Each year, the Symrise team heads to the Winter Fancy Food show in San Francisco to check out the year’s latest and upcoming beverage trends from producers all across the country. We’ve selected a few of the category’s most exciting trends that we experienced out west.
PART1: Top 12 Trends from the 2020 Winter Fancy Food Show
TURMERIC CONTINUES TO SPARKLE
Turmeric, the popular spice that has been traditionally associated with wellness, starred in a number of sparkling waters and tonics at this year’s Fancy Food Show. We saw wide range of health focused beverages pairing the spice with an assortment of flavors, such as mango and chili or wild honey and matcha.
Turveda, a brand that is influenced by Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of natural healing, leverages the turmeric’s superfood properties to promote healthy aging. Arya, a sparkling water, suggests that its blend may help promote joint and cardiovascular wellness. Sultan Orange, on the other hand, positions their turmeric and black seed based water as a thirst quencher. Many of the brands we saw even highlighted the active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, on their label. Expect to see more brands diving deeper into the science of their beverages in 2020.
CLICK HERE to subscribe to the Weekly In-sight Newsletter!
THE BEER CATEGORY BECOMES A HEALTHIER INDULGENCE
The beer category is rapidly changing and we’re starting to see a small shift towards non-alcoholic beer or beer-inspired beverages. Surreal Brewing has launched a non-alcoholic line of brewed beers in a variety of classic styles like a Hazy IPA and a Porter that offers a very good drinking experience without the negative effects of alcohol. We also tried H2Ops, zero calorie hop water that delivers the refreshing and complex flavors of hops without the booze. Hoplark’s Hop Tea, a hoppy sparkling tea, straddles the world between beer and water. Full of flavor yet also calorie free, this tea has a potential to change the category. We are sure to see more beverages like these throughout the year.
COFFEE NEVER STOPS EVOLVING
Coffee companies never sit still (maybe as a result of all that caffeine). This year at the Fancy Food show, we saw a variety of new exciting innovations.
Verve Coffee Roasters promoted their Flash Brew both on draft and in ready to drink form. Flash Brewed coffee is a rather new process that creates a smooth, full flavored cold brew coffee. Instead of infusing coffee beans over time in cold or room temperature water, flash brew relies on brewing coffee hot and rapidly cooling the beverage, preserving the complex flavors of the beans. Verve also offers a Decaf Cold Brew, which has potential to bring back consumers who avoid caffeine back into the category.
As consumers turn to their coffee to provide more than just a kick, small producer Taika offers a cold brew that contains a blend of coffee and adaptogens to balance out the caffeine highs and lows and to promote all-day clarity. In addition to Taika’s functional benefits, it is also one of the first brands to create a macadamia latte in a ready to drink format.
LeanerCreamer, a metabolism boosting non-dairy and sugar free creamer company, debuted their new Coffee + Supplements hot brew capsules. LeanerCreamer ‘s blend of coffee and citrus aurantium extract, hoodia, and green tea Extract is designed to increase your basal metabolic rate and lipolysis and to serve as a mild appetite suppressant. According to LeanerCreamer, you can drink coffee and stay lean.
Beverages quickly evolve within the North American market and consumers are always looking for the next new thing to excite them. Fortunately, the Symrise team is here to help you stay at top of the latest trends and flavor experiences. Reach out today if you’re interested in learning more about what we believe will be the most popular beverages and flavors from 2020 and beyond.
Continue Reading: Culinary and Snack Trends at the 2020 Fancy Food Show
