Botanical Ingredients Provide New Beverage Possibilities
Beverage companies are picking the ripe tropical flavors for new flavor beverage line extensions. Being combined with traditional mainstream flavors are such exotic flavors as mango, starfruit, cherimoya, guanabana, kalamansi, passion fruit, guava, kiwi and papaya.
In addition. there is a preponderance of healthy - or good-for-you - beverages appearing in the marketplace, often referred to as nutraceutical beverages. The uniqueness of these products is that their ingredients have a perceived health benefit that may have previously been incorporated in other non-food products. However, in many cases these same Ingredients, such as aloe vera, are being used for the first time in beverages.
Taken internally, aloe is known to treat stomach ailments, constipation, hemorrhoids and other digestive disorders. Externally, aloe gel Is used to treat burns, skin injuries and abrasions and is used in cosmetic products.
One aloe beverage marketer, Aloe ha, masks the bitter taste of aloe by sweetening it with fructose. The clear, carbonated beverage is made by Aloe ha Beverage Corp., Houston, Texas.
The seeds of the guarana, an exotic red berry from the Brazilian rain forest, provides caffeine in carbonated beverages. Guarana is being used in energy drinks as a natural caffeine kick. Pepsi-Cola Co. and IBI Beverages, White Plains, N.Y., use the ingredient in their Josta and Samba beverages, respectively.
The medicinal uses of echinacea, including treating infections, aiding wound healing, enhancing immunity and treating colds and flu, have dramatically boosted Its popularity in beverages. R.W Knudsen, Chico, Calif., markets Lemon Ginger Echinacea Juice. In addition to the echinacea, the product has ginger to aid digestion, and curb diarrhea. motion sickness, nausea and other digestive ailments. Knudsen is also using acerola juice for its high vitamin C content and is adding honey and lemon for its comforting effects.
Ginseng is another botanical ingredient gainiiing prominence in the beverage industry. Ginseng is known to help the body adapt to stress, enhance mental and physical stamina and guard against exhaustion. It is an adaptogen which is said to normalize various body functions including blood pressure and sugar levels. Ginseng extract tastes earthy, woody and bitter. It has been used in tea products where the product is not acidic. In more acidic conditions, ginseng has to be balanced with fruit flavors. Tropical flavors, in particular. counterbalance the powerful taste of ginseng . One of the more established marketers of ginseng beverages is Ginseng Up Corp., N.Y. which markets carbonated soft drinks containing Korean ginseng .
Antioxidant drinks using vitamin E, vitamin C and beta carotene are also making their mark in the marketplace. One of these products. Gold's Rx, is produced by Nutraceutical Products Corp., Stamford. Conn. Tropicana Products, Bradenton, Fla., has three fortified orange juices under its Pure Premium line: calcium and extra vitamin C; vitamins A, C and E, and fiber.
Most of the ingredients used in nutraceutical beverages have a bitter, medicinal, astringent or sharp taste that is indigenous to botanicals. These flavor attributes must be considered in formulating a good-tasting beverage. There are three methods in developing a good-tasting nutraceutical beverage. The first and easiest is to limit the amount of the bitter Ingredient in the product. Most of the time, though, there is an minimum amount of ingredient required to make any health claims or establish the perceived benefit for the consumer.
The second method is to mask the bitterness by. use of sweet flavors such as brown sugar, maple, honey and vanilla. The third method is to Incorporate the bitterness from the nutraceutical ingredient as part of the flavor profile. This is best accomplished with flavors such as grapefruit. cranberry and/or tropical flavors.
You will soon see more evidence of nutraceutical products iin the marketplace, with various blends of beneficial ingredients. including botanicals, vitamins and juice blends.
- BY : Peter Wasko
- SOURCE : Beverage Industry1996.08.01
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