning blend company, with its namesake spice mix containing lime, chili peppers and salt.

Also, spicy flavors can mask off-notes in functional drinks, providing a potential workaround to common formulation challenges, she added.

The swicy trend​ — which blends spicy and sweet flavors — is popular in RTD beverages, with peppers being paired with pineapple flavors, mango chili and chamoy flavors, Senne said.

Tepache beverage brand De La Calle​’s take on the classic Mexican "street vendor treat," offers a pineapple chili flavor, which contains 7 grams of sugar per 12-ounce can.

For sweet flavors, churro and horchata are becoming more common in drinks, Senne said. Loco Coffee offers a churro-flavored oat milk latte, and Sail Away sells a canned horchata-flavored nitro cold brew coffee.

Additionally, Senne noted, “Churro and horchata work well in protein drinks, coffee and tea RTDs. There is room to explore further with spices like cinnamon and cardamom, which pair well with orange and vanilla. These spices along with clove and nutmeg are underutilized even in seasonal products.”  

Global fruity flavors make their way into energy drinks, sparkling waters

While boba and milk tea have gained popularity in the West​, US beverage brands are incorporating popular Asian flavors in various drinks, Senne explained.

“Asian soft drink flavors such as cantaloupe and honeydew, and candy flavors like those in Hi-Chew, are appearing across various beverage types, particularly in sparkling water, carbonated soft drinks and energy drinks,” Senne elaborated.

Rockstar energy drink blended functionality and honeydew flavors with its Rockstar Focus Honeydew Melon beverage, which has zero sugar, 200 mg of caffeine and lion's mane mushroom extract for a mental boost. Rockstar Focus launched​ earlier this year, as PepsiCo makes the brand​ the anchor of its energy drink strategy.

Additionally, FrUve offers a cantaloupe and cucumber flavor of its semi-sweetened sparkling water beverage, Super Water, which it says contains 15 servings of fruits and vegetables per 16 ounce can.

Formulating natural global flavors is a ‘balancing act’

Creating globally inspired natural flavors “can be tricky” for CPG companies, given supply-chain constraints, Senne explained. For instance, a source for natural yuzu in the US was established only recently, she added.

“Global flavor sources may become available with time and as demand increases. When commercially viable sources of a fruit’s oil or juice are unavailable, we can simulate the flavor with other natural flavors,” Senne said.

While natural flavors tend to be more expensive than artificial flavors, CPG companies can adjust their formula in various ways to accommodate this price difference, given the small amount of a flavor used in a product compared to other ingredients, Senne explained.

“The industry demands natural flavors, so brands need to look at other ways to cut costs, whether lowering costly ingredients like juice, reducing the cost of their sweetener system or finding better sources for ingredients. Depending on the category of product, flavors are used at low levels and are not the biggest cost driver, so there are other ingredients that brands can look at reducing. It is a balancing act. Artificial chemicals are less expensive and more available than natural ones, but new processing methods can cut down the cost of naturals, and the price of raw materials ebbs and flows, especially with natural flavors,” she elaborated.